Dress to Bedlah
Mar. 13th, 2009 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
parasitegirlA while back an American dancer, Ezma, sent me a package full of beaded dresses for me to slaughter. Sure, she was bribing me for dibs on my reconstruction abilities because she has an amazing vintage costume that doesn't fit her right and will need some major work... but it was a lovely, random, bribe. I've often complained that Japan doesn't have much in the way of used thrift stores...so tacky-dress to costume conversion projects are only possible when I've hit America.
*This was one of the dresses...scary eh?
I'd been thinking about doing something with the whiter areas, a bra and "christina" style skirt top and then I'd embellish a dragonfly motif over my work. When I started cutting the dress up on February 14th, 2009, it was for the dragonfly project.
Then I looked at the gold areas.
I can make TWO costumes from this, I thought. TA-da! A stash-busting adventure! I'd have to buy a bra for the bra base...but the gold project could be a quick chance to use up some of my project stash AND I could record the process for people.
I don't have a huge stash, but I also live in Japan with very limited stash-storage-space. Seasonal stash busting is essential to keep my kitchen (where my craft table is) from being over-run with bling.
February 15:
I took felt I had in my stash and cut the shape for the belt.
With the last gold costume I made, I constructed the belt with too many layers...That belt was constructed in two pieces. Two piece belts are great because you can adjust at both sides for weight fluctations. It was only when I was finished and joined the belt at both sides did I realize I'd made it a little too thick. ..I've been putting off a belt surgery to reduce the bulk so it lays more closely to my body line.
I wanted this set to be thinner. My felt is re-inforced with some light interfacing. This time I've designed a one piece belt to avoid bulk at the hips. I should be able to move the front medallion and the hooks to adjust slightly without throwing off the symmetry.
This design (and my other gold set) is a little retro/old school but that's how I roll. Maybe this will be the costume I get off my ass and make a full chiffon skirt for. Full chiffon skirts require a long hanging time before hemming...and also require the pain-in-the-ass action of hemming..
I cut the gold design carefully from the dress and fray-checked the hell out of the edges once I'd cut it. One side of the pattern didn't match up correctly so I got out my seam rippers and carefully undid the seam, trying to disturb as few of the bead/sequin threads as possible.
Mmmm the smell of frey check!
joining two peices of felt
Stitching things in place.
Looking for the right fringe for the skinny belt, I dug into my stash and pulled out the gold looped fringe that came from my first troupe costume.
*looped fringe, felt shapes.
I made some more diamond shaped felt medallion forms to cover in gold fabric and bling up for accents to the belt. I thought I might have to hand string some longer fringe for the accent points under the medallions, but then remembered I have left over longer fringe from a previous commission! It's not enough for a full costume but enough for fringe accents! SCORE!
I stitched the fabric onto the felt without covering the felt in any additional fabric (usually I would cover the felt, but the white felt matched the white satin backing the dress had originally had, so it didn't look any different).I replaced missing beads and sequins with parts from the dress. I stitched on the fringe.
I started the front medallion by stretching some gold lycra over the felt and stitching it down. I placed an AB crystal in the center and started to bead around it using beads left over from cutting the looped fringe and flat gold hologram sequins and stuff from my stash.
Parts used so far: stash felt, dress, fray check, thread and needles, gold lycra from prior project, gold fringe from costume scrapped for parts, fringe left over from a commission, an AB teardrop crystal that was left over from a project. I did not go out for additional items.
I debated going to Tully's to work on it or to hitting the video store, but I am doing this on the cheap. I made coffee and started to re-watch the first season of Lost instead.
2/16
I covered and beaded the front medallion while watching a few episodes of Lost. On close inspection the gold hologram sequins are a little lighter in hue than the ones on the belt, but as soon as I pull my eyes back to the sort of distance anyone SHOULD be from my belt it all blends together as bling. If you are this close, we're not dancing any more.
The more costumes that come through my life, the more I realize designers cut corners, use up scraps, aren't exact, and "make it work." DYI creators of bellydance costumes often suffer from two extremes; those that make me cringe with "that's not finished" (not replacing bra-straps, not covering bra clasps, and just not putting enough work into it to take it from underwear to performance wear) those putting too many tiny details into an item that will never read at performance distances (using the smallest beads and sequins when a size up will do and save time, fretting over seams that vanish if you step back, and trying to match sequins when all is lost and they should be simply finding the closest match and mixing the two sources together enough that it doesn't matter)....I totally get what it is to be in the later category but I make too many costumes a year to be like that anymore...
