Dance Costume DIY Guide

Transcription

1 Dance Costume DIY Guide Written By: Cyndi Marziani Owner of Bdancewear.com

2 ADD FABRIC AND LACE TO YOUR DANCE COSTUME... 4 ADDING A SASH TO A DANCE COSTUME... 4 ADDING A DOUBLE SASH TO DANCE COSTUME... 6 CREATING A HALF SKIRT FOR A DANCE COSTUME... 7 ADDING FABRIC TO THE STRAPS OF A DANCE COSTUME... 9 ADDING FABRIC OR LACE TO DANCE TOPS RHINESTONE YOUR DANCE COSTUME HOW TO CREATE A SCATTERED PATTERN HOW TO CREATE A FLOWER USING RHINESTONES HOW TO RHINESTONE LACE CREATING A GEOMETRIC PATTERN WITH RHINESTONES CREATING THE FADE PATTERN USING RHINESTONES ADD BOAS AND FEATHERS TO YOUR DANCE COSTUME CREATE A SKIRT WITH VERTICAL BOAS USING BOAS AS TRIM ON A SKIRT USING BOAS DIAGONALLY ON YOUR DANCE COSTUME ADDING STRIPS OF FEATHERS TO A TOP ADDING BOAS TO A SHRUG OR GLOVES USING LOOSE FEATHERS ON YOUR DANCE COSTUME USING BOAS HORIZONTALLY TO CREATE A DANCE COSTUME USE TULLE FOR A DANCE COSTUME MAKING A BUSTLE USING TULLE TO MAKE A SKIRT USING TULLE TO CREATE FRINGE MAKING A TULLE HALF SKIRT USING BROACHES TO IMPROVE YOUR DANCE COSTUME ADDING A BROACH TO A TOP USING A BROACH TO ADD PIECES OF FABRIC TO A DANCE COSTUME USING A BROACH FOR RUCHING CHANGE THE HEMLINE OF YOUR DANCE SKIRT CREATING AN ANGLE CUT DANCE SKIRT HOW TO LAYER SKIRTS BOWS AND FLOWERS TO ADD TO YOUR DANCE COSTUME CREATING A BOW WITH LACE AND TULLE MAKING A SIMPLE BOW MAKING AN EIGHT LOOP BOW MAKING A PUFFY BOW MAKING A TRADITIONAL RUCHED FLOWER MAKING A SIMPLE FLOWER OUT OF FABRIC MAKING A FLOWER OUT OF FABRIC PETALS... 70

3 USING PAINT ON A DANCE COSTUME PAINTING ON LACE CREATING LEAVES AND FEATHERS FOR A DANCE COSTUME HEMMING WITH PAINT HOW TO ADD GLITTER TO YOUR DANCE COSTUME PAINTING SIMPLE FLOWERS PAINTING SWIRLS ON FABRIC CREATING A FADE PATTERN WITH PAINT SIMPLE SEWING TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE YOUR DANCE COSTUME SEWING APPLIQUÉS ON GARMENTS ALL ABOUT PINS AND NEEDLES SEWING SNAPS OR HOOKS AND EYES ON YOUR DANCE COSTUME SEWING BUTTONS ON YOUR DANCE COSTUME SEWING CHAINS ON A DANCE COSTUME RUCHING A SKIRT RUCHING A TOP SEWING A SKIRT TO A BRIEF OR SHORTS HOW TO DO SIMPLE ALTERATIONS SEVEN WAYS TO USE DYE TO CHANGE YOUR DANCE COSTUME CREATING A WATERCOLOR EFFECT CREATING FLAMES USING FABRIC AND DYE CREATING AN OMBRE EFFECT USING DYE CREATING AN ACCORDION EFFECT USING FABRIC DYE USING BOTH DYE AND PAINT CREATING A FOREST EFFECT USING PAINT AND FABRIC DYE

4 Add Fabric and Lace to Your Dance Costume There are a number of reasons why you might want to add fabric and lace to an existing dance costume. For instance, you may want to create a whole new costume that is unique that no one else has all on a budget or to create a costume that is more appropriate for the dance you are planning to perform. Also, you may want to update or modernize an existing dance costume or you may want to make a dance costume fancier, dressier or even formal. We are going to discuss here five different ways to add fabric and/or lace to a costume. That isn t to imply that these are the only ways to add fabric and/or lace. The five ways shown here are starting points only. With a little creativity, we have no doubt that you can come up with others. Adding a Sash to a Dance Costume The first way to add fabric is by a simple sash. Among other things, it is a nice way to cover your belly button when you want to still show clean lines. This is perfect if you need to cover up your belly button but you still want to show all your great lines while you are dancing. Supplies: 1. Top 2. Fabric for sash 3. Thread to match sash 4. Measuring tape 5. Scissors 6. Safety pins 7. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the material To create a sash you need fabric and simple dance pieces. For this example, we are going to use BDancewear dance shorts and a BDancewear sports bra. Then take a strip of mesh which is stretchy. You don t have to use mesh. Using lace can create the same effect. However, you want to make sure there is a little give to the lace so that when the dancer moves, it moves with them. The thing that makes mesh or lace preferable is that you can cut the edge and you do not have to hem it. This technique requires very little sewing skills. It is best to have the dancer wear the dance pieces while you pin the sash so you can determine the best placement of the sash.

5 Placing and Pinning the Sash First, place the mesh or lace (or whichever material you have chosen to use for the sash) where you want it to be attached to the shoulder of the top. If you are pinning the sash while the dancer is wearing the top, we suggest you use safety pins rather than straight pins to secure the material at the shoulder. Next, pull the mesh or lace down and across the front either fully covering up the stomach or just lightly covering up the belly button and pull it around the back at the waist. Depending on the size of the dancer s bust, you may need a little extra material to cover the dancer s chest. You can place the fabric a little higher or lower on the bust depending on which looks best. However, you need to make sure the fabric doesn t droop under the dancer s bust or end up on top of the bust. You want to make sure the material is evenly distributed to cover the bust in a flattering look. Another thing that you are going to want to consider is if you have too much fabric at the bust, it will leave lumps. Sewing the Sash to the Top Once you have the fabric placed at the shoulder where you want it, fold the fabric in front back so that it is out of the way and you can sew the fabric to the top without having stitches on top of the fabric. Stitch through the sports bra and the material. Since the material stretches, tie a knot every few stitches while attaching the fabric to the top. That way if a stitch breaks, the material is still strongly attached to the top. Once you finish sewing the fabric to the top, drape it over the front again making sure that the material covers well and is taut so that it does not sag and yet not too tight so the dancer can still move freely. Also, make sure the gathers are placed where you want them. Next, tuck the extra material under the waistband and use safety pins to pin the material in place. Then, you can sew the fabric to the bottom garment making sure to sew all the way across where the fabric meets the shorts or skirt. Sew from the inside of the garment so that the stitches do not show in the front of the garment. It is easier to have the dancer remove the garments before you sew the material to the bottom. Do not forget to tie knots randomly as you are sewing it to the waistband so if a stitch breaks or comes out, the material is still sewn securely to the bottom garment. It is also a good idea to carefully tack the sash down along the way.

6 Adding a Double Sash to Dance Costume The second way is to add to the dance costume is use two strips of fabric creating a double sash which is great if you want to cover up your love handles and it creates a nice look in the front. Supplies: 1. Top 2. Fabric for sashes 3. Thread to match sashes 4. Measuring tape 5. Scissors 6. Safety pins 7. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the Material, Placing the Sashes and Pinning It Down Basically, you will do this the same as instructed in the single sash method with the same caveats as with the single. In other words, watch the placement of the sashes so that there are no bulges, the gathers fall in the proper location, and that the straps are not too loose or too tight. Once the sashes are placed where you want them, you can then pin the two sashes together in the center creating a V at the neckline. However, make sure the neckline is large enough to easily pull the costume over the dancer s head and that the drape of the two sashes are symmetrical and have a pleasing look. One thing you need to consider when creating a double sash is that both sashes are the same length and that when you sew them to the garments, they are the same width both at the waistband and the shoulders. It is important to remember to use safety pins when the dancer is wearing the costume when you pin sashes to it. Sewing the Sashes to the Top and to the Bottom Once the sashes are placed and pinned you want them, have the dancer carefully remove the costume. Make sure that the stitches are sewn from the inside of the costume so that they cannot be seen from the front. Sew the sashes to the shoulder as described in the single sash method.

7 Creating a Half Skirt for a Dance Costume This section explains how to make a new costume by using simple cut pieces of fabric to fashion a half skirt. The strips could be added on top of a skirt or shorts for extra movement during the dance. The strips are usually the same length as the skirt or shorts, but they could be a little shorter or longer depending on your preference. This half skirt is great if you want a little flow to your costume when you are dancing but you want to keep clean lines. Supplies: 1. Shorts or skirt 2. Fabric for strips 3. Thread to match fabric and or dance piece 4. Measuring tape 5. Scissors 6. Safety pins 7. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the Material The strips could be fabric or they could even be lace. Often the strips are different material than the bottom piece or they could be a contrast color or material if that is your preference. You could also mix them up and have strips in two different materials or colors. Again, lycra and lace are the best choices because they do not shred. If you use a different material, check to make sure it does not fray or you will have to turn and sew the fabric on all the edges.. Cutting the Strips The first thing you are going to want to do is consider where you want to place the strips. Do you want them on the right side of the costume or on the left side? Think about your lines, your legs, which side would be more flattering with the strips, and which leg you kick the most. The strips are usually placed on the side where the dancer kicks the most. Do you want the fabric flowing with your kicks or do you want it to be

8 the opposite? This technique can also be used for a full skirt by just placing the strips all the way around the waistband rather than on just one side. Additionally, when cutting the strips, you need to think about the shape. Do you want triangular strips, straight strips or strips with wavy edges? You could also shred them up a bit by making random little cuts into the sides of the strips. Additionally, the strips could be in the shape of a leaf. If you use a leaf shape or another shape where each strip needs to be the same, create a pattern that can be used to ensure they are the exact shape and size. You also need to think about the width and length. The width is another thing that is your preference although if they are too wide, they won t have as much movement. Usually the strips are the same length as the shorts or the skirt. But, that is your choice. They could be the same length, shorter or longer. It is better for the strips to be longer because you can always go back and cut them shorter. All of these things need to be considered before you start cutting the strips. Placing and Pinning the Strips When placing the strips to the skirt or shorts, make sure they are slightly overlapping. Either put the waistband of the skirt or shorts on a pillow or have the dancer wear the skirt or shorts when you are pinning them to the waistband. If the dancer is wearing the skirt, make sure to use safety pins. Once you have the strips pinned, then you can sew them down. Sewing the Strips on the Skirt or Shorts Make sure the strips are sewn securely to the skirt or shorts. Don t forget to knot the thread every couple of stitches so that in case the thread breaks, the strips are still securely attached.

