I haven't done a costuming post in awhile so I'm going to highlight a few costumes I created from scratch and re-tooled/re-worked from purchased costumes. Some of these projects are not recent but I never actually blogged about them so I'm doing that now.
The first costume was inspired by fabric I found at JoAnn's. Sometimes I love a fabric but it takes awhile to get the actual inspiration to finish it. That was the case here. I found this aqua brown and white fabric I liked but I had no ideas how I was going to tie it together. I made the skirt first, and didn't get to the bra for awhile.
I wanted godets in my mermaid skirt, so I had to figure out a way to make those, as it was my first time and I was hacking my own mermaid skirt pattern from Sparkly Belly which I created using Mao's tutorial. This would give the skirt extra sparkle and volume when turning on stage. I also wanted a more see-through look for the godets since my main fabric was opaque.
I covered a bra and then played with the fabrics and appliqués to make a design. I added a strip of the fabric from the skirt to tie it together. I made arm bands too because I always think that gives the costume a more finished look. I recycled the blue velvet from another costume's leftover stash fabric, and used it to make the belt and cover the bra.
This was the finished look! I wore it for my first ever solo at a big festival in 2017.
The next costume I'm highlighting is a red costume which I originally created for the 2020 holiday themed dance film, Dance of the Snow Dragons, which we did during the pandemic. At the time I was thinner, so I have since had to fix the bra to fit me because as women, our bodies are constantly changing.
I found some beautiful red velvet and I already had red fringe, rhinestones, and appliqués, so it wasn't too hard to put together a nice holiday outfit. I wanted it to not be too "holiday" so it could be worn at other times too.
I covered a bra, which this past December I had to fix because it was too small, and added appliqués, sequins and fringe.
The part which really made it holiday-themed was a cute shrug I made out of red and trimmed in white feathers.
This next costume I created the skirt to match a copper bra and belt, but later decided to make a bra and belt to match instead. I used a modified mermaid/straight skirt pattern that is different from the Sparkly Belly one.
The bra and belt I decided to make in a steam punk style because I had a bunch of steampunk accessories which I never used on a costume.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the finished product. I have not worn it to dance ever. I wore it once for a photoshoot. The color is a bit dull to me and the bra and belt feel really busy.
Here is the finished look.