I've learned to let go. On my beaded work, there are always one or two totally mismatched beads from other projects on any given costume...it's that whole idea of creating room for imperfection.
I make costumes because I am picky and because I am cheap...so I always have balance those two factors. Making a costume isn't inexpensive, (ok, conversion projects are rather cheap for me, but making a costume from scratch gets pricey) but even when I spend the big bucks on supplies, the end result costs less money that it would for me to buy the level of costume I like new...or even used.
When stash busting, I check what I have and what will work. True, I don't start ANY of my projects with detailed sketches of what I want to end up with. My destination is always a bit vague, that's how I roll. When I stash bust I have to be even more flexible on design issues but I trust my aesthetics enough to just go with it. The final product is usually worthy enough that I forget "tiny compromises" I've made.
2/17
I went to meet a friend coming to Japan for his first time. He had another friend helping him get from the airport to my general hood. They were running a bit late so I spent time checking out the supplies at a recent addition to my local craft stores." Maaaaybe I'll see if they have AB sew-on crystals" I thought and "Maaaaaybe I should pick up some red sequins NOW because I've got a used costume coming soon that I think I want to punch up the red in." Then I thought "This defeats stash-busting and and writing up a budget-stashbusting-adventure. Put the sequins back on the hook and step away from the bling." I escaped.
I'm not saying people inspired by what I am doing should always restrict themselves as much as I am...but I do want to show that it's possible to be miserly and make a usable costume.
2/18
I have Toy Story chocolate always loaded tin with mobile crafting items. I updated my tim and tossed it into my purse. As I took the train into Tokyo to see visiting friends, I sewed gold lycra onto three felt medallion shapes.
2/26
II covered all the felt medalions for the belt. I found some sew-on crystals in my stash. With sequin/bead/ and crystals I embellished the medallions and attached fringe accents. I stitched the medallions to the belt, lined the belt, and put the hooks in place. I did all the lining while commuting on the train. The lining fabric came from my stash. It was leftover fabric from some i'd bought to re-line a bra The belt is done. Long live the belt.
These are on the sides of the belt.
The hooks are under the front medallion.
2/28
I bought a bra. It's a style I've used before for as a base. It cost 2,900 yen and will end up being the majority money I spend on this. I can't find a variety of cheap and sturdy bras in the sizes I need because Japan's average brasize is still smaller than America's,the selection drops off after B and some C (or in Japanese cupsizes, C or D). If I was doing this from scratch, or if I didn't have the stash I have, my costliest item on this costume would be the pre-made looped fringe. Good pre-made fringe is pricey...and if you've ever hand-made your fringe, you know why.
3/2 I quickly re-enforced the bra with felt. Everyone learns what works for them with re-enforcing bras...I use a variety of methods. Usually I use a more meticulous method of stitching gross-grain ribbon and interfacing. I'd like to try spray starch sometime as an added layer of strength without bulk...but I haven't wanted to learn the Japanese for asking detailed questions about spray starches or reading the spray cans. Whatever brands other non-Japan based dancers use, I usually can't get here. I am the only Japan-based costumer of my level I know.
3/3 I cut up more of the dress and got nice and high from fumes while using fray check on the severed bits. I've found that the larger /round beads used on many ready made bargain dresses are plastic and the paint peels on them. I would never use such beads in my own "from scratch" work, but I let it slide with dress-to-bedlah conversions. I consider pre-beaded fabrics to be good-enough for backgrounds. I try to make accents that draw your eyes away from the small flaws in the background fabric. On my last conversion project my "charm points" (as they say in Japan) were the poppies I made.
While I've been stitching down the fabric onto my bra base, I've been adding a sequin or two here and there to cover balding patches.
3/4
I pinned the fringe in place and then stitched it down. I took thin flaps of the dress (from where the patten followed the zipper down the back) and covered the top of the cups, hiding the base. I stitched everything down.