9 Adding Fabric to the Straps of a Dance Costume The next technique is adding fabric to the straps on a costume creating a braided or twisted effect. Braiding or twisting material around the straps of a costume is very simple. A couple of reasons for braiding or twisting fabric around the straps of a costume is to create a unique look and because it creates a little volume and texture around the face which gives the top a nice soft look up by the face. Supplies: 1. Dance top with straps 2. Fabric for braided material 3. Thread to match fabric 4. Measuring tape 5. Scissors 6. Safety pins 7. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the Material You need to make sure the fabric you use is stretchy or you will create a problem when the dancer goes to move while wearing the costume. You can make the strips of the same material as the top, a different material, lace or a combination of materials. This method is often done in different materials or different colors at the same time. You need to think about the look you want before you purchase your material. Braiding or twisting material around the straps of a costume is very simple. A couple of reasons for braiding or twisting fabric around the straps of a costume is to create a unique look and because it creates extra fabric and texture around the face giving the top a softer look. Placing and Pinning the Material You need to think about where you want to start placing the material. Often rhinestones are put on that starting point and it comes out really pretty. Using two strips of fabric, tuck the first strip a couple of inches below the shoulder under the strap on the neck side. Tuck the second strip under the strap but about an inch higher than the first and on the armhole side of the strap. At this

10 point, roll each strip a little and then start braiding the strips around the strap until you reach the neckline on the back of the top and pin the back of the strips down. For an alternate look, shift that starting point at the neckline on the front and continue braiding to the back neckline. Sewing the Material At that point, sew the ends in the front of the top securely underneath making sure that the stitches and ends of the strips are hidden. Then go to the back and tie the strips in a knot around the strap and let them hang loose. To finish it off, you should cut the ends of the strips at an angle. An alternate choice would be to tuck the ends inside the top at the back neckline so it looks like it does in the front, sew the ends down and cut the ends off. Make sure the stitches do not show on the outside. Finally, to make sure the braiding does not move around, it is best to tack the braiding down all along the strap. Adding Fabric or Lace to Dance Tops The fifth method to enhance a dance costume is to add lace appliqués to a dance top. A sports bra is used in this example. You can use this technique on other tops and you can be creative with the placement of the appliqué. One reason you might want to do this is it gives the costume a very unique and a very expensive look and it is very simple to do. Additionally, it draws the look up to your face. Supplies: 1. Top 2. V Lace appliqué 3. Matching lace trim 4. Thread to match lace 5. Measuring tape 6. Scissors 7. Safety pins 8. Straight pins Directions:

11 Choosing the Appliqués and Lace The first thing you need to choose is the V shaped lace appliqué and then find trim to match. If you can t find lace trim that actually matches the V lace appliqué, then match them as closely as possible. However, it is important that the width of the trim and the width of the ends of the appliqué are the same. Placing and Pinning the Lace The first thing you want to do is make sure the top is stretched out as you pin the lace to the top. The best way to do that is to have the dancer wear the top while pinning the lace on. Again, make sure you use safety pins if the dancer is wearing the top. Usually, the lace is not stretchy so if you do not stretch the top before applying the lace, the neckline will be stiff and you will not be able to get the top on and off. Before applying the lace, you need to find the center of the lace appliqué and the front center of the top s neckline. Place the center of the appliqué on top of the center of the top and pin it in place. Once you have pinned the V appliqué around the neckline in front, then use the lace trim to finish the neckline around the neck. Tuck the ends of the V appliqué and the lace trim underneath each other so that it looks like one continuous piece. Then start pinning the lace around the edge of the neck stretching the top s neckline as you go. It works best if the dancer is wearing the top when you pin the lace on the top. This helps the top stretch out correctly and the lace can be spaced out properly on the top. However, if the dancer is wearing the top, make sure you use safety pins to protect the dancer. If the dancer is not available to wear the top as you are pinning the appliqué and the lace to it, place the top on a pillow to help stretch the top and the placement of the appliqué and the lace. Make sure to pin both the top and bottom edges of the V lace appliqué as needed. Once the V lace appliqué is in place, pin the trim around the back neckline making sure that the ends of the trim match up with the ends of the V lace appliqué. Lastly, tuck the ends of the trim and the ends of the appliqué underneath each other so they are hidden. If done correctly, the lace appliqué and the trim will look like one continuous piece. Sewing Down the Appliqué and the Lace Sew the appliqué and the lace down along the neckline making a knot on the inside every couple of stitches. This may seem like overkill to add all these

12 knots but should the thread break, the lace will not come off. It is definitely worth the extra work. Once you have gone along the edge of the neckline, don t forget to sew the other edge of the appliqué and the lace down, too. Remember B-Original, B-Colorful, BDancewear.com Rhinestone Your Dance Costume We are going to show you five ways you can add rhinestones to your costume each creating their own dramatic effect. Rhinestones bring a lot of light to your costume. In our sample, we took a plain gold bra and turned it spectacular just using rhinestones in a fade pattern. The first way to use rhinestones that we are going to show you is how to create a scattered pattern. It is easy to do and has a lot of impact. Rhinestones spread out like this will create a lot of light while you are on stage. Another way to use rhinestones is to create a flower pattern. It gives your outfit texture and interest. It can take something that is simple and plain and really draw your eye to any area where you want more attention. The next way to use rhinestones is putting them on lace. It helps define the print of the flower. When it is on stage, it helps to really bring sparkle to your costume when the lights hit your costume. The fourth way that you can utilize rhinestones for your dance costume is in geometric patterns. You can create diamonds, stripes in vertical lines or straight across and a dots and dashes pattern. Employing simple patterns in small areas like waistbands and straps adds a unique effect in a small, tiny area. The last method that we are going to demonstrate is a fade pattern. Using multiple colors of rhinestones, you can actually change the color of the fabric underneath. Looking at our sample, on the left you can see the original color and on the right you can see the color that it is today. How to Create a Scattered Pattern Here we will describe how to create a scattered pattern using rhinestones. The rhinestones spread out like this will generate a lot of light while you are on stage. It is one of the easiest things you can do with highest impact.

13 Supplies: 8. Dance piece 9. Rhinestones 10. E6000 Glue in a Tube or in a Syringe 11. Toothpicks 12. Two paper plates Directions: Choosing Your Materials You can use this technique on any dance garment you choose. So, for your project, you need to decide what garment you want to rhinestone for your costume. Preparation For our example, we are going to use high waisted dance briefs. We picked the stones used in our demonstration because they are really big and they are easy to see. The first thing you want to do is figure out how many stones you have for each area. You want to divide it into quarters or into halves. We have determined that the stones on the plate are what we have for the front and then the same for the back. Now, you want to keep it kind of consistent. We often kind of eyeball it, but it is up to you. You do not want it too even but you also do not want it to be off. At this point, we are going to divide up the rhinestones in half on a paper plate. Make sure they are upside down. After dividing the number of rhinestones, we have one left over. The reason we divide the rhinestones is we want to have an equal number in the two halves of the briefs. We are going to put that extra rhinestone dead center and they we will build from there. Even though it is a scattered, random pattern there is still a little bit to it. Gluing the Rhinestones Since the toothpick method is our favorite technique, that is the technique we are going to apply the glue. Some people prefer the syringe to apply the glue and then pick up the rhinestones with tweezers. We do not want too much glue on the plate because it dries easily. We also keep

14 the lid on the tube for the same reason. We can always add more glue to the plate as needed. First, we put a little glue on the paper plate and close the lid to the glue. We then dip the toothpick into the glue. We use the toothpick with the glue to pick the rhinestone up by the back and then set the rhinestone which now has glue on it smack dab in the center of the high waisted briefs. The next rhinestone we place above that center rhinestone at a distance that looks right to us. Using our ruler, we determine the distance between that first rhinestone and the second rhinestone and use that as a predetermined guide for the distance between all the other rhinestones. They are still scattered and random, but we want them to be equidistant as much as possible. Sometimes we use the width of two fingers as a guide. Our third rhinestone will be below the center rhinestone and at the same distance between the first and second rhinestone. Those three rhinestones will be our center line. We will then build out from that center line. Using that predetermined distance between rhinestones, scatter half of the rhinestones to the right of that center one. The pattern would be three in the center line and next to that there would be two rhinestones above each other, then three, then two and on until you fill in the space. Finish the front of the brief by scattering the other half of the rhinestones in the same pattern to the left of the center line. Then, turn the briefs over and repeat the whole thing on the back. And there you have it. It is super simple and full of splash. How to Create a Flower Using Rhinestones Another way to add texture and interest to your dance costume is by creating a flower pattern using rhinestones. This technique takes a costume that is really simple and plain and adds bling to it. Also, it adds color without dying the costume and it really draws your eye to the area of the costume where you want more attention. Supplies: 1. Dance piece 2. Large Rhinestones and small rhinestones 3. E6000 Glue in a Tube or in a Syringe 4. Toothpicks 5. Two paper plates

15 6. Seamstress chalk or bar of soap Directions: Choosing Your Materials The flower pattern can be used on any dancewear you chose - dance tops, skirts, shorts or briefs. The flower pattern can be small or big depending on the room available, whether you use small rhinestones or big ones or a combination of sizes and how many rhinestones you use. So basically in choosing your materials you start with the dance garment and then you choose the size and colors of the rhinestone depending on what you want the finished flower to look like. Preparation Before Gluing For our sample, we are again going to use our high waisted briefs and we are going to be using some smaller stones and some larger stones. Before you start rhinestoning, you want to look at the area where you want to place the rhinestones and make some decisions. Do you want the flower in the middle? Do you want it on one end? Do you want to stretch it out to cover the whole area? Do you want several flowers across the area? Find that front center point. The easiest way to do that is to take the back seam in your thumb and pointer finger and pull the brief out to where the opposite end will be the front center and mark it with seamstress chalk or the corner of a bar of soap. To make it easier for you to see what we are doing, we will use a scrap of fabric to actually do the rhinestoning. For our demonstration, we are going to mark the fabric with a pin to make it easier for you to see. Do not use a pen when you work on the brief because if you make a mistake or change your mind, you are stuck with the mark and you will not be able to cover it up. Placement of the Rhinestones For this demonstration, we have chosen both small rhinestones and large rhinestones. We will use the large rhinestone for the center of the flower and the smaller rhinestones are going to surround that large rhinestone. Before you start gluing, there are a couple of things you want to do. In our demonstration, we are going to put two flowers in the front and two in the back. So, you want to count out the rhinestones and then divide them by four. That will let you know just how many rhinestones you have available for each flower. Let us say you have twenty small rhinestones for the

16 front and twenty for the back and you need five small rhinestones per flower, that means you could place four flowers in the front and four in the back. Then, lay the rhinestones out in the pattern and size you want for the flower. That will help you visualize the flower and help you determine how many rhinestones you will need for each flower. Since you have already calculated how many rhinestones you have for each flower you can now see if you have enough rhinestones for the flower as you have laid them out. If not, you may need to adjust the flower accordingly. Once you have determined you have enough stones for the pattern, measure the size of the flower. That allows you to determine how much room you want between the rhinestones. Since you know the size of the area to be rhinestoned and the size of the flowers, you can now determine how much room you want between each flower. If you lay out a few of these flowers on the area without using glue, you can tell if this will work visually and you can adjust them a little before actually gluing them down. Keep in mind that you will also be performing the same on the pack so you will want to consider how much room you will want to leave on the side of the briefs so that the distance between the flowers on the side will be the same as the distance between the flowers on the front and the back. An easy way to glue the flowers in the right spot is to create a guide. You can create a guide very easily by tearing a little piece of paper the same size as the space you want between the flowers. Gluing Down the Rhinestones Once you have determined exactly how many rhinestones per flower, how many flowers you are going to have, and the distance between all of the flowers, you are ready to start glue. At this point, we are going to demonstrate the use of the syringe. Using the syringe, carefully place a dot of glue on one of these pre-marked spots. Then pick up one of the large rhinestones in your fingers or using tweezers and placing that large rhinestone and place it on the dot of glue. Then complete the pattern for the smaller rhinestones. Some people prefer that method. We, however, prefer to put a little glue on the paper plate and then pick up a tiny bit of glue on the tip on a toothpick. Then, using the toothpick, put a little glue on the back of the rhinestone and flip it over to place it on the spot marked on the garment. Put the rhinestones upside down on paper plate to make it easier. There are two ways to lay out the smaller rhinestones. The first choice is to place one small rhinestone on each side of the large rhinestone and then one above and one below the large rhinestone. Lastly, place one small rhinestone in between these four

17 rhinestones, giving you a total of eight small rhinestones around the large rhinestones. Make sure the rhinestones are equidistant from each other and preferably a width of at least a toothpick between them. This choice gives you a small flower. The second choice is to place the small rhinestones equidistant from each other in a circle around the large rhinestone. These rhinestones can be placed further or closer apart according to your preference. This creates a larger flower. Whichever choice you use, you need to take into consideration the previous determined spacing. If you change the choice of placement and how far apart the rhinestones are, the flower will be larger or smaller and you need to recalculate that spacing. This pattern gives you two very different flowers using the same pattern. Repeating the choice of placement and spacing, glue the rest of the flowers on the front and then repeat the whole process on the back of the briefs. Whichever method you use, once you have placed the rhinestones in place, gently tap the top of the rhinestone. After you have initially glued the rhinestones down, you can slide the rhinestones around a little, but be careful because if you slide them around too much, you will have a trail of glue. Also, if you end up with a string-like piece of glue, you can remove it carefully using a clean toothpick. Remember, these flowers will be seen from a distance, so even if you are not thrilled with the gaps between the rhinestones when you are up close, they will not be seen from further away. How to Rhinestone Lace The next way to use rhinestones is using them on lace. It helps to define the shape of the flower and it helps on stage to really bring sparkle to your costume when the lights hit your costume. It is a fantastic way to take a beautiful lace costume to the next level and increase the score on your costume. Supplies: 1. Lace dance costume or lace trim 2. Rhinestones 3. E6000 Glue in a Tube or in a Syringe 4. Toothpicks 5. Two paper plates

