Shake Your Tail Feather

Back to blogging!

This costume started as a concept… lattice and pink, where it was going to go from there was going to be a journey.

So I went to my pink box of material and selected two different pinks that complement each and also had enough variation that they didn’t look the same on stage.

Next was drafting my pattern; I came up with a simple design and though it didn’t really require a panel inserted, I still did it any way! In all honesty… Panels ARE LIFE!!! … they just make a costume look so much better on stage.

Then it was time to sew up the costume!

...Next Step Decorating...

As I say this costume was a journey…

I had no idea what or if I was going to put a skirt on this costume.

How I was going to “bling” it up.

What colour glitter I was going to use.

Stone placement!

Nothing….

I pretty much tried out a whole heap of different ideas, stuck different embellishments on with pins and then took them off. It was just trial and error process with this one.

Now in hindsight, I really should have thought this costume though. The colours lyrcas that I selected work perfectly however cause an issue with the feathers on the skirt. I’m sure if I really looked around I would have found the perfect feathers that would have matched the velvet. But that could have taken some time to find and I already had two colours in my pile of stock. So I picked the closest colour and added in some of the darker colours feathers to make it match more.

Another little mistake that I made, which I really should have known better, was the tassels. As the middle section of this leotard is made out of velvet, I selected to place the grain a particular way so it would appear a darker colour. However, when I cut the tassels I forgot to look at the grain. Let’s say I was just too gung ho and thus I cut it the wrong way, or maybe I was a little tired when I was doing it!

[Also if you are wondering why I didn’t just cut a new one out? That was the last of the material]

In all honest it has all work out fine, and in unison it all works together. However, this is good reminder to all sewers that we are all human and things don’t always go to plan [even if you didn’t really have a plan to start off with] when you are making a costume! No matter what your skill level is.

I can tell you it really makes you appreciate the costumes that do come together quickly.