A multitude of Flapper dresses

Would I make some Flapper dresses?

Well, of course, says I!

But there are going to be about 30 of them...

That's so not a problem!

The addition of fringing was discussed but we decided to add silver sparkle detailing to the dropped-waist, figure skimming dresses instead.

Like most of my costumes, velcro was added at the back for quick changes.

I made half in this style...

And the other half were made in green satin, with a slightly different silver trim and a bow on the hip.

The finished result...

One very happy dance school teacher!

Next...

Wizard of Oz costumes

My local school asked for volunteers to do a bit of sewing for their production of the Wizard of Oz.

Well, of course, says I!

So I made some Emerald City curtains:

Fur armwarmers for the lion:

A mane:

Fur legwarmers:

And three skirts for the bad witches (in the vein of Medusa, so the skirt had to look like snakes...)

I went along to one of the performances and the youngsters were amazing!

Next...

Patriotic A line dress costumes

Land of hope and glory...

A-line dresses are quite straightforward when you know how.  Front piece.  Two back pieces.  Top inners and (in this case Velcro for a quick change).

So to make a few of them for costumes was a real joy.  There really is nothing more satisfying than seeing items of clothing/costumes I've designed and made in action!

Next...

We're off to see the Wizard... more costumes!

Did I ever tell you I loved making costumes??  Yeah, thought I did!

My local school was putting on a production of the Wizard of Oz and I wanted to get involved.  I was given the opportunity to make two sets of costumes and a pair of emerald curtains.

The production was to be a funky version so the Wicked Witch was to be played by 3 girls simultaneously in a Medusa-esque guise.  The spec for the skirts was that they had to be floaty and look as though they were made from black, silver and green snakes.

It wasn't easy to source the snakeskin fabric but I came up trumps with some fabulous lycra and then found some chiffon too.  The strips of fabric were added to an elastic waistband and were to be worn over a black lycra bodysuit.

Here is one of the final skirts:

I went along to one of the performances and I thought that the skirts worked really well.  The singing and acting (and American accents!) were amazing - I do hope some of those teens decide to pursue that avenue in the future.

I also made a furry chest piece, arm and leg-warmers for the Lion.  She was awesome!!

 

 

The leg and arm-warmers had Velcro on them to make sure they stayed on and the front piece had gold ribbon ties to secure it.

And here's the fabric I chose for the curtains:

I do so love being given a concept and being able to use creative license with it.

If anyone else needs any costumes you know where I am LOL!

Next...

Halloween Costumes

Halloween.  Despite having kids, it's not something I have really got involved with before.

But this year my daughters and their friend decided that they were going out and who they wanted to be:  Mario, Luigi and Waluigi.

Well, ok then, that's who you shall be!

Whilst I was looking through some blog posts for inspiration, I found this fabulous tutorial.  I used felt buttons instead of buttons buttons.  The overalls are surprisingly quick and easy to make.

When it came to the hats, I used fleece for Mario's and Luigi's hats and felt for Waluigi's.  The fleece was nice and soft to work with but the felt seemed to produce a better hat.

We added some white gloves and false moustaches and off they went quite happily!

Next...

Seaside costumes

Some more dance costumes -

I was asked to make some old-fashioned seaside/bathing costumes - you know the ones, mop cap (actually, mob cap, but that's another story!), tie top and bloomers.  From the Victorian era or so my research showed me!

The most fun part was figuring out what sizes to make the costumes. They were to be designed for little ones and I was asked what measurements I would need in order to make them.  Now, if I have a pattern then that's easy peasy - all the hard work's done for me.  But I only had dimensions.  This was beginning to sound like a challenge!

I had a rough idea of what the costumes should look like so began with the easiest first - the mob cap. The inspiration and expertise behind the cap came from a book on how to sew clothes for your 5 year old. I added elastic to the hat in much the same way that elastic was added to the baby's bloomers in the book. 

Like everything - it's easy when you know how!

It's surprising how much fabric these caps take to make too!

 

Next I made some straight forward tie tops - again utilising the elastic and picoting at the bottom.

That's another thing I learned from this project - how to picot edges so that they don't fray. 

Again, easy when you know how!

And then came the bloomers.  I took a pair of kids shorts and resized them using baking parchment, made them slightly longer and then added the ubiquitous elastic and picoting at the bottom.

And this is what they looked like on!  I made 7 of them in total.



I loved working with pink gingham!

Were they fun to make? 

Absolutely!

Did I learn loads of new skills that I can use next time?

I sure did!

:D




Dancer photo reproduced with kind permission Kathryn Hurley Dance Academy
Copyright Rich McD

Another tutu picture

You may remember some time ago that I made three tutus. 

 

I made pull-on tutus that would go over existing leotards.  It took acres of net and patience - I also discovered how sharp net was!

 

Here, at last,  is a picture of the final costume!

More costumes - A-line dress

One of the things I love most about sewing is that I get to a) play with fabric and b) figure out how to make things as I go along.

So when I was given an A line dress to see if I could make something similar as a costume, I didn't hesitate to give it a go.

Here is the dress I was given:

I always like to make a mock-up of a new garment/item first and only then when I'm satisfied with it, do I go on to make the item itself.  I learn loads along the way.

So this is the dress that I made from a pair of old curtains that were sitting in my airing cupboard:

And this was the resulting costume that I made.  I was given some really pretty lace to add to the top and bottom to make it look similar to the blue dress.

I loved the whole process of figuring out how to make the costume - especially the little puffy sleeves.  You see, the more I sew, the more I discover new techniques that I can bring to my own creative process the next time round.

Along the back seam I inserted velcro to make it easier to change into and out of.  Gotta think of these things with little ones and dance shows!

It wasn't until I was watching the dance show that I realised that the blue and pink dresses would be worn alongside each other. 

 

I think they went really well together!




Dancer photo reproduced with kind permission Kathryn Hurley Dance Academy
Copyright Rich McD