18 Directions: Choosing Your Materials There are different types of lace fabric and/or trim. When you are already have a lace costume, you do not have to make any choice of fabric. When it comes to lace trim, you have to choose the trim you want. The next item to chose will be the color and size of the rhinestones. Some people prefer to be subtle with the rhinestones. Others prefer to use colored rhinestones to make a different statement. When choosing lace yardage or trims, you will notice that some of them already have sequins on them. If you do not want sequins, try to avoid the lace that has them. If you end up with sequins on your lace, do not worry. You can remove them. However, it is more work. In our demonstration, we show lace yardage and two types of lace trim. Preparation Before Gluing Down Rhinestones When rhinestoning lace, you want to carefully look at the pattern. There are many very different lace pieces. Some pieces, both trims and yardage, already have sequins on them. If you do not want to remove the sequins, then leave them in place. Just add the rhinestones in the areas around the sequins. You also have the option of removing the sequins. This option would work with lace trim but would not be practical with lace yardage. There would just be too many sequins to remove all of the sequins from lace yardage. We are showing you two different lace trims. One trim has a wave pattern to it. With that lace trim (with or without sequins), you would just place the rhinestones along that trim edge. The number of rhinestones used will depend on how many rhinestones you have. Gluing Down the Rhinestones One trim is a scalloped lace flower trim. Start with gluing rhinestones in the center of the flowers at the tips of the scallops. Put stones in all of the bigger flowers at the tips, then move on to the smaller flowers. Depending on your preference and the size of the flowers, you could use bigger rhinestones in the bigger flowers and smaller rhinestones in the smaller flowers. You could create a lot more detail by putting rhinestones in every petal of the flower rather than just the center. Another choice would be to put three or

19 four small rhinestones in each flower. Again, that will all depend on the number of rhinestones you have and your preference. When it comes to the lace fabric, you want to take a look at it and guestimate how many stones you have and how many you will need. When working with yardage, make sure you have lots of rhinestones. Some people just fill the yardage up until they run out of stones but we like to have more of a pattern. On the lace in our demonstration, we are going to put at least three rhinestones on each side of the flowers. After putting three on each side, we decided to add a few more stones and put one in the center. Now, we can do every large flower in this manner or if we do not have as many stones or we are concerned about the weight of the material, we can stagger the flowers that have this many rhinestones. Because we want a lot of splash, we are going to put a stone in the center of all of the small flowers. Some people prefer to be a little more subtle and use plain rhinestones and others prefer to use various colored rhinestones. Remember, nobody is going to be looking at the rhinestones up close. So, if you want some drama to it you are really going to have to put a lot of rhinestones on the flowers. You can then repeat that pattern on all of the flowers. It is really that easy. You do want to keep in mind, though, that the more rhinestones y0u put on lace fabric the more drama you will have but the weight of the rhinestones will also make the lace heavier and therefore affect the weight of the costume which will in turn affect the movement of the costume. Something that is important to remember when gluing down the rhinestones, is that the glue will seep through the lace. Consequently, you need to make sure you put sheets of paper or paper plates underneath the fabric so that the glue does not leak through and cause the layers of fabric to stick together. Our choice of glue is the E6000 in the tube. The technique we prefer is to squirt some glue out on a paper plate and then take a little dot of the glue on the tip of a toothpick. We then tap the back of the rhinestone with the glue and flip the rhinestone over and put the rhinestone in place. Creating a Geometric Pattern with Rhinestones The next way that you can use rhinestones in your dance costume is to use them in geometric patterns. By using diamonds, by using stripes, you can go vertical or straight across. You can also use dots and dashes just using simple patterns in small areas like waistbands and straps. It adds a lot of texture in a little space.

20 Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Rhinestones 3. E6000 Glue in a Tube or in a Syringe 4. Toothpicks 5. Two paper plates Directions: Choosing Your Materials We are going to show you a couple of different ways to make geometric patterns where it is all woven together. You can do it using chain which is very simple and very easy. But, it is very limited as to the colors you can get it in. You can also do it with loose rhinestones. How to Obtain the Square/Diamond Shape For our demonstration, we are first going to use the chain. You can cut the chain into the shape you want. One of the shapes we have cut is squares. The squares, of course, will become diamonds if you turn them slightly. The second technique would be to find the center of the area and place one loose diamond on that spot. Then, put one diamond above the first stone and one below. Next, put one to the right of the first stone and one to the left. This creates a small diamond. You can expand the size of the diamond to the size you prefer by just adding rows of stones on each side to keep it uniform. Stop adding diamonds when you get the diamond to the size you wish. This is super easy to make these squares and diamonds. Preparation Prior to Gluing As far as applying the diamonds or squares, that is also easy. You just need a little planning. First of all, we are going to decide where we want to put the diamonds. For instance, when using high waisted briefs, you can either put the diamond right in the middle or put a diamond on each side of the center. Use seamstress chalk or a bar of soap to mark where you want to put that first diamond. Then, measure the size of the diamonds and the size of the area where you want to apply the diamonds. Determine how many diamonds you have and then divide the area by the number of diamonds so you can calculate how far apart the diamonds should be. You also need to determine the height of the area so that you can determine how much space will be above the diamond and how much below the diamond. On the briefs, the pattern will be horizontal but you

21 could create a vertical pattern if you wanted it to look like buttons or something going down the front of the top. Once you have the diamonds in place, you need to decide if you want to leave it like that or if you want to place individual rhinestones between the diamonds. You could also create a little design between the diamonds using loose rhinestones. Do not forget when the briefs are on the girl, the space will stretch out so that means there will be more space in between. Gluing the Rhinestones We are going to use them as diamonds. Although, in general, we prefer the E6000 glue in the tube, we are going to use the syringe for the diamonds cut from the chain because it is easier. We are covering the back of the diamond generously with the glue but you do not want to put too much or it will ease over the side. Creating the Fade Pattern Using Rhinestones The fifth method where you can add rhinestones to your dance costume is by making a fade pattern using multiple colors of rhinestones to actually change the color of the fabric underneath. Looking at our sample, you can see the original color on the left side of the bra and how it is changed by looking at the right side of the bra. Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Rhinestones 3. E6000 Glue in a Tube or in a Syringe 4. Toothpicks 5. Two paper plates Directions: Choosing Your Materials You can use the dancewear item of your choice. The other thing you need to choose is the colors of the rhinestones you are going to use. We will be using a regular bra for our

22 demonstration, so we will use four different colors. If we have a larger space to work with, we would either use more columns of each color, use more colors or both. Preparation Prior to Gluing Down Rhinestones Determine the center of the garment. Using seamstress chalk or a bar of soap, mark a line down the center for a guide line to remind yourself where to start laying the stones down. For our demonstration, we are going to use a bra and are going to fade the color from the center of the bra out just by using colored rhinestones. This can really dramatically change the color and the look of a costume or a bra by doing using this technique. Gluing Down the Rhinestones We picked four different colors of stones. First, we need to find the center line of the bra. Then we need to split the darkest colors in half. Half will go on the right side of the center line and the other half will go on the left side of the center line. Everybody has different preferences on how they apply rhinestones. Although we occasionally use the syringe, we prefer to use the E6000 in a tube rather than in the syringe. When using the tube, squirt out a small amount of the glue on a paper plate. Put a small amount of glue on the end of the toothpick. Tap the back of one of the stones with the glue, pick up the stone and flip the rhinestone over and put it in place on the bra. You want to space the stones out when gluing them down for a couple of reasons. First, if the stones are real close together, it could affect the way that the dancewear moves and stretches. Secondly, you have to use a lot more stones to do that. In our demonstration, we are putting a line of stones to the right of the previously marked center. Then, we do the same to the left of the center. After you have put the stones to left of the center, go back to the right and continue to glue the rhinestones down. Some people like to go back and forth from right to left. Others prefer to glue down all the stones on one side and then move to the other side and start gluing down stones on the other side. It is a personal preference as to which way you want to do it. We continued gluing down stones until we ran out of stones. As we progressed to the right, the height available becomes larger. We put a little more space between the stones

23 and also glued down more stones to a column. When we got to the last column, we did not have enough of the stones that were designated for the right side so we staggered the stones in between the last finished column. We then continued to the next colored stones. We chose stones that were a different color but actually picked some that were AB stones because they were almost the same color but there was a slight variation in them. We split the quantity of these stones in half - one half for the right side and one half for the left side. We then started gluing the new color down to the right using the same pattern but just slightly off. We do not want to have an obvious line. We want the spacing in between them to look natural, not too cluttered. Next, we go to a lighter shade of stones and continue the pattern. We repeat the process with the third color. Then go the fourth color. There are enough of the fourth colored stones to cover the rest of the bra. Glue the stones down too close together and not in a real straight, obvious line. Overall, we have about four columns of the first color, about five of the second color, five or six of the third color and the fourth color covers the rest of the bra. Think about what color you are beginning with and what color you are ending with. When you move over to the left side, you want to keep the pattern about the same as on the right side so that it looks natural. Remember, you can move the stones around a little with your finger but you do not want to move them too much because there will be excess glue around the stones. No one will see the stones up close but you still do not want to have big chunks of glue. If you have too much glue or strings of glue, clean it up with the clean end of the toothpick or with a new toothpick. One warning - make sure you use the E6000 in a well ventilated room especially when you use a large quantity of stones like with the fade pattern or if you are working on a large number of garments. We definitely know that you can do any of these designs. Just give it a try and as always have fun! Add Boas and Feathers to Your Dance Costume We are going to show you seven ways to use boas and feathers to create a special looking costume. First, we are going to create a real simple little skirt with lots of bounce and movement. It will really add to the dance.

24 Next, we will show you how to use a boa as a trim on the bottom of the skirt and sew it so that it stays attached. The reason you would want to use something like this is that it gives it a different look with some bounce, some creativity and when the girl dances it gives it a really special flow. The next method of using boas, is to use them diagonally. It is a great way to cover up belly buttons. It is simple. It is uncommon. It gives lots of texture. In the fourth method, we are going to show you how to use strips of feathers to a top to create an exclusive look. It is a great look if you want to create something with a very earthy, very tribal feel to it. Another method is to use feathers or boas on gloves or on a shrug. A fatter one gives it a nice tribal look and the smaller boa gives it a nice, cutesy look. Loose feathers can be used up near the shoulder to bring the focus up near the face. This method is great if you want to keep clean lines but just want a little something to add to the costume. Last, we will show you how to use boas or feathers horizontally at the hips on a pair of briefs. It is a really cute look that keeps the lines clean but still creates a very uncommon look. Create a Skirt with Vertical Boas With this first method, we are going to create a skirt by placing boas vertically from dance shorts. The reason you would want to do this is that it creates a nice skirt with lots of movement. Supplies: 1. Dance briefs or dance shorts 2. Boas 3. Thread to match the boas 4. Needles 5. Safety pins 6. Scissors Directions: Choosing the Bottom Piece of the Dance Costume The first step is to pick out your basic piece. You can use dance briefs or shorts or whatever you want. It is totally your preference as to which you want to use. In our sample, we are using high waisted briefs. We have already added

25 rhinestones to the front of the briefs. We chose to add the rhinestones because it provides a cute band to the skirt. Also, it is easier to rhinestone the garment before the skirt is added. After you have picked out your shorts or briefs, you need to choose your boa. Do you want the boa to be a matching, coordinating or contrasting color? The wonderful thing about using boas in a vertical position is that they have a lot of bounce and movement to them. Cutting the boa strips Cut the boas in strips. To determine the length of these strips, it is best if the dancer is wearing the briefs or shorts. Fold the boa in half and place the fold on the shorts or briefs where you want the boas to hang. Before you actually start measuring the length of the proposed boa strips, draw an imaginary line around the hips using erasable seamstress chalk or some other medium, mark the shorts or briefs with a horizontal line to use as a guide for placing the boa strips. If you use the high waisted dance briefs, there is a built-in guideline to use when measuring for the skirt length or pinning the skirt. You need to make sure the boa strips are smoothed out so they are not crinkled up so that you can accurately measure the boa strips. Then measure the boa to rest at the length you want the skirt to end. Remember, the boa is folded in half so the actual length of the boa strip will be twice the length of the skirt. It is better if the boa is a little longer than you want the skirt to end up because you can always cut it shorter. However, you don t want to make it too long because you will be wasting a lot of the boa if you have to cut a lot off. Pinning the Boa to the Shorts or Briefs When pinning the strips around the briefs or shorts, you must, must make sure the strips are stretched out. Since the boas have no actual give to them, once they are sewn down you cannot stretch them out. When pinning the boas on the shorts or briefs, make sure to use safety pins so that the boas do not come off when the dancer takes the briefs or shorts off. If you have not already marked a horizontal line on the shorts or briefs before measuring the boa

