Goddess in the Belly: About Bead Fringe

Handmade Beaded Fringe

These fabulous handmade bead fringes are designed and made personally by the artist and are original: you will not find them anywhere else.

Now you can have a stunning belt, bra, or costume with only the simplest sewing: with this intricate fringe as a focal point, there's no need to spend hours handworking designs onto a bra or belt set.

It's wearable art!

Of course, it also ties in sumptuously with the most intricate of bellydance costumes.

You can find one ready made in our gallery, or have one custom-made to fit your needs. Let one of these unique designs inspire you to create an exceptional costume specific to your personality or dance character.

Each high-quality beaded fringe is made completely by hand, constituting dozens of hours of work. Designed and created with loving care, each fringe was made to bring beauty and joy to the dance. My aim is to make bellydancers breathtaking!

You can also get beaded fringe for armbands, headbands, and necklaces...either the same fringe or a modified version of the pattern to fit these costume pieces.

Matching appliques are available for certain patterns: some are premade to match the beaded fringe, and others can be made to order to suit your costume designs.

About the Fringe

These hand-made beaded fringes are tighter than commercial bead fringe, which often have only one or two strands in the space where ours have three. This gives our fringe more weight, more dynamic action, and visually striking designs.

The beads are strung on ultra-strong thread and reinforced, so it will easily withstand rigorous shimmying and even, to a limit, pulling. Each thread is individually knotted, so in the unlikely event that a string happens to break, you won't lose more than one strand.

Each sale comes with a free container of matching beads, in case someday you need to make a repair. Beads are extremely difficult to match exactly, so I want to make sure you have the matching dye lot. Additional beads are available for sale, if you would like to decorate your costume with the exact match for your beaded fringe.

Compare this quality beaded fringe with mass-produced fringe:

Mass produced fringe is made with poor quality, fragile thread. It is strung all on one line, no knots between strands to protect the beaded fringe once a thread snaps, as it inevitably does. There are wide gaps between strands, impoverishing the beauty and movement. They are incorrectly sized: a 6" fringe will only be about 5 to 5.5 inches long. (I can only surmise they include the width of the ribbon in the length!) Lastly, the workers are paid very little for their labour: the manufacturers take advantage of these people with underpaid work conditions.

So commercial beaded fringe offers an inferior product and ethically dubious procedures.

Give yourself the gift of high quality and ethical shopping.

Custom Orders

Specialty orders will be happily fulfilled, constrained only by our collective imaginations and the limitations of the beads.

If you like something in our gallery, but would prefer a different colour, that can be easily accommodated.

If you have a costume for which you would like a specific beaded fringe, I can design something to match. Or if you already have a design in mind, contact me; I can usually find a way to make it work!

And if you would like a one-of-a-kind, absolutely unique bead fringe, let me know. By special arrangement, I can guarantee that I will not make another fringe of that pattern, and you will be flashing around the one and only!

Ordering Information

Length

Determine the length you need (usually around the widest part of your hips for a belt, or ribcage for a bra, etc). It's best to order the lengths separately if want more than one, to avoid having to cut the twill tape: cutting results in the loss of some fringe at the edges. When ordered in sections, each will have a bit of extra twill tape on the ends for extra security.

Measure carefully to ensure that you get the amount of beaded fringe that you will actually need. It is best to measure the actual circumference of the belt/garment the fringe will be sewn onto, because this can be quite different from the measurements on your body.

You may want to have a bit of an overlap: many dancers make their belts adjustable to accomodate the small weight variations our bodies go through on a monthly or seasonal basis. Please let me know if you would like the pattern to meet up neatly, or if you'd like overlap, how much you'd like overlapping.

Colour

Although every effort has been made to show true colours, due to scanning limitations and varying monitor hues it is impossible to match colour on-line. If you need an exact colour match, it is advisable to arrange this beforehand. Please contact me for details.

Payment

I can accept money orders, personal cheques, or transfer of funds through Western Union or similar companies. Please do not send cash through the mail. I regret that I am unable to take credit cards or electronic payment at this time.

Before sending payment, it is recommended that you contact me to ascertain the exact cost, including shipping and handling. This way we can avoid delays that may be caused by incorrect payments.

Each beaded fringe is finished so that the pattern lines up perfectly. If you would like overlap, or the size needed requires adjusting of the pattern, extra charges will be added to reflect the additional work. This price will be determined and you will be consulted before finishing work has begun.

Delivery

Since each piece is finished to order, please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. (Longer time may be necessary if you are paying with personal cheque.) If you need a rush order, perhaps I can accommodate you; feel free to inquire. Either way, I will keep you updated on the status of your order via email.

Guarantee

I personally guarantee the quality of each beaded fringe. It has been made with care and attention to strength and durability. However, if it should break casually or prove to be defective, we will arrange either a return, a mending, a discount, or some other mutually agreeable solution.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.