Padding a belt

I know -- you ware wondering why on earth I have a picture of a stack of panty liners.

I am about to reveal one of the secrets of the belly dancing universe.  If you have had a child, like to eat, or are past “a certain age,” you have a “goddess belly.”  A belly that has  . . . shape.  Curve.  Dimension.  And, as a result, your belt sits under that cute little belly curve that you may not think is so cute, after all.  You have that thing that is jokingly diagnosed as “Dunlap’s disease” where the belly done lapped over the belt.

Hence, panty liners to the rescue!

A good friend taught me this method.  What you need to do is to thicken the belt where it falls under the belly.  This brings the visible edge of the belt forward so that the belly sticks out less, making the belly appear a bit nicer.  To do it, take out a handful of panty liners near a surface like a table or counter.  Start with two as your base layer, but do not peel the backing off, yet.  Arrange them so that the narrow ends are touching, as if you needed a double-long liner.  Now, take one pad, peel the backing off, and lay it on top so that it covers the area where the bottom two meet.  Keep building up in a 2-1-2 pattern, until the entirety is the thickness you need.  I need about 5/8 inch, or 9 pads total.  To check thickness, put on the belt that you are working with and slide in the liner stack (centered under the belly button), look in the mirror, and see if it is enough.  When you are happy, open up the lining of your belt where you want to place the pads and THEN you can peel the backing off of the base liners to expose the sticky part.  Use that sticky part to help position the liners, then sew the belt lining fabric back into place.  Replace pads when your body shape changes or you replace the lining.  And hey, they do help absorb sweat, protecting your hard sewing work!

AND, this method can be used for belts you purchase, too!

(PS: I have also cut them up to use as bra padding, too!)

Here is a view of the finished belt, showing you the thickness added by padding.