26 strips, then do so now. Before you actually start pinning the boa to the shorts or briefs, draw an imaginary line around the hips using seamstress chalk or some other medium, mark a horizontal line around the hips of the briefs or shorts showing where you want the skirt to start. To begin pinning the boa strips onto the shorts or briefs, fold the strips in half and place the folded end of the boa along that imaginary line on the briefs or short. You can start pinning the strips on either the left side or the right side. The important part is to pin the strip on the hip on one side and then measure to make sure that you pin another strip the same spot on the other side. Then fill in the space between those two strips. In the back, we like to make the strips a little longer to give the skirt a nice shape to the hemline. Sewing the Boa to the Shorts or Briefs Once the strips have been pinned to the shorts or briefs, check again to make sure the strips are stretched out without any lumps or knots in the strips. The trick to sewing boas to anything is to sew from behind. If you try to sew from the front, you will just catch all those feathers in the thread and it will be a huge mess. Start with the knot on the inside of the shorts or briefs and then sew from the back. Make sure you catch the string in the center of the boa and not just catch a few feathers. We are using a gold thread on the sample so that you can see the thread. You will want to use thread that matches the boa. Make sure that you stitch over the same place more than one time to make sure that the boa is secure. Another way to do it would be to double the thread on the needle which would, in essence, give you the same strength. Another important thing to remember is that you should knot the thread before and after sewing each boa because you want to make sure the boas do not come off when dancing. However, use scissors to cut the thread and do not use your teeth. Just keep repeating that all the way around. Once the boa strips have been sewn all the way around the briefs or shorts, have the dancer try them on again. At that time, you can trim the boa strips if you wish. Using Boas as Trim on a Skirt Adding boas to the bottom of the skirt will give it a very individual, cutesy, bouncy effect. If that is what you are looking for, then this is the skirt for you. Supplies: 1. Dance skirt 2. Boas 3. Thread to match boas 4. Needles 5. Straight Pins

27 6. Scissors Directions: Choosing the type of skirt you want As with the prior method, the first step is to pick out your basic pieces. Do you want a circle skirt so that you have lots of movement or do you want a straight skirt so you have more of a fitted look? Once that decision is made, you will have your base. Next, choose the color you want for the boa. The boa could match the skirt or contrast with the skirt. Take the skirt with you to the fabric store to determine which color boa you want. This also makes it easier to choose whether you want a thick boa or a narrow boa. Play with the different boas to determine which color and thickness you like best for the boa. As you can see on our sample, the narrow white boa on a red circle skirt makes a great little Santa s Helper skirt. We have chosen a red circle skirt and a narrow, pink boa for our sample. This method works great for a circle skirt. Pinning the Boa to the Skirt Before you pin the boa to the skirt, have the dancer try the skirt on. You need to make sure the skirt is the proper length because you will not be able to shorten the skirt once the boa has been sewn to the skirt. You want to make sure that you pin the boa smoothly on the skirt so that the boa does not pucker away from the skirt or it does not droop from the skirt but also, you do not pull the boa too tightly which would cause the skirt hemline to pucker. So, you want to carefully pin the boa around the hem of the skirt. You are going to use a lot more boa on a circle skirt than you realize. Just keep pinning the boa onto the skirt until you go all around the skirt.

28 Sewing the Boa to the Skirt If you are comfortable with sewing, you could sew the skirt without pinning the boa down all the way. However, you need to be a fairly competent sewer for that. The circle skirt is one of the simplest skirts on which to sew the boa. As you sew the boa onto the skirt, turn the hem under and stitch it down as you go. Make sure you catch the thread that runs through the center of the boa as you go. Also, make a knot on the inside of the skirt every few stitches so that in case the thread breaks, the boa will not end up hanging. Another hint that we use is to double the thread on the needle so that you have, in essence, four strings of thread. Using Boas Diagonally on Your Dance Costume This method creates a distinctive look that gives a little extra texture and at the same time appears to cover a little more of the dancer s body. This look is a little more demure yet dramatic. You might use this method if you wanted to cover your belly button and if you wanted to give your dance texture. It is a simple, simple way to use a boa. Supplies: 1. Dance top 2. Dance skirt, shorts or briefs 3. Boas 4. Thread to match boas 5. Needles 6. Safety Pins 7. Scissors Directions: Choosing Your Dance Top and Dance Bottom The first thing you want to do is choose the type of dance top piece you want and the type of dance bottom you want. On our sample we are using a simple dance bra and a dance skirt. But you could use a skirt, shorts or briefs on the bottom and anytype of bra that you want.

29 Pinning the Boa to the Dance Pieces It is important to pin the boa while the dancer is wearing the top and the bottom. It is important to use safety pins since you are pinning the boa while the dancer is wearing the dance pieces. Once the dancer is wearing the top and the bottom, choose where you want the boa to start. On our sample, we are starting on the right shoulder. After you have pinned the boa to the starting point, play around with it until you decide how you want the boa to traverse down the front of the costume and where you want the boa to end. Personally, we like the boa to continue down past the waist of the bottom piece so that it does not just end abruptly at the waistline. But, where the boa ultimately ends is a personal preference. Next, pin the bottom of the boa at that predetermined spot. You then want to pin the key points along the neckline and at the center of the top so that the boa does not pop out. You want to do the same with the bottom. When you are done pinning the boa to the top and to the bottom cut the excess boa off at the bottom. If you wish, you could make it a little more dramatic by pinning a second boa along the side of the first boa. It would make it easier to sew the boas down if you wait to add the second boa until the first boa is sewn in place. Sewing the Boa to the Top and Bottom Sew the boa to the top and bottom from the inside so that the stitches do not show. Make sure that you catch the thread that runs down the middle of the boa. Of course, you want the thread to match the boa. As always, it is a good idea to tie knots on the inside every couple of stitches to make sure that the boa stays in place in case the thread breaks. Once the boa is sewn down, you could add the second boa if you wish.

30 Adding Strips of Feathers to a Top This method gives a great tribal look. So, if you are looking for something with a little bit of different and interesting texture, this may be the look for you. Supplies: 1. Dance top 2. Feather Strips (you can find them on line) 3. Thread to match feather strips 4. Needles 5. Safety Pins 6. Scissors 7. A bar of soap or wax Directions: Choosing the Materials You can use any dance top you wish. You can use a regular dance bra or you can use a dance sports bra. It is up to you and your dancer. You then need to pick color of the feather strips. The feather strips can be obtained on line. You can choose feathers that match the base piece or contrast with it whatever suits your fancy. Pinning the Feathers Strips At this point, you need to decide if you want the feathers to cover the shoulders or do you want the strips to just cover the neckline. One thing to remember is that the feather strip does not stretch so you want to take that into consideration. The best solution would be to have the dancer wear the top while you are pinning the feather strips in place. The first step in the pinning process is to fold the strip in half. On our sample, the bra has a v at the center of the bra. So, in this case, you need to give the strip a little pinch in the center of the strip to create a matching v in the strip. Then place that pinched v in the center of the bra and pin the strip in place. At this point, run the feather strip from that center point one direction along the neckline and pin it in place. If you want the strip to go over the shoulder, just continue this

31 process over the shoulder. Then do the same thing starting at the center and go along the neckline in the other direction. Sewing the Feather Strips in Place We want to point out that the feathers are glued to the strip so there is glue all along the edge of the feather strips. Consequently, it is important to pull the needle and the thread through a bar of soap or wax so that they do not get hung up on the gluey edge. When you actually start sewing, you need to think about where you want to start. We would suggest you start at the center. Feed the thread through and tie it off on the inside. We are using gold thread so you can see how it is done, but you want to use matching thread so that it will be hard to see but you want to use thread that matches the feather strips. You then want to continue up one side of the neckline with the same small tacks. Then do the same going up the other side of the neckline. If you wish, you could repeat this process with a second feather strip to create multiple layers. An alternate look would be to completely cover the top by creating multiple layers of feather strips using the same technique. Just play with it, have fun and create the look you love best. Adding Boas to a Shrug or Gloves Adding boas to a shrug or gloves gives it a tribal or cutesy feel depending on the boa that you use. Supplies: 1. Shrug and/or gloves 2. Boas 3. Thread to match boas 4. Needles 5. Safety Pins 6. Scissors Directions: Choosing the Materials The first step is to pick the type of boa that you want to use. There is the smaller boa and the larger boa that has feathers. One thing to

32 consider with the larger boa is that sometimes the feathers will drop on the floor. If that is a point deduction, you will probably not want to use that larger boa. The next thing to consider is the color. On our sample we are using both a shrug and gloves. First, we will show you how to work with the shrug. Pinning the Boa on the Shrug Since the boa does not stretch, you will want to pin the boa to the shrug while the dancer is wearing it. Fold the boa in half to find the center and then match that point to the center of the back of the shrug. Then start pinning the boa to the shrug. Start from that center point and move along one side of the neckline and then return to the center and go down the neckline in the other direction. Make sure, of course, to use safety pins. Pinning the Boa to the Gloves We are using the v gloves for our sample. There are two ways to pin the boa on the gloves. The first way you could pin the boa on the gloves while the girl is wearing them. The other way is to make a plastic card the size of the girls arm and slip the glove on this plastic piece. You do not want to use cardboard because cardboard could bend and that would destroy the integrity of the measurements. Measure the width of the dancer s arm and then create this plastic piece to those measurements. Once the glove is on the dancer s arm or on the plastic piece, then pin the boa to the glove. The beauty of using the plastic piece for pinning the boa to the gloves is that you only need to pin the one end of the boa and then you can sew the boa onto the gloves while it is in place. If the glove is on the dancer s arm, then you would have to pin the boa around the top of the glove, remove the glove from the dancers arm and then sew the boa on.

33 Sewing the Boa to the Shrug or the Gloves Sew the boa around the edge of the shrug or the top of the gloves from the inside of the shrug. Use thread that matches the boa and be careful to catch the thread that runs along the center of the boa. As is customary, we suggest that you knot the sewing thread at close intervals so that if the thread breaks the boa is not left hanging. Using Loose Feathers on Your Dance Costume Using loose feathers up on your shoulder creates a very different look. It is the perfect look if you want to have a cute little decoration that brings the focus up to your face yet still keeping your costume nice and simple. When you want the focus on you but do not want a plain bra and shorts, this is the perfect technique. Supplies: 1. Dance top 2. Loose feathers 3. Thread to match feathers 4. Pins 5. Scissors Directions: Choosing the Materials Of course, your first step is choosing the top you want. You could use a regular bra or a sports bra. Then you want to choose the feathers in the size, style and color that you want to use.

34 Pinning the Feathers to the Top When it comes to pinning the loose feathers to the top, place a few feathers on the dance top where you think best. Keep placing the feathers in various configurations until you until you find your favorite look. It is all a matter of preference. Pin the feathers on top of each other as you go. End up with a smaller feather on the bottom to give it a finished look. Make sure to trim the ends of the feather stems as you go so that you do not have those ugly tips hanging out. The feathers could be placed on either shoulder, in the center or wherever you like. Just play around with the base piece and the feathers and have fun. Sewing the Feathers to the Top Make sure you start sewing from the inside of the top. Weave the needle and thread in and out of the top making sure to catch all the stems of the feathers. You want to make sure that the feathers are sewn in place where you want them and that the feathers are indeed sewn securely in place. As we always suggest, tie knots inside the tops at frequent intervals so that in case a thread breaks, the feathers will stay in place.