Later I realized that I'd pinned the loop fringe so the loops overlap on the right side of the loop for both bra cups. If had I flipped the fringe over on one cup I'd have mirror images (where the loops overlap on the left on the left cup, right on the right...) and it would look better... it didn't bother me enough to undo everything. Let this be a lesson to me and you. Check how your looped fringe overlaps and pin accordingly.
3/5
I'd thought about getting another large tear-drop crystal for the center medallion. But, this costume is so heavily beaded, so fringed, so busy, that I don't need a bra medallion decoration that echos the shape I used on the belt front. It's a detail that would be noticed if this were bra and belt set with minimal adornments. Minimally decorated costumes require a higher level of crisp execution and attention to details, this costume is more like someone loaded up a semi-automatic sequin and bling gun and "sprayed the area"
I made a very quick medallion last night and used whatever smaller sew-on crystals I had on hand to bling it up. It's pretty simple and would be too simple for my beading standards if it was on a less ornate costume.
Maybe my choice to use what was on hand was just the stash talking....but I'm pretty sure when I am performing no one is going to say "Why the hell does that lady have a teardrop crystals on her front and back belt medallions, but she's got clusters of smaller crystals on her bra medallion? Who is she trying to fool?"
3/7?
Some of the gold sequins on the dress (where they cover the shoulders) have gotten dodgy...the shine has peeled away and they've turned into off-yellow clear disks. Instead of harvesting long strips to make the ribcage straps, I bought grosgrain ribbon and covered it with the last bits of my scrap gold lycra. I used prior homemade costumes to figure out the length I needed.
I figured out the length, cut ribbon twice as long, folded it over, stitched it together, pinned the lyrca and stitched it in place. Then I started harvesting usable sequins from the dress and leftover beads from the remaining strands of the looped fringe to edge the straps with: Thread up, sequin, three beads, sequin, thread down. I will do something similar for the halter strap, but perhaps a slightly thinner width of ribbon.
I did the neck straps the same way, but with thinner ribbon...I may adjust the straps a bit before I perform.
I lined it all with what I had in my stash...tain't the prettiest lining job I've done.
And now I have a light wieght gold "workhorse" of a costume that goes is ALLLLLL of my skirts. I've only pictured it here with two velvet skirts, but big satin or foofy chiffon works as well, I should make some gold arm bands later.
The End.
*This was one of the dresses...scary eh?
I'd been thinking about doing something with the whiter areas, a bra and "christina" style skirt top and then I'd embellish a dragonfly motif over my work. When I started cutting the dress up on February 14th, 2009, it was for the dragonfly project.
Then I looked at the gold areas.
I can make TWO costumes from this, I thought. TA-da! A stash-busting adventure! I'd have to buy a bra for the bra base...but the gold project could be a quick chance to use up some of my project stash AND I could record the process for people.
I don't have a huge stash, but I also live in Japan with very limited stash-storage-space. Seasonal stash busting is essential to keep my kitchen (where my craft table is) from being over-run with bling.
February 15:
I took felt I had in my stash and cut the shape for the belt.
With the last gold costume I made, I constructed the belt with too many layers...That belt was constructed in two pieces. Two piece belts are great because you can adjust at both sides for weight fluctations. It was only when I was finished and joined the belt at both sides did I realize I'd made it a little too thick. ..I've been putting off a belt surgery to reduce the bulk so it lays more closely to my body line.
I wanted this set to be thinner. My felt is re-inforced with some light interfacing. This time I've designed a one piece belt to avoid bulk at the hips. I should be able to move the front medallion and the hooks to adjust slightly without throwing off the symmetry.
This design (and my other gold set) is a little retro/old school but that's how I roll. Maybe this will be the costume I get off my ass and make a full chiffon skirt for. Full chiffon skirts require a long hanging time before hemming...and also require the pain-in-the-ass action of hemming..
I cut the gold design carefully from the dress and fray-checked the hell out of the edges once I'd cut it. One side of the pattern didn't match up correctly so I got out my seam rippers and carefully undid the seam, trying to disturb as few of the bead/sequin threads as possible.
Mmmm the smell of frey check!
joining two peices of felt
Stitching things in place.
