Costuming - Spotlight on 3 Costume Creations

 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.