35 Using Boas Horizontally to Create a Dance Costume Placing boas horizontally at the hip gives a totally different look. It gives a cute little flair to the costume like no other can and yet keeps the clean lines of the dancer. Supplies: 1. Dance bottom 2. Boas 3. Thread to match boas 4. Needles 5. Safety Pins 6. Scissors Directions: Choosing the Materials The first step is to pick out the base piece you are going to use. We are going to use the high waisted brief for our sample. The high waisted shorts also work very well. The good thing about the brief is that you get those long clean lines of the dancer. Next, you need to choose the boas you want to use. We are using the large boa with the long feathers for our sample. When deciding what color boa you want to use, think about the color of the base piece and what colors look good on the dancer. Pinning the Boa Since the boa does not stretch, it is best to have the dancer wear the brief while you are pinning the boa to the brief so the brief is stretched out and the boa can be properly pinned to the base. Just make sure to use safety pins so the boa stays in place when the dancer takes the brief off. Just make sure to slip your hand between the dancer and the brief so that you do not inadvertently stick the dancer. We have already rhinestoned the high waisted brief that we are using as a sample. As you can see, there is already a seam on the high waisted brief that can be used as a guideline. So, take the boa and fold it in half. Then using safety pins, pin the center of the boa to

36 the center of the brief. Then just wind the boa around the dancer s hips at the guideline. Pin the boa often to make sure that it remains in the position that you want it to be in when the dancer takes the boa off. Start pinning the boa in one direction from the front center until you get to the back of the briefs and then go back to the center front and pin the boa in the other direction until you meet the other end of the boa at the center back of the briefs. Sewing the Boa to the Briefs One thing that is important to remember is that you need to sew the boa to the brief from the back or inside of the brief. If you try to sew from the front, the thread will get caught in the feathers from the boa and you will have a huge mess. Once the boa has been completely pinned in place, have the dancer remove the briefs so that the boa can be sewn down. We are using gold thread on our sample to make it easier for you to see the stitches, but you will want to use thread that matches the boa. From the back, or inside, stitch through the briefs catching the thread that runs down the center of the boa and come back through the briefs to end up where you started. Do this a couple of times in the same place and then tie the sewing thread in a knot and cut the sewing thread. Repeat this process frequently, about every inch or so, around the hips of the briefs making sure that the boa stays in line with the guideline. Individual stitches will give a little more freedom of movement when dancing. Use Tulle for a Dance Costume We will be introducing four ways to use tulle to change a dance costume. First, you can use tulle to make a cute little bustle. It gives it a little wedding feel to the costume. It s really high class and it is really easy to do.

37 The next way is to make a tutu or a skirt made out of tulle. It is a no sew. It is creative and it is really easy to do. It gives the costume lots of fluff, lots of flair. If you are looking for something very dramatic, this is a great way to go. Another way to use tulle is as trimming or a top. Adding tulle to a basic dance top to create a type of fringe gives it an a little extra flair and a little bit of a wedding vibe to it. The last method is using creating a half skirt a little bit of chain. It has a very popular look to it. This might be something you want if you are looking for that 80 s feel. Making a Bustle Making a bustle out of tulle is a great little sophisticated look and it is easy to do. Supplies: 13. Dance skirt, dance shorts or dance brief 14. Tulle 15. Thread to match tulle 16. Safety pins 17. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the Material First, pick out the color of tulle you want to use. It could be a matching color, a coordinating color, or a contrasting color. On our sample we used brown dance shorts and ivory tulle. Choosing the placement of the bustle Place your base piece (in our example, dance shorts) and place it around a pillow to stretch the waist out so you can determine where you want to place the bustle. You want to place it in the center, but if the shorts are not stretched out, you cannot place the bustle where it belongs.

38 Cutting and Gathering the Bustle Cut a long piece of tulle and then fold it in half vertically. Don t worry if the edge is a little messy, that can be corrected later. Lay the piece down on a flat surface. Then cut a second layer of tulle. This second piece should be about 2/3 rds the length of the first piece. Lay the second piece on top of the first matching the tops together. Then gather the two pieces together at the top. Just gather the two pieces together in your hand. Next, take a needle with thread that matches the tulle and sew through the gathers. You need to remember that the thread is going to want to pull through the tulle so you need to not let that happen. Leave a portion of the thread hanging out so that the end does not go all the way through. Once you have sewn through the gathers once, go back to the beginning and feed it back through behind the knot and tie it off. Then just weave the needle in and out again making sure you catch all the gathers. You may want to repeat this process to make sure you get all the gathered material. Next, tie the thread it off making sure you catch some of the material in the knot so that it does not come undone. Next you are going to want to even out the tops and bottoms so the bustle does not end up looking a little funky when it s on the dance piece. Just lay the bustle down and trim the layers so that they are visually even at the top and bottom of the layers. Pinning and Sewing the Bustle to the Dance Piece bustle stays in place if the thread breaks. Place the bustle on the dance piece (in this case dance shorts) while it is still stretched around the pillow and position the bustle in the center top. You can either make the bustle narrow or you can stretch it out so that it is a little wider. Then pin the bustle to the dance shorts or skirt leaving approximately three inches of tulle above where the bustle will actually be stitched to the dance shorts or skirt. Watch how the bustle gathers up when you go back and sew it down. Make sure to tie knots every few stitches to ensure that the

39 Trimming the Bustle Next, smooth and straighten the bustle out and decide what length you want the two layers. Trim the edges of the bottom layer to the length that you want. It is easier if you lay the bustle down on a flat surface when you do the final trimming. Just clean up the edges where necessary. Then do the same with the top layer. Finishing off the Bustle You will get a fuller look if you just fluff up the layers. You can then take a rhinestone piece and place it across the top of the bustle. Also, you could use a string of pearls or some chains or other fun stuff and put that across the top of the bustle. Just take a look at it, see what you have and play around with everything to create a unique look that you like. Using Tulle to Make a Skirt Using tulle to create a skirt is a great look that has a little flair and a lot of fluff. This is a no sew method and very easy. If you want something dramatic, this may be the way for you to go. Supplies: 1. Dance skirt, dance shorts or dance brief 2. Tulle 3. Thread to match tulle 4. Safety pins 5. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the Material First, pick out the color of tulle you want to use. It could be a matching color, complementing color or contrasting color. You could also use multiple colors for the tulle. Next, pick the fabric and the color for the waistband. We prefer to match the color of the dance article but it could also be the same color as the tulle. This waistband needs to stretch so this needs to be considered when

40 choosing the fabric for the waistband. You could use lycra or elastic or another fabric that has a stretch to it. Cut the Material Cut the tulle in several long strips. If you use multiple colors of tulle, then cut an equal number of strips for each color. The strips should be three to four inches wide or they could be wider if you wish but take into consideration that these strips will be folded in half lengthwise. Cut the material for the waistband several inches longer than the size of your waist. Creating the Skirt together. Place a pillow inside the dance shorts, dance briefs or a dance skirt (in our example, we used dance shorts). Tie the waistband strip around the waist of the base dance piece (in our example, lycra that matches the dance shorts). Make a t overlapping the *ends and tie the ends in a knot on the side of the shorts. You could use a broach to fasten the waistband or if you have sewing skills, you could sew the ends of the waistband Next, take a couple of the tulle strips that have been folded in half lengthwise and fold them in half creating a loop of the fabric. Slip the folded edge of the tulle under the waistband pulling it over the waistband creating a loop. Pull the ends of the tulle strips through the loop creating a knot around the waistband and pull the knot tight. You can choose to slip the loop under the band either from the front of the waistband or from the back which creates two different looks One way the knot is visible from the front and the other, the knot is not visible since it is behind the strips. If the knot is in the front, the strips are closer to your body. If the knot is under the strips, the skirt will have a little bit of fluff to it. Keep doing the same thing all the way around until the band is completely covered with these strips. The number of knotted strips you use and how close together they are will determine how much fluff the skirt has. If use multiple colors, it is best to try to create a pattern with the colors.

41 Using Tulle to Create Fringe Using tulle at the neckline can create a dramatic difference in a top. If you want a fringe look or you want a wedding vibe, this is the perfect look. Supplies: 1. Dance skirt, dance shorts or dance brief 2. Tulle 3. Thread to match tulle 4. Safety pins 5. Straight pins 6. Broach and rhinestones optional Directions: Choosing the Material The first step is to choose the dance top you want to use. As with the other methods of using tulle, you Cutting the material Using the width of the tulle as the length of the strips, cut the tulle so the strips are about three inches wide. You can always trim the strips up later. Gathering Tulle Strip Smooth the strip out and tuck it into the neckline to see you want it. Double the tulle strips horizontally along the length of the strips to give it a little thickness. Put the folded edge inside the neckline to give it a clean look and so it doesn t itch. Insert your needle with thread that matches the tulle into the strips and tie the thread around the edge of the tulle. This will keep the thread from pulling through the tulle. Feed the needle in and out of the length of the strips and gather the strip as you go. Keeping the tulle folded in half along the length of the strip, feed the thread and needle in and out along the raw edge of the folded strip. You want to take your time because it slides around a little. Keep sewing in

42 and out to gather the strip as you go. Once you are done make sure you tie the thread off and fasten the knot to the fabric so the thread cannot pull out. Then gather the tulle around the neckline. Remember the tulle does not stretch. Pinning the Tulle Strips to the Top You may want to have the dancer put the top on before you pin the tulle to the top so that the top is stretched to its proper place and you will not have problems slipping the top over the dancer s head. If that is not possible, stretch the top over a pillow. If the dancer is wearing the top when you pin the tulle to it, use safety pins. It is not necessary to use one long strip. You can use several smaller strips which may make it easier for you to work with. Once you have the tulle tucked in place where you want it, the strips into place. But if the strips are all sewn first, then it is easy to keep the strips where they need to be. Sewing the Tulle Strips to the Top At this point, you want to change the thread to one that matches the top so that if the stitches come through to the front, they will not be easy to see. You want to make small stitches sewing almost into the same hole, keeping the stitches even and consistent all the way around. Again, you want to tie the thread to the tulle so it doesn t slip through. Trimming the Tulle Strips When you are all done sewing the tulle all the way around the neckline, then you can trim the tulle fringe to the width that you want. A good way to keep the width consistent is to create a guide. Using a piece of paper or cardstock, cut a strip that is the width that you want for the tulle. Then you just slip that paper or cardstock along the neckline cutting the tulle the same width as

43 your guide. If there happens to be way too much tulle, you could trim it down and then go back and clean it up with the guide. Finishing Touches Additionally, you could cut another strip of material and then gather it up in a circular fashion or asymmetrical fashion, tack it together a little bit. Using a broach, you can pin it on the shoulder or at the center of the front neckline. Once you have done that, you can also trim it up a little if you wish. Play with it a little to decide what you want to do. Without the broach, you could place rhinestones around the neck. Or. you could use the broach, with or without any additional netting, and then rhinestone it out from the broach. However, you end up doing it, it will be unique and only yours. Making a Tulle Half Skirt With this method, you will make a simple little half skirt using some tulle, lycra and chain. If you are looking for that 80;s feel this is a great method for you. Supplies: 1. Dance skirt, dance shorts or dance brief 2. Tulle 3. Lycra, lace or other material 4. Thread to match tulle 5. Silver, Gold tone or Bronze Chains 6. Safety pins 7. Straight pins Directions: Choosing the Materials You have three things to consider here - the color of the tulle, the color of the lycra (you could use another solid material or even lace) and the color of the chains. You will probably use about a yard of tulle and a quarter yard of lycra but it you want it to you are going to use a little bit more. Another thing to consider is that the tulle squishes up quite a bit.

44 Cutting and the Fabric First, cut the lycra into little strips. Then cut the tulle into strips. Bunch a few of the strips up at the top. Sewing the Fabric to the Shorts First, place the shorts into a pillow so the shorts stretch out a little. Decide how close to the center you want to start the half skirt and how wide you want the half skirt to be, where you want to stop sewing the strips to the top. Then sew the first bunch of tulle strips to the waist at the predetermined starting point. Fold a strip of the lycra (or other material) in half lengthwise so that you have two strips. It would probably be more pleasing to have the strips not be the same length. Then gather the lycra strips at the fold and attach them next to the tulle strips but slightly overlapping the tulle on the left side. Then repeat with a bunch of tulle strips bunched together and then with another folded lycra strips. Keep repeating this until you reach the predetermined ending place. You don t want this half skirt to look too perfect because the point of the skirt is to keep it tattered looking with an almost Madonna feel to it. Do not forget to make knots in several places while sewing these strips to the shorts to make sure that if a thread breaks, the half skirt does not fall apart. After it is all sewn on to the dance short or the bottom you choose, then trim the top of the half skirt to even it out and then kind of fluff it out. Again, you do not want it to look too perfect. Finishing touches Next, add the metal chain. It is best to use two loops of chain hanging from the waist. You can use a silver, gold color or bronze color chain depending on your preference. However, you want to consider the weight of the metal. Make sure that you dance in the costume before competition to make sure the metal is not too heavy. When you sew the loops of metal to the shorts, make sure you sew it all the way through and not just to the tulle. Also, the chain needs to hang loosely. If it is stretched out too far, it ruins the look. Make sure you tack the chain down carefully, sewing through to the dance shorts or skirt. It is probably best to tack the chain down at the top in more than one place but making sure that the chain does not hang to tight to the costume and can move freely when dancing.

