Are you wondering what “6mm habotai” is? Or why some veils seem to move so differently than others? Habotai (sometimes spelled habutai) is a lightweight silk fabric with a plain weave. It is the most common kind of fabric for silk veils. The “mm” stands for momme, or mumme, and is a weight of silk. Habotai comes in weights ranging from 4 momme to about 14 momme, but only 5, 6, or 8 mm are appropriate for belly dance veils. My dance partner Tedi and I made this video demonstrating how these 3 most common silk weights move and compare:

What weight to you like best? Leave a comment!