The Dancing Snake

More often than not, I design and make period and theatrical costumes as well as wedding and formal wear. In a departure from this, I recently made a snake dance costume modeled after one from the Chinese Ballet. It was a fun change of pace. It is worn by Miki Reaume, who dances the part of the snake in the Easter Production How Love Wins. If you live in the Corning, NY area and would like to see it, you will find dates and times here. Photos by Becky Enders.

Styling the 1930's

Yesterday I was called upon to create a last minute costume for a last minute understudy in a production of 42^nd Street. The actress needed a red dress from the 1930’s.  I do this sort of makeover frequently, though I rarely start it at noon of the performance day.  

A red dress, several sizes too big with plenty of extra room in the skirt was purchased for $3 from a local thrift store.

While I awaited its arrival, I studied my condensed version of the Sears Catalog of the 1930’s.  

The dress was a size 16; the actress generally wears a 12. I started by removing the collar, facing, and sleeves. I put the dress on a properly sized dress form. Since there was no waist seam, I marked the waist, cutting the skirt off an inch below the waist, removing the stitching around the zipper so that it could still be used in the final product. After pressing the pleats out of the skirt fabric, I carefully squeezed the pattern pieces onto it. I used a pattern from my collection that had the proper shape.

    

 The bodice was taken in at the back darts and the new skirt attached. All of the dress fabric- sleeves included- was required to make a properly shaped skirt.  Fortunately in the 1930’s it was trendy to use a second fabric for the sleeves and trimmings.

. I chose a red and white polka dot fabric from my stash for this.

The actress came out for a fitting before I put in the sleeves, so I was able to tweak the fit first.  It took me about 3 ½ hours to convert a well-used garment from the 1980’s into a stylish dress of the 1930’s. It was challenging and fun, and is a great way to save both time and production costs.

Playtime!

Take time to play.

In a society teeming with entertainment options, this might sound like a strange thing to say. The entertainment junkies aren't the only ones out there, though. We workaholics need to remember to give ourselves permission to play guilt free once in a while.

I recently gave myself permission to play in my sewing room for a couple days, and it was one of the smartest things I have done in a long time. Why? It was relaxing. Playing promotes creativity. And it made me remember that I really do love to make things with fabric. I did not push myself to make something useful, sale able, or creative. I just did what seemed like fun at the time. I played with a couple unusual patterns- boot style moccasins being one of them. I made myself a warm velour cowl neck that fits perfectly. I made my husband a shirt. I made some cats toys for the grandcats. And I made a dragon.

 

Making the dragon was the best part. It was not difficult, and it was fun to personalize. It has a rice bag in the central part of the body, and it wraps around the neck nicely.

The dragon first appeared in the customer gallery of my favorite embroidery website, Urban Threads. It was such a popular item that she put up a pattern and tutorial (you might want to make one, too!).

I feel refreshed. Alterations and zipper replacements are often dull, but I won't mind them today. After that it's bridesmaid dresses. But it's all good- I've had my annual dose of fun.  

Making it Real

On stage and screen, actors transform into characters from another time and place. Take, for example, a show like Downton Abbey, or a movie like Les Miserables or the Hobbit, in which the fantasy seems so real - it makes you feel as though you've stepped into another place or time. How do they do that?

It's all in the details.
I am a costumer, so that is my focus, but the principle applies across the board. Colors, velvet vs. fabric ribbon, buttons made out of bone or covered buttons, fabric types, and the style of lace are just a few examples of things that can make a much bigger difference than you might think. There is no substitute for research. Use online resources, books, museums, and films that are known to be accurate representations of the time period. The more you know, the easier it will be to pick fabrics, trims, accessories, and even thrift store garments that fit the time period. I choose pictures- photos of people and museum pieces and fashion plates- for each character and use them throughout the process as reference points. Sometimes when a costume doesn't look quite right I go back to the pictures and analyze them bit by bit until I figure out what detail is missing, or what modern detail I have inadvertently included that I need to remove. I just completed Four Tickets to Christmas, set in 1905. Here are a few examples of what I do.

Underwear matters.
The S corset and related underthings all help to create the female silhouette of the time period. We built corsets (on a very tight budget, that is a blog of it's own), corset covers, bustle and bust pads to shape the ladies.

Authentic patterns are great when you can get them. I used authentic patterns from 59 Authentic Turn of the Century Patterns and The Edwardian Modiste for the boy's suit and the ladies dresses. I also used the cover of a theater goers magazine from 1905 as a model for the dark green dress and hat. The photo is from the show; the pictures below it provided guidance and inspiration. It wasn't enough to make the garments- trimming them appropriately changed them immensely- especially the boy's suit.

Use existing pieces whenever you can- especially for the men. Suits and coats are labor intensive. The drawing on the left from Men's Fashion Illustrations from the Turn of the Century portrays the dapper urban gentleman of December 1905 we were trying to create. I made the white vest, tall collar and tie, but everything else was put together from vintage parts.

Sometimes only a little thing is required to transform a garment. The jacket with the lace collar is from The Voice of Fashion. I drafted just the collar pattern and added it to a simple cape. I picked up a straw hat at a thrift store and covered it with fabric before embellishing it.

Look to museum pieces for colors. The actress really liked this museum piece, so I did my best to replicate it. We made the jacket, had the blouse, and I tweaked a skirt we already had.

This costume was made entirely from existing parts.

Last but not least, we used vintage choreography to go along with the costumes.

If you would like to see more photos, click here.

Make a Simple, Stylish Fabric Headband

This is a great project for beginning sewers. It requires only a small amount of fabric and is easy to fit. You can use new fabric or recycle old t-shirts or other knit garments. Knit is the key word- the fabric must be stretchy.

Cut a piece of fabric or t-shirt that is 50” long and 4-5” wide. Sew this into a long, narrow tube. 

