We've all been there. You're in the middle of a fantastic shimmy and Whoops! --your hip scarf falls to the floor. (How embarrassing) Sure, you could safety pin the scarf to your skirt or pants. But there's a much easier, more permanent fix that keeps those jingles where they belong. It costs under $2 and takes less than 10 minutes! All you need is a 4 to 6" piece of strong 1" wide elastic and a sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch like the Bernina 950 or one with stretch stitching capability. Theoretically, you could hand stitch this. But it would be tricky.

Step 1: Find the center back of your hip scarf (on the top edge) and the center of your piece of elastic. Pin the elastic to the scarf right in the center.

Step 2: Pin the ends of the elastic to the scarf about 2" beyond where the un-stretched elastic ends. So, for example, if you have a 6" piece and you've pinned it in the middle at 3", you're going to pin each end 5" out on the scarf. You'll have more scarf than elastic between the pins at this point.

Step 3: Using a zigzag stitch, or other stretch stitch, sew the first 1/2 inch or so on the elastic to secure it to the scarf. (Remove the first pin.) Now, stretch the elastic so it matches the length of scarf available before the middle pin. Sew the elastic down in its stretched state. Remove the middle pin. Now stretch the elastic to match the scarf to the last pin. Sew it down, again in the stretched state.

When you let go, the elastic will relax and gather in the scarf. When you wear the hip scarf, the gathers and elastic will hold it up even through the longest drum solo shimmy. Sweet!

Here are a couple more quick tips:

• Be sure to match dark elastic to dark scarf fabric, and light elastic to light fabric.


• Make sure you match your thread color to the scarf. You don't want this fix to show.


• If your elastic frays on the ends, bind the edges with a serger or just dab on some clear nail polish or glue.


• If your scarf has a fold-over top edge, or beads in the way, you may have to put the elastic on the sides of your hips instead of the back. That's okay, too.

Shimmy away to your heart's content! No more slippage, ever.

Did you find this article helpful? Please consider sharing it with others by linking to this page in your blog, website, Facebook or other social media network. Thanks!

Beautiful Hip Scarves -- Wicked Cheap!