Looking for the right fringe for the skinny belt, I dug into my stash and pulled out the gold looped fringe that came from my first troupe costume.
*looped fringe, felt shapes.
I made some more diamond shaped felt medallion forms to cover in gold fabric and bling up for accents to the belt. I thought I might have to hand string some longer fringe for the accent points under the medallions, but then remembered I have left over longer fringe from a previous commission! It's not enough for a full costume but enough for fringe accents! SCORE!
I stitched the fabric onto the felt without covering the felt in any additional fabric (usually I would cover the felt, but the white felt matched the white satin backing the dress had originally had, so it didn't look any different).I replaced missing beads and sequins with parts from the dress. I stitched on the fringe.
I started the front medallion by stretching some gold lycra over the felt and stitching it down. I placed an AB crystal in the center and started to bead around it using beads left over from cutting the looped fringe and flat gold hologram sequins and stuff from my stash.
Parts used so far: stash felt, dress, fray check, thread and needles, gold lycra from prior project, gold fringe from costume scrapped for parts, fringe left over from a commission, an AB teardrop crystal that was left over from a project. I did not go out for additional items.
I debated going to Tully's to work on it or to hitting the video store, but I am doing this on the cheap. I made coffee and started to re-watch the first season of Lost instead.
2/16
I covered and beaded the front medallion while watching a few episodes of Lost. On close inspection the gold hologram sequins are a little lighter in hue than the ones on the belt, but as soon as I pull my eyes back to the sort of distance anyone SHOULD be from my belt it all blends together as bling. If you are this close, we're not dancing any more.
The more costumes that come through my life, the more I realize designers cut corners, use up scraps, aren't exact, and "make it work." DYI creators of bellydance costumes often suffer from two extremes; those that make me cringe with "that's not finished" (not replacing bra-straps, not covering bra clasps, and just not putting enough work into it to take it from underwear to performance wear) those putting too many tiny details into an item that will never read at performance distances (using the smallest beads and sequins when a size up will do and save time, fretting over seams that vanish if you step back, and trying to match sequins when all is lost and they should be simply finding the closest match and mixing the two sources together enough that it doesn't matter)....I totally get what it is to be in the later category but I make too many costumes a year to be like that anymore...
I've learned to let go. On my beaded work, there are always one or two totally mismatched beads from other projects on any given costume...it's that whole idea of creating room for imperfection.
I make costumes because I am picky and because I am cheap...so I always have balance those two factors. Making a costume isn't inexpensive, (ok, conversion projects are rather cheap for me, but making a costume from scratch gets pricey) but even when I spend the big bucks on supplies, the end result costs less money that it would for me to buy the level of costume I like new...or even used.
When stash busting, I check what I have and what will work. True, I don't start ANY of my projects with detailed sketches of what I want to end up with. My destination is always a bit vague, that's how I roll. When I stash bust I have to be even more flexible on design issues but I trust my aesthetics enough to just go with it. The final product is usually worthy enough that I forget "tiny compromises" I've made.
2/17
I went to meet a friend coming to Japan for his first time. He had another friend helping him get from the airport to my general hood. They were running a bit late so I spent time checking out the supplies at a recent addition to my local craft stores." Maaaaybe I'll see if they have AB sew-on crystals" I thought and "Maaaaaybe I should pick up some red sequins NOW because I've got a used costume coming soon that I think I want to punch up the red in." Then I thought "This defeats stash-busting and and writing up a budget-stashbusting-adventure. Put the sequins back on the hook and step away from the bling." I escaped.
I'm not saying people inspired by what I am doing should always restrict themselves as much as I am...but I do want to show that it's possible to be miserly and make a usable costume.
2/18
I have Toy Story chocolate always loaded tin with mobile crafting items. I updated my tim and tossed it into my purse. As I took the train into Tokyo to see visiting friends, I sewed gold lycra onto three felt medallion shapes.
2/26
II covered all the felt medalions for the belt. I found some sew-on crystals in my stash. With sequin/bead/ and crystals I embellished the medallions and attached fringe accents. I stitched the medallions to the belt, lined the belt, and put the hooks in place. I did all the lining while commuting on the train. The lining fabric came from my stash. It was leftover fabric from some i'd bought to re-line a bra The belt is done. Long live the belt.