Make your seam @ ¼” wide, and stretch gently as you sew. If the raw edges try to curl under then press and starch before you stitch. Turn it right side out and press it with starch or a solution of 50/50 vinegar and water. Let it cool before you move it.

Now drape it around your neck so that the ends hang evenly in the front. Pick up the ends and bring them up to the top of your head as though you were going to tie them. Instead, wrap them around each other once so they go back down the side of the head the came up on. Pull gently until it is snug on your head, then bring the ends together at the nape of your neck. 

You should have room for an overlap of at least ½”. Keeping both loops together, remove the almost headband from your head. Pin the layers together and stitch through them. 

That is it- you are done! Make yourself several or make them for gifts.

Sew Unique Holiday Decor

Are you tired of the Mass manufactured Christmas look, but not sure what else to do? Here are several ideas for making your own simple, thrifty, and attractive decorations that I have gathered from across the internet. Instead of shopping, spend your free time creating things for your home. Check out these links and pick a couple things to try this weekend.

You never know what you might find on the Instructables website. In this case, I found sewn Christmas cards- using paper and fabric. It would be really easy to customize this project to your own taste, and the sewing involved is really simple.

The blog sew like my mom has a great tutorial for making fabric Christmas stockings.

There are a number of versions of a kid friendly felt, wall mounted Christmas tree on the internet. There is a nice tutorial here. Kids can spend hours decorating and undecorating their own tree without making a mess of yours. 

Try making these owl ornaments, or this cute pickle in a Santa hat.

You can create endless variations on these sock snowmen. Make a couple or a dozen.

Happy Sewing!

Handmade Gift Ideas

Since the Holidays are fast approaching, I thought I would suggest a few easy to make gift ideas that even beginning sewers can make well and be proud of.

A pillowcase. There are several great ideas here:
 http://tipnut.com/pillowcase-patterns/

A rice bag. For instructions,go to:
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/other/rice-bag/12915

An apron worthy of your party guests:
http://craftstew.com/sewing/38-free-apron-patterns

A jewelry roll for your traveling friends. A free pattern is available here:  http://blog.fabric.com/2011/09/hotpatterns_bijoux_baby_jewelr.html

A trendy sumatra bag:
http://www.fabric.com/creativity-headquarters-free-pattern-downloads-sumatra-bag.aspx

What are you waiting for? Start sewing!  :)

Three Simple Seam Finishes

If finishing the seams in your garments is not something you usually do you might ask why it is important. Here are my top 4 reasons for finishing your seams:

-It prevents raveling of woven fabrics, especially during heavy use and laundering.
-It helps a garment maintain its shape.
-It makes the garment more durable.
-It makes your garment neat and professional looking.

My tailoring instructor told us that our garment should look so good on the inside, that if we accidentally put it on inside out no one would notice. There are many seam finishing techniques and stitches out there, especially for knits, but everyone should be able to manage at least one of these 3 general purpose seam finishes.

#1- Pinking

Once you are sure the garment fits well, use a pair of pinking shears to trim the raw edges. That's all there is to it!

#2- Zig Zag

This is a great finish for many fabrics. Set your machine to a very short length zig zag stitch.  When working on delicate fabrics that ravel easily and are otherwise hard to handle, I press the seam allowances to one side rather than open, and zig zag the edges together. If you have your stitch set small enough, you can actually get the machine to roll the raw edge. I have also used a tight zigzag finish to roll sheer hems. Pressing with starch or vinegar spray prior to finishing lightweight fabrics, especially hems, will result in a better end product.

#3 Mock French Seam

Press the seam open.Then press each of the raw edges towards the center. Pull them together, raw edges to the inside. Pin and straight stitch. This is a great seam finish for garments that will take hard use. I often use in men's shirts.

Make Your Own Trims

Trims can be expensive. Consider making your own. They are fun to make, and instead of having that made in China look, they will be unique. The possibilities are endless, but here are several simple ideas to get your creative juices flowing. 

-Cut a straight piece of fabric on the grain that is twice the width you desire plus 1/2". Fold and press it in half the long way, then stitch the raw edges together. Press  the raw edge under just past your stitching line, @ 1/2" from the raw edge. Pin and sew in place. I used this technique on the tunics pictured here. I got a yard of brocade on sale for $5 and did all of them with fabric to spare.

  

-Hand gather a piece of ribbon or fabric in a zig zag pattern, being careful to loop the thread over the edge.

The next and final step is to pull the gathering thread, adjusting it evenly. All you have to do now is sew it in place.

You can also coil it into a  zinnia-like flower.

-Another way to manipulate fabric for trim is to gather ribbon or fabric you have made into bias tape along both edges evenly, then sew in place.

-If you have an embroidery machine, your choices are endless. You can embroider any long, straight design on the fabric or ribbon of your choice, like I did for the trim on this bodice. I embroidered several rows of this design on satin charmeuse, pieced them together, and pressed under the raw edges. I sewed it on with silver thread that matched the Celtic knot design.

Four Tickets to Christmas

I know- I am way behind on the 31 days of sewing tips. I have been overwhelmingly busy getting a show ready for the stage. We open on Thursday night in Mayville, NY at the Chautauqua Inn & Conference Center- the first weekend of a 5 stop tour. The show is called Four Tickets to Christmas. It is set in 1905. Many of the costumes are made from vintage patterns I scaled to size with apportioning rulers (see Pattern Drafting, Edwardian Style). 

If you live near one of the venues, come see it. Did I mention it is a dinner theater? Great food, too. Tickets are available here: http://www.fln.org/events/event/350911-2012-11-08-four-tickets-to-christmas/

The 31 days will resume shortly- thank you for your patience! And I hope to have some decent show photos soon, too.