45 Closing Comments No matter which of these methods you choose, play with them, add any extra embellishments you might like and enjoy yourself. Using Broaches to Improve Your Dance Costume We are going to be sharing three ways to improve and completely change your dance costume using a simple broach. These are great ways to add a broach or a simple hair clip using it like a broach and adding it to a dance top or skirt. The first way is just a quick, little fix to bring a little bling to your top and you are ready to go. Another way you can use it is when adding pieces of fabric to a skirt. You can use the broach to clasp the strips of fabric onto the skirt giving it a unique look. It is great for lyrical dancing giving it a little extra movement and play. The last way you can use a broach is to ruche up either a skirt or a top. It is a great look if you want to show a little bit of leg and it gives it a lot of pizzazz just by that simple little broach. Adding a Broach to a Top This is a technique to completely change the look of your dance top just using a broach or a hair clip. Supplies: 18. Top 19. A Broach or a Hair Clip 20. Thread to match top 21. Scissors Directions: Choosing a Broach or Hair Clip First, you have to look around and decide what type of a broach or a hair clip that you want. There are a lot of different shapes, sizes and styles. The main thing you want to consider at this point is the proportion of the broach to the top and how you want to use the broach. Some broaches or hair clips are solid rhinestones and some come in a variety of colors. This is where the color of the top becomes important. You need to think about whether or not you want a broach or hair clip that is all rhinestones or colored stones and you also need to think

46 about whether or not you want to use the broach or hair clip as a centerpiece and then add rhinestones or crystals around it. Placing the Broach or Hair Clip A medium to large round broach placed in the center would allow you to place rhinestones in an array off around the broach adding a beautiful display of bling. With that same top, you could use a smaller broach on the strap and then add rhinestones from the strap fanning down into the chest area. On a sports bra top, you could use a hair clip or barrette and clip it vertically from the bottom of the top to the neckline. This would also give you a gathering effect under the barrette. Another option would be to place the broach or hair clip in the back. This is especially effective with a sports bra where there is just a band across the back and you can create a very unique look by placing the broach or hair clip in the center of the back. Again, you could rhinestone around the broach or hair clip. Securing the Broach or Hair Clip An important step at this point is to smash the broach or hair clip so that it cannot open up. It is also a very good idea to tack the broach or hair clip down so that it won t move. Using a Broach to Add Pieces of Fabric to a Dance Costume This next technique will show you how to add fabric using a broach and completely change the look of the costume you have. It gives a little more flow and movement and it is a beautiful piece for a lyrical dance. For this example, we used the high-low skirt which has a little more dramatic flair when we use the broach to gather it up. Supplies: 1. Skirt

47 2. Broach 3. Thread to match top 4. Scissors Directions: Choosing a Broach or Hair Clip Again, you want to use the same criteria for choosing a broach or a hair clip as you do for the first technique, Adding a Broach to a Top. However, keep in mind that the broach will be going through several layers of fabric so you probably won t want a small broach. Choosing and cutting the Material It is important to use mesh, lycra or another material that does not fray. You can cut straight strips or you could use a spiral cut. The spiral cut is very pretty and dramatic. To start with you cut a circle and then start cutting in a spiral from the edge of the circle until you reach the center. Make sure that the strips are slightly staggered in length. Placing the Fabric Strips and the Broach 1. Starting at one end of the strips, place the ends on top of each other with the ends even. Make sure that the strips are placed together graduated with the longest on the bottom and the shortest on the top. Using the broach, attach the strips just below the waistband of the skirt and where the skirt is shortest. Remember, we are using the high-low skirt here. 2. There are a few other things you can do using that same idea. The high-low skirt has an overlapping opening where the skirt is the shortest. In this next technique, fan open the skirt so that the overlapping pieces are folded open. Then, using the broach pin the fabric

48 strips just like described in the previous paragraph. This method gives it a little more dramatic effect and when the dancer kicks her leg it will open up. 3. Another method would be to just take the overlapping pieces of the skirt and twist them around a little and then pin the broach through these layers of material. In this method you are not adding any material but it still really changes the look of the skirt. Using a Broach for Ruching Now we are going to discuss a technique where you use a broach or hair clip to create some ruching for a skirt or a top. It is a great look to give you clean lines, show a little bit of the dancer s leg when used on a skirt. When used on a top, it will draw your attention to the face. Supplies: Top or skirt 1. A Broach or a Hair Clip 2. Thread to match top 3. Scissors Directions: Choosing a Broach or Hair Clip When choosing a broach or hair clip, you pretty much follow the instructions and have the same considerations as you would in Adding a Broach to a Top in the previous section. One extra thing to consider is that when you are using a broach or hair clip for ruching on a skirt, you need a fairly good size broach or hair clip because you will be gathering material with the broach or hair clip. That is not as important when working with a top because the amount of material is limited.

49 Placing the Broach or Hair Clip This works particularly well with a circle skirt because it has lots of flow and movement. You can easily ruch it up and not have it pull tight on the other side. You want to be careful when you decide where to ruch the skirt up. You do not want to place it in the center because you will just end up with an unflattering crotch shot. You want to determine which leg you use for most of your kicks and put the broach or hair clip on that side of the skirt. Once you have determined which side of the skirt to put the broach, you may want to play with it a little to decide exactly where to place the broach for it to be the most flattering. Next you are going to take the skirt and find a line that goes from the hem straight up to the point exactly where you want to place the broach. From that spot on the hem of the skirt, you will insert the sharp, pointed end of the broach into the hem of the skirt and then weave it in and out of the material up the imaginary line to the point where you want the broach to end up. Then bring the sharp, pointed side of the pin to the front and fasten the broach shut. When working with a top such as a sports bra, don t start weaving the broach at the very bottom of the sports bra because it will give the top a funny look. The first step would be to find the center of the top horizontally and then find the mid point between the bottom of the sports bra and the neckline of the sports bra. Place the pin of the broach at that point and start weaving the pin portion of the broach in and out up in a straight, vertical line until you reach the neckline. At that point, fasten the broach shut. Securing the Broach or Hair Clip You have the same concerns here as with Adding a Broach to a Top in the paragraph before. You need to smash the broach or hair clip and you should tack it down. Ruching with a broach creates a unique look that looks expensive but really isn t. Also, it is very easy. enjoy using the broaches. Whatever method you use, have fun with it and You can see how the uses of a simple broach and pieces of material can really change a classic skirt.

50 Change the Hemline of Your Dance Skirt We will show you four ways to change the hemline of your dance skirt. They are are great ways to bring attention to your legs when you are dancing and they will give you a unique look that no one else will have at your competition. One of our favorite ways to change the hemline of a skirt is to create a square cut on the bottom. As you can see on our sample, it gives you small points on the hemline. This is great if you want the look of a short skirt but actually have more coverage. The next way you can change the hemline is by creating an angled look. You can use it with or without a skirt underneath. This is a great technique if you want a little more texture but not a lot of coverage. Another way to change the hemline of your skirt is by creating a bustle. One reason where you might want to do this is if you want a kind of Victorian look. This would be perfect for that. Creating a Square Cut Hem First you will need to start off with a circular skirt. The length will be up to you but a shorter skirt will give you a more dramatic effect. Supplies: 22. Circle skirt 23. Yardstick or straight edge 24. Scissors Directions: Choosing materials You need to choose the length and color of your circular skirt. That decision is strictly up to you and what you want.

51 Cutting the Hemline The first thing you want to do is lay the skirt on a flat surface. Then, fold the skirt in half lengthwise. You need to make sure that the skirt is laying flat without any bumps or extra folds in the material. You also need to make sure that the waistline, hems and edges are all even and lined up. Next, cut off the rounded portion of the hemline. Place a yardstick across the bottom of the hem from the bottom corner of the left edge to the bottom corner of the right edge, draw a straight line from those two corners using seamstress chalk or some other disappearing medium. Cut off the rounded edge by cutting across the hem along that straight line. If you feel confident that you can cut that straight line without marking it first, you do not need a yardstick. If you wish to make it a little more dramatic, you can create a sharper angle. Make sure that the new hemline is lined up accurately and then recut the hemline on a sharper angle one angle at a time. To recut the angle, start a few inches higher than the present hem on the higher side of the angle and taper it down to the existing point. Repeat that with each point. If that is a little bit too dramatic, you can correct it by rounding off the point. Once you cut your first first angle, use the first revised point as a guideline for the others around the hem. Sewing the Hem If the skirt is lycra or another material that does not ravel, it does not require hemming It is really that easy to change a circle skirt into a square cut skirt. Try it, experiment and have fun.

52 Creating an Angle Cut Dance Skirt Here we are going to show you how to create an angle cut skirt. This is great if you want a layered look but you do not want a lot of extra fabric. This is the perfect technique to use. Supplies: 1. Two circle skirts 2. Yardstick or straight edge 3. Scissors Directions: Choosing materials You will need to choose two circle skirts both skirts the same color or different colors. In our sample, we are using two different colors so that it is easier for you to see what we are doing here. Cutting the skirts We are going to cut each skirt from opposite sides so that you really see the dramatic difference showing how this can really change the look of the skirt. Starting with the first skirt (we will use the black skirt), fold it in half lengthwise, pin it in the center front and center back and then you are going to put those together so you can make sure it is even. Lay the skirt flat and then cut the hem of the skirt at an angle from right to left. You can use longer skirts to make it more striking. Start cutting very high on one side and cut it at an angle down to the hem on the other edge. The higher you start the cutting, the more dramatic it will be. It is strictly your preference as to how high you should start cutting. You will notice that you will have a number of points along the hem. Lay the skirt down on a flat surface and just round out those points. Now, place the skirt with the tapered hem on top of the other skirt and you will see you have a remarkable look. Make sure to clean up any jagged places along the hemline.

53 An alternate look would be to use the exact same technique on both skirts. The only difference is that one skirt would be cut high on the left and one would be cut high on the right. Then, when you layer the skirts, it will create a criss cross effect that is very stunning. However, there are two things to consider. One thing to consider is if you start cutting the skirt starting very high on both sides, you could end up with an unintended crotch shot where the skirts cross. Secondly, even if the cuts are not real high, you could end up with a situation where the point where the two skirts cross could end up looking like an arrow pointing to the crotch. For that reason, you should stagger the hem lines. One way to prevent that would be to cut the angles a little off center so that it does not look like an arrow pointing to the crotch. A second way would be to start cutting higher on one skirt and lower on the other. If you use Lycra or another fabric that does not ravel, it will not need to be hemmed. It is just that simple to create this angled skirt. How to Layer Skirts This method gives you a wide variety of choices. You have the choice of lengths and colors. The lengths could be three staggered lengths, two different lengths or all one length. The color choices give you similar choices. It all depends on the look you are trying to achieve. Supplies: 1. Three skirts 2. Long, large eye needle 3. Thread to match top layer 4. Scissors Directions: Choosing materials Pick three separate skirts that are either full skirts or circle skirts. These skirts could either be the same color, two different colors or three different colors and could be the same length or different lengths. To make it easier for you to see the differences as we show you how to do this, we have chosen three circle skirts of three different colors - a black skirt, a pink skirt and a white skirt. The pink and white skirts are the same length and the black Irish dance skirt. An Irish dance skirt is a circle skirt that is a couple of inches longer than the normal circle dance skirt.

54 Assembling the skirts If you are using three different lengths, then just stagger the skirts by length with the longest on the bottom and the shortest on the top. In our sample, the black skirt is the longest, so we will put it on the bottom and the other two skirts on top. So, we are putting the pink on top of the black and then white on top of the black. If you only have two lengths like we have in our sample but want to have the appearance of three separate lengths, there is a very easy way to fix that. Just drop the second skirt (our pink skirt) down a little on top of the bottom skirt (our black skirt) so that the waistband of the second skirt (our pink skirt) is a little lower than the waistband on the bottom skirt, and then add the top skirt (our white skirt) so the waistband is at the same place as the bottom skirt. The waistband of the top skirt would cover up the fact that second skirt is dropped down a little. If you to choose that method, it would be wise to tack the second skirt to the bottom (the pink to the black) and then add the top skirt (the white skirt) and tack it down just as described below. To sew the skirt as originally shown, we first put the pink skirt over the black. Make sure that the waistbands match and that the center backs are on top of each other. Once the waistbands are aligned, pin them together at several locations. Next, put the top skirt, which in this case is the white skirt, on top of the other two skirts.. Again, you need to make sure that the center back of the white skirt matches up with the center back on the black skirt and the pink skirt and the waistbands match up all around the skirts. Make sure, however, that the other waistbands do not peek out from under the top waistband. Then, pin the white skirt in several locations around the waist much like you did with the pink skirt and the black skirt. It is not necessary to sew the three layers together, but it is wise to do so. It would be too easy for the skirts to slip out of place, especially when the dancer is dancing, if the skirts are not at least tacked together in several places.