These are on the sides of the belt.
The hooks are under the front medallion.
2/28
I bought a bra. It's a style I've used before for as a base. It cost 2,900 yen and will end up being the majority money I spend on this. I can't find a variety of cheap and sturdy bras in the sizes I need because Japan's average brasize is still smaller than America's,the selection drops off after B and some C (or in Japanese cupsizes, C or D). If I was doing this from scratch, or if I didn't have the stash I have, my costliest item on this costume would be the pre-made looped fringe. Good pre-made fringe is pricey...and if you've ever hand-made your fringe, you know why.
3/2 I quickly re-enforced the bra with felt. Everyone learns what works for them with re-enforcing bras...I use a variety of methods. Usually I use a more meticulous method of stitching gross-grain ribbon and interfacing. I'd like to try spray starch sometime as an added layer of strength without bulk...but I haven't wanted to learn the Japanese for asking detailed questions about spray starches or reading the spray cans. Whatever brands other non-Japan based dancers use, I usually can't get here. I am the only Japan-based costumer of my level I know.
3/3 I cut up more of the dress and got nice and high from fumes while using fray check on the severed bits. I've found that the larger /round beads used on many ready made bargain dresses are plastic and the paint peels on them. I would never use such beads in my own "from scratch" work, but I let it slide with dress-to-bedlah conversions. I consider pre-beaded fabrics to be good-enough for backgrounds. I try to make accents that draw your eyes away from the small flaws in the background fabric. On my last conversion project my "charm points" (as they say in Japan) were the poppies I made.
While I've been stitching down the fabric onto my bra base, I've been adding a sequin or two here and there to cover balding patches.
3/4
I pinned the fringe in place and then stitched it down. I took thin flaps of the dress (from where the patten followed the zipper down the back) and covered the top of the cups, hiding the base. I stitched everything down.
Later I realized that I'd pinned the loop fringe so the loops overlap on the right side of the loop for both bra cups. If had I flipped the fringe over on one cup I'd have mirror images (where the loops overlap on the left on the left cup, right on the right...) and it would look better... it didn't bother me enough to undo everything. Let this be a lesson to me and you. Check how your looped fringe overlaps and pin accordingly.
3/5
I'd thought about getting another large tear-drop crystal for the center medallion. But, this costume is so heavily beaded, so fringed, so busy, that I don't need a bra medallion decoration that echos the shape I used on the belt front. It's a detail that would be noticed if this were bra and belt set with minimal adornments. Minimally decorated costumes require a higher level of crisp execution and attention to details, this costume is more like someone loaded up a semi-automatic sequin and bling gun and "sprayed the area"
I made a very quick medallion last night and used whatever smaller sew-on crystals I had on hand to bling it up. It's pretty simple and would be too simple for my beading standards if it was on a less ornate costume.
Maybe my choice to use what was on hand was just the stash talking....but I'm pretty sure when I am performing no one is going to say "Why the hell does that lady have a teardrop crystals on her front and back belt medallions, but she's got clusters of smaller crystals on her bra medallion? Who is she trying to fool?"
3/7?
Some of the gold sequins on the dress (where they cover the shoulders) have gotten dodgy...the shine has peeled away and they've turned into off-yellow clear disks. Instead of harvesting long strips to make the ribcage straps, I bought grosgrain ribbon and covered it with the last bits of my scrap gold lycra. I used prior homemade costumes to figure out the length I needed.
I figured out the length, cut ribbon twice as long, folded it over, stitched it together, pinned the lyrca and stitched it in place. Then I started harvesting usable sequins from the dress and leftover beads from the remaining strands of the looped fringe to edge the straps with: Thread up, sequin, three beads, sequin, thread down. I will do something similar for the halter strap, but perhaps a slightly thinner width of ribbon.
I did the neck straps the same way, but with thinner ribbon...I may adjust the straps a bit before I perform.
I lined it all with what I had in my stash...tain't the prettiest lining job I've done.
And now I have a light wieght gold "workhorse" of a costume that goes is ALLLLLL of my skirts. I've only pictured it here with two velvet skirts, but big satin or foofy chiffon works as well, I should make some gold arm bands later.
The End.