55 Sewing the Skirts Together Once the three skirts are pinned together with all three waistbands lined up, flip the top skirt (in this case the white skirt) up so that the two bottom skirts are available for sewing. Making sure that the waistbands are still lined up and that the bottom and middle waistbands do not show above the top waistband, sew through the bands of the two bottom skirts and catching the bottom of the waistband of the top skirt. Tack the waistbands together in several times in one location and then tie that tack off on the inside of the waistband. Then, repeat that several times around the waist of the skirts. Make sure that the waistbands do not move and remain hidden under the top waistband. An alternate step in this method would be to double the thread fed through the eye of the needle so that you actually have four strands of thread on the needle with which to sew. That makes each stitch stronger because there are actually four threads instead of two threads to attach the waistbands together. After a couple of stitches, tie a knot on the inside of the skirt. Repeat tacking the skirts together like that all around the waist. It is easiest to use a long needle with a large eye to accommodate the extra strands of thread at one time. Even though you want to strive to make sure that the thread does not go through the top skirt and show on the front, it is important to use thread that matches the top skirt just in case of a mishap. Whether you choose to use skirts three different colors, two colors or one color, that is your choice. Also, if you choose to use one length or a variety of lengths, that is also your choice. All of this is a matter of preference. Play with it and see what you like best. Most importantly, have fun with it.

56 Creating a Bustle This is a simple, easy way to take some basic dance pieces and turn them into a costume. You can create big bustles or little bustles. The usual practice is to put a larger bustle in the bag and a couple of smaller bustles in the front. This is a great technique if you want to introduce a little Victorian feel to your costume. We are going to show you how to create a bustle in the back and a couple of smaller bustles in the front. In our sample, we are going to use a black skirt for the skirt underneath and a shorter, pink skirt for the bustles. We are using these colors to make it easier to see what we are doing. Supplies: Directions: 1. Long circle skirt 2. Short circle skirt 3. Needle 4. Thread to match the bustle 5. Scissors 6. Ruler 7. Tulle, if desired 8. Flowers or Bows, if desired Choosing materials We are going to use a black skirt and shorter, pink skirt for our sample so it will be easier to see what we are doing. The shorter, pink skirt will be used for the bustle. However, you can use any combination of colors make the skirt and the bustle the same. You, of course, can choose any combination of colors of your choice. The skirt and bustle can be the same color or different colors. We are going to be making a larger bustle in back and several smaller bustles in the front. On our sample, we are using black thread against the pink material so that you can see the stitching but you will want to use thread that matches the colors of the bustles.

57 When you place the bustle on top of the other skirt, you need to remember that if you bring the bustle up, you want to make sure that someone s butt does not show. The first thing about the bustle is that it is usually in the back of the skirt. Consequently, the first step is to fold the skirt along back seam. Some skirts do not have a seam in the back, but have two seams on the sides. In that case, fold the skirt in half with those seams touching which will create a fold down the center of the back and one down the center of the front. Using those folds, you can find the center back. If you intend to create smaller bustles in the front, this would be a good time to mark the center fold for use when making those smaller bustles. Creating a bustle is largely just ruching it up. To create the bustle, insert the needle from the inside of the skirt into the center fold at the back of the skirt. Weave that needle in and out along the line created by the fold. Keep sewing in and out until you get to the top of the skirt ending with the needle on the inside. It is very important that your stitch line is perpendicular to the waistband. You can mark a straight line with seamstress chalk or a piece of soap along that center back fold as a guide for the sewing. We, however, are going to simply sew along the fold. If you are making small bustles next to each other, they need to be parallel to each other and the same length. To ensure that they are the same length, you can use a small ruler or you could take a small piece of cardboard and cut it to the length that you want for the bustle. You could then use it as a guide to make sure that the bustles are the same size. If you want smaller bustles next to each other, they need to be the same size. In the case of our sample, we have sewn the thread in and out and then when we pull it tight, the material gathers and becomes a bustle. The tighter you pull the thread, the more gathers you have and the more pronounced the bustle. There is a manufacturer s tag on our sample. We are going to tie the end of the thread to that tag. It just makes that stitching and the bustle a little stronger. If you do not have a tag to tie it off to, then you can tie the thread to the waistband or just stitch back through the bunched up material of the bustle a few times and then tie it off. This creates an anchor for the whole thing. When you start the stitching the bustle at the hem of the skirt, it usually creates a little piece of material that sticks out. Just tack that little piece inside so it cannot be seen. It also makes the bustle stronger. Once you have finished sewing the large bustle in the back, flip the skirt over to the front and determine where you want to put the little bustles. Lay the skirt on a flat surface with the center back where you have the bustle as a back. If you have not marked the center fold when you found the center back, then now is the time to do it. Find the

58 center of the front and mark the center front. Then divide and mark the front of the skirt in thirds. Depending on the size of the skirt, decide whether you want two or three bustles in the front. If you choose to have three bustles, then put the first one in the center and the other two on the lines that separate the skirt front in thirds. Either fold the skirt in each of those places where you would place the bustle and stitch up that line just like you did in the back only not making the bustle as big. However, you want to make sure to remember to mark the length of the stitch line for the bustles. If you have three bustles, you would want to make them a little smaller than if you had two bustles. Make sure to turn the little tab in the beginning to the inside of the skirt and anchor it down. Then create an anchor at the top. Additionally, you can add a little tulle under the bustle to puff it out a little and give it more volume. Also, at the top of the bustles, you could put little flowers or bows on the outside of the skirt. (In one of our other chapters, we show how to make little flowers and bows.) As always, be creative and have fun. Bows and Flowers to Add to Your Dance Costume We are going to show you seven ways that you can make bows and flowers. This is a great way to add a little extra to your dance costume creating the perfect cherry on top of an already great costume. The first way you can create a bow is with lace and tulle. This is a fantastic method to add some softness and three dimension to your costume. The next bow is an excellent little simple bow that works in your hair or it works on your costume. Another style of bow is the eight-loop bow. It is a great bow if you want something with a lot of punch and is simple to do. Next, we have the puffy bow. This bow is perfect if you want to make your costume really sassy but is super easy to make.

59 A unique addition to your costume would be a ruched flower. This is one of our favorite bows to make because it can give your costume a little elegance and a little softness. The flowers are beautiful when you put them together in a bunch. The next flower is a simple flower. The reason you might want to make this flower is because the movement of the flower will bring the attention to wherever you place it on your costume directing the judges attention to the spot you want them to look at. The last flower we are going to show you how to make for your dance costume uses simple fabric petals to make. It is a lot like our simple flower but is a lot more three dimensional. It is a little more intricate but it is a great flower to bring a lot of attention to wherever you want the judges to focus. Creating a Bow with Lace and Tulle To fashion a bow using Lace and Tulle creates a great three dimensional look bringing lots of color and softness to the costume. It is a great look on the back of the skirt or the front of the top. Supplies: 25. Lace material 26. Tulle 27. Ruler 28. Pins 29. Needle 30. Thread to match the lace 31. Scissors 32. Hair clip or pin mechanism, optional Directions: Choosing Your Materials First, of course, is to choose the lace you want to use. Next, choose the tulle. In our example, we are using a very nice piece of stretch lace that had been used in the top of the costume. This particular piece is about 16 inches long and about 5 inches wide. The costume is in blue and black so we are using blue lace and black tulle.

60 Assembling the Bow Lay the lace flat on the table and then lay the tulle on top of the lace. The tulle needs to be folded in half so that there are two layers of tulle. The tulle should peek out just a little bit on the top and the bottom of the lace. To find the center of the tulle, fold it in half with the tulle inside keeping your finger on the inside at that half point. Then, with your finger still in place, unfold the lace and tulle. Next, fold both end pieces in to where your finger so that both end pieces meet in the center and pull one end a little so that it slightly overlaps the other. At this point, you can use a ruler to verify that this is definitely the center. Sewing the Flower Pin the overlapping edges and th en using thread that matches the lace, start sewing the width of this piece catching each layer including the overlapping piece. Weave your stitches in and out across the middle of the piece, gathering up the material as you go. We suggest you use a long needle with a large eye for two reasons. First, it is a good idea to double thread the needle so that you basically have four strands of thread. Second, with a long needle you can weave it in and out in one long stitch instead of lots of little stitches. Pull the thread ice and tight. Then, pull the needle and thread back into the bow the way it came. Once you have pulled the thread nice and tight through the bow, wind the thread around the center of the bow. Feed the thread into the bow and out the middle and tie a knot. The tulle is needed to keep the bow stiff. As you can see in our example, the tulle sticks out a little bit. If you do not want to see the tulle, cut it a little smaller so that it is not wider than the lace. The second step is to make the long ends of the bow. Cut a piece of the lace with the ends cut at an angle. Fold the bow in half and pinch the bow in the center. Now, you have the choice of points down or points in the center. We usually choose the points in the center. We just like the look of that better. If you want a clean looking bow, it is

61 important to make sure that the points are even. Gather the lace strip in the middle with your fingers. The top and bottom parts of the ruffle face towards the back. Take your needle and sew through those gathers and then wind it around a few times. Match the center of the lace strip to the center of the bow and sew the strip to the bow. You can leave it the way it is if you want, but we prefer to finish it off. Take a very small piece of lace and fold it in thirds. Place this strip on the back of the bow and sew the strip securely to the bow. Wind the piece around the bow tightly but not so tight that the strip is bunched up. To finish the bow off, puff it up and pull the tulle out a little to your preference. You can then sew a hair clip to the back, sew a pin backing to the back or sew it directly to the dance costume. Making a Simple Bow We are now going to show you how to make a simple, little bow. It is the perfect look if you want something in your hair or just a little decoration for your costume to create a little three dimensional look. Supplies: 1. Organza or Ribbon 2. Thread to match organza or ribbon 3. Ruler 4. Pins 5. Needle 6. Scissors 7. Hair clip or pin backing, optional Directions: Choosing Your Materials In our example, I am using organza ribbon, but you could use regular ribbon or strips of fabric. If you use strips of fabric, you want to cut really clean lines and preferably use fabric that does not ravel. Cutting the Materials To determine the size that you want to cut the ribbon, take a little piece of the organza ribbon or regular ribbon and find the center. Bring the two ends to the center and

62 overlap them. Gather the center with your fingers and decide if that is the size you want. If not, cut another strip either shorter or longer than the first one depending on your preference. If you will be making multiple bows, you will want to measure the piece you choose so you can use it for future reference. You should then cut a very small strip to create the finishing piece that will go around the center of the bow covering up the stitches in the center. If you are going to be making more than one bow, cut as many pieces as you will need to make the number of bows you want. Also, cut enough of the small strips to complete the number of bows you are planning to make. Sewing the Bows Double thread your needle for strength. Make a loop of the ribbon overlapping the ends about a half an inch. Sew the overlapped ends weaving the needle in and out the width of the ribbon. Holding the loop where the ends are overlapped and stretching the loop out, you will find the two centers of the bow, the one where the ends overlap and the one directly across from that. Bring those two centers together and sew them like you did the overlapped ends weave the needle in and out across the width of the ribbon. We used white thread on our example so that you can see what I have done here but you should use thread that matches the bow. You can either leave the bow as it is or finish the bow off. To finish the bow, take a strip of the organza or ribbon and fold it in thirds lengthwise. Keeping the raw edges facing the bow, sew the strip to the back center of the bow. Wrap the strip around the center of the bow to the back, turn the end under and sew it to the back of the bow. Keep all of the stitches on the back side and do not let the needle go through to the front. Clip off the excess of the strip and the thread. We now have a very simple, but very cute, organza bow. As with the last bow, you can sew a hair clip or pin backing to the back of the bow or just sew the bow in place. With a small bow like the example, however, I would not use a hair clip or a pin mechanism unless you can find very small ones.

63 Making an Eight Loop Bow The eight loop bow is great if you want a little tiny something somewhere with a lot of punch for a small amount of work Supplies: 1. Ribbon of any kind 2. Thread to match ribbon 3. Ruler 4. Pins 5. Needle 6. Scissors 7. Hair clip or pin backing, optional Directions: Choosing Your Materials In our example, we are going to use organza ribbon, but it could be any kind of ribbon satin, lace or whatever you can find. It is all about your desire. Cutting the Ribbon For our sample bow, we are going to use the organza ribbon. This bow uses eight loops per bow. So, to start off, for our sample bow we are going to use ten inch ribbons and we need eight ribbons for one bow. In addition, we need to cut small strips to cover the center of the bow which will be used to cover up the stitches in the center of the bow. You will need one of these strips for each bow you plan to make. Assembling the Bow Take one of the ten ribbons that you cut and make a loop with the ends overlapping each other. That will be one of the centers of the loop. Holding those two overlapping ends together, stretch the ribbon out and hold it in the fingers of your other hand. Take the side that you are holding in your second hand and match it up to the overlapping ends. This will create a mini bow. Hold the center point of this mini bow in two fingers, stitch through the whole thing and pull the

64 needle through gathering the center of the bow. Tie it off. Do the same with the other strips until you have eight loops or mini-bows. Place one gathered mini bow on top of and perpendicular to the first one making sure that the raw end is facing down so that the bows form a cross. Sew through the center point of both. Keep adding and sewing down the gathered mini-bows on top of the others changing the direction of each bow slightly until all eight of the loops have been used. Sew through the whole pile each time another one is added. Each time you add a bow, make sure the side of the bow with the raw edge is facing down so that it cannot be seen. Using thread that matches the organza or ribbon will make the stitches practically invisible. Making a Puffy Bow The Puffy Bow is a really popular bow that we have produced for a lot of costumes. Supplies: 1. Fabric of your choice 2. Tulle 3. Thread to match fabric 4. Ruler 5. Straight Pins 6. Needle (Sewing machine preferable on this bow) 7. Scissors 8. Hair clip or pin backing, optional Directions: Choosing Your Materials With this bow, you can use any fabric you want. You could use the fabric that you used for the costume or for the trim on the costume or whatever suits your fancy. The tulle can be any color you want but preferably it would match or coordinate with the main fabric. If the back of the bow will be visible, you have the option of using a second piece of the fabric for the back instead of the tulle. However, it will be slightly heavier and that should be taken into consideration.

65 Cutting the Fabric Cut the fabric and tulle just slightly larger (1/2 to 1 larger) than the size of the intended finished bow and cut the tulle the same size. If the fabric ravels, you should cut more fabric to allow for making the seams bigger. For our example, we are using a piece that is almost six inches by eight inches. Sewing the Bow Lay the piece of fabric face down and flat on the table with the fabric face up and place approximately four layers of tulle on top of it. Start sewing from any corner with the knot on the tulle side. This bow actually comes out better if you use a sewing machine. However, it can be sewn by hand. If you sew it by hand, double thread the needle so that it has four strands and is extra strong. Sew in and out along the edge ½ from the edge of the fabric to the corner, turn the corner and sew ½ from the edge along that side. Continue doing that all around the piece of fabric until you reach the starting point. If you are sewing this by hand, make sure that you check the fabric side continually to make sure that it stays flat and does not pucker up. Assembling the Bow Turn the fabric over so the back is face up. Grab a little piece of the tulle and pull it up so that it is separate from the fabric. Making sure you have only the tulle, cut a little opening in the center. Cut a little X in the tulle only. Pull the fabric through that hole and smooth out the fabric making what looks like a little pillow. Using one of your finger into the corners of this

66 pillow and gently push the fabric into the corners so that they are nice and sharp. If you wish to stuff the pillow with a little tulle to make it extra puffy, this is the time to do that. Insert the tulle inside the cut in the back. Make sure it is pushed into all four corners and that it is spread out evenly without lumps. How much you insert depends on how fluffy you want it to be. To check it, turn the pillow face up and gather the center to see how it looks. Add or remove tulle until it turns out the way you want. Sew up the hole in the back. It does not have to be great workmanship since it will not be seen. Take the needle and starting smack dab in the center lengthwise start sewing in and out across the middle to the other side. Make sure that you sew through all of the layers. Pull the thread through so that it gathers the pillow in the center creating a bow and tie it off in a knot. You can leave the bow as it is or finish it off adding a small strip of fabric. To finish with a fabric strip, cut a small strip long enough to go around the center of the bow. Fold it in thirds so that the raw ends are covered. Hold the strip down on the back side of the bow and wrap it around until it overlaps the strip on the back. Sew the end down to the strip on the back sewing only the strip and not catching the bow. At the very end, secure it to the bow by sewing it to the bow itself but not going through to the front. Make a couple of stitches to totally secure the strip. Either fold the end of the strip down before you sew it down or cut any excess when you are done. At this point, you can either sew the bow to a hair clip, pin backing or sew the bow right to the garment. Making a Traditional Ruched Flower The traditional ruched flower is not only great for costumes but also for dresses. You might want to make a ruched flower because it gives your costume a little bit of softness, it is super easy to do and it will just make your costume amazing. Supplies: 1. Fabric, lace strips or blanket binding 2. Needle 3. Thread to match 4. Straight pins 5. Scissors or clippers 6. Hair clip or pin backing, optional Directions:

67 Choosing Your Materials For our demonstration, we are showing you options of fabric strips, grosgrain ribbon, a lace strip, or blanket binding. Fabric strips work well because you can match your costume or the trim on the costume. Also, you have more choices for variety with fabric. Blanket binding works well because it has a finished folded edge. Both the fabric and the binding will have a folded edge and has a little more bulk to it. Choose the fabric and color of your choice and that goes well with the costume. Cutting the Material For our example, we are using fabric so that it matches the outfit. We cut a strip about a foot and a half long and about four inches wide. Fold the strip in half lengthwise. Then, round off the corners on the open edge. Sewing the Bow Because the thread often breaks on this, you definitely want to double thread the needle so that you end up with four strands of thread with which to sew. It is best to use a long needle with a large eye for this. Start sewing the strip on the folded edge and continue towards the open edge. Sewing about ½ from the edge sew the needle in and out starting from the folded edge of the strip to the open edge and down the open edge to the other end, turn and continue to the folded edge. Make sure that you catch both layers on the open end and that you gather as you go. If you find you are more than ½ from the edge back it out and start again. When you are done, the strip will turn on its own and make a circle. Check the gathers. Some may be really tight and they will need to be adjusted. You do not want the gathers too tight but you do want lots of them. If any of the gathers are too tight, loosen them and even them out. At this point, you want to tie a strong knot so that you do not lose all the work you have done if the thread breaks. You do not have to cut the thread, just continue sewing with the same thread. The next step is to roll the gathered edge starting from the folded edge. Roll it a little bit and then anchor the gathered edges of what you have rolled by sewing in and out through the gathered and rolled fabric in several different directions. Then, continue rolling the fabric strip along the gathered edge and anchor the gathered edge again by

68 sewing all the way through that rolled edge. Again, continue rolling the gathered edge until you reach the other end and anchor it again for the final time. If while rolling this strip you notice that you missed a section while gathering it, just grab the piece up with your needle and kind of gather it right there and then continue rolling the strip. If at any time, the rolled strip becomes too big to sew all the way through the rolled edge, the just sew half of the way through and anchor it to half of the roll. Continue sewing around the edges of the back of the flower to reinforce the integrity of the flower so that none of the flower slips out of the roll. It is a good idea to tie off the thread several times during this whole process so that if the thread breaks you do not lose your work. Turn the flower over and look at how it turned out. You can flatten it down if you like or if it does not seem tight enough, turn the flower over and do a little more work to it. Stitch into the base of the flower and tighten up what you have done by stitching in and out tightening it up as you go. After you have sewn around the base then stitch into the base and out of the base a couple of times. Then wind around the base several times very tightly and then again stitch in and out once to anchor the stitches and tie it off. When you turn it over you should see that it has a tighter look to the flower. These flowers can be very time consuming. If you are doing several flowers, time the first flower and allow at least that much for each flower. These flowers work for a lot of things besides dance costumes. They are used for hair pieces, vintage dresses, vintage hats and a lot of other things. Their use is only limited by your imagination. Making a Simple Flower Out of Fabric This flower is just what it is called simple. The main reason you might want to use this flower is that is not as tight and moves a lot and shows a lot of movement in your dancing. If you put it by your face or any other place you might want to call attention to, this is a great little flower for that. Supplies: 1. Fabric 2. Needle 3. Thread to match the fabric 4. Ruler 5. Straight pins 6. Scissors or clippers

69 Directions: Choosing Your Materials Choose the fabric of your choice. It could be the same fabric as your costume, match or coordinate with your costume. Cutting the Fabric You will want to end up with several sizes of petals. So, start by cutting the largest size and work down. We need a number of petals of different sizes. If you find that the flower you are making is too small or too large, cut extra petals as necessary. For our sample, we started with a piece of fabric that is about three inches square. Fold the fabric in half and then in half again, in other words in quarters. Use your finger and thumb to hold the folded corner. Starting in the folded corner down by thumb, cut all the layers in the shape of a teardrop. Unfold the teardrop and you will see a petal with four projections. Looking at this petal, it does not seem large enough so we will cut a few more squares that are both a little larger and a little smaller than three inch square. That will give us a number of different size petals. We will need about five petals for the flower. Once you have the petals, pile them on top of each other keeping the centers in line starting with the largest on the bottom and working up to the smallest on top. Sewing the flower From the front, insert your needle through the middle of the centers and sew through all the layers. Fold the flower in half and sew in and out about a quarter inch down a few times. Open it up and fold it in half in the opposite directions and sew in and out about a quarter inch down several times. Then, fold it in half again so that it is in quarters. Hold it in your hand and sew in and out of the bottom. Move around the base sewing in and out from different directions creating a pinched effect on the bottom. Turn it over and you have your first flower. If you wish, you could make the different petals in different colors. Have fun experimenting with these flowers.

70 Making a Flower Out of Fabric Petals Here we are going to show you how to make a flower using fabric petals. It is a lot like the Simple Flower. It is a little more intricate, fluffier and a lot more fully dimensional when it is moving. It is a great flower to add to your costume to attract the judge s attention. Supplies: 1. Fabric 2. Ruler 3. Needle 4. Thread to match fabric 5. Straight pins 6. Scissors Directions: Choosing Your Materials This flower allows you to choose whatever fabric you wish. So, your criteria would be what material goes best with the costume the same material as the costume, same as the trim or a coordinating color. Another consideration is that the fabric does not ravel. Cutting the Fabric To cut the fabric for this flower, you start off with squares. We have already done several petals and for this one, we are going to cut a three inch square. Do not worry about the ragged edges because they will be cut away anyway. Fold the square in half and then in half again. You will end up with a smaller square about a quarter of the original square. Hold the folded corner with your thumb and pointer finger. Start cutting into the folded edge around your thumb and back out the other folded edge. This will create the shape of a teardrop.

71 Sewing the Flowers When you have several petals, start stacking them on top of each other with the centers directly on top of each other. You will use a lot more petals in this flower than in the Simple Flower. The more layers you do, the fluffier the flower will be. In the Simple Flower, we stacked the petals from largest on the bottom to smallest on the top. With this flower, we will stack them in any order we want. Be careful to stagger the petals so the petals are not on top of each other but haphazard. There will be large ones, then small ones, then medium ones, then large ones, and so on. Take your needle and insert it directly into the very center of the stack and sew it all the way through the stack. Then from the other side of the flower, push the needle back the way it came from. Pinch the center together and go through all the layers. Fold the flower in half and starting about a quarter of an inch down, sew through all of the layers of fabric creating a pinch from the front side. Open the flower all the way up and fold the flower in half in the opposite direction and repeat the stitch you just made. Then you can go through and fluff these out. You can then sew the flower directly onto the item you want it to go on. If you use stiffer fabric, it will turn out just a little bit perkier. There are many different flowers you can make with these petals. We have already cut several pieces. Using Paint on a Dance Costume We are going to show you seven ways to enhance your dance costume using paint. Paint will add a little texture and weight to a light weight skirt and a little texture up towards your face. It will draw everybody s eye towards wherever you apply this paint. The first technique that we are going to show you is painting lace. The lace does not have to be a skirt as shown in our demonstration. However, if you do use it on a skirt, you want to be aware that the weight of the paint and any rhinestones you may add will help pull the skirt around and cause a very pretty movement in the skirt. If you add paint to a top, it generates an extra dimension wherever you apply it and draws the judge s eyes to the dancer s face.

72 The next use of paint that we are going to demonstrate is how to form leaves. It is a fantastic technique to use if you want a jungle feel or outdoor tribal feel. This is a great idea for you if that is your goal. In this section, we are going to demonstrate how to use paint to hem a garment. This comes in really handy when you want to create the effect of a rolled hem but do not have a machine available that will perform that function. This is a very simple method to achieve that goal. Adding glitter to paint is the next technique that we are going to demonstrate. It is a fantastic method to use if you have a small budget. It will sparkle like rhinestones and it will give an abundance of beauty and texture. With this next process, we are going to show you how to paint some very simple flowers on any fabric. It is a marvelous bang for your buck. Instead of using a large number of rhinestones, you can just scatter them in among the flowers. It will create texture on a solid fabric. Next, we will show you how painting swirls using fabric paint is a great technique that will create the illusion of length and texture on a garment using a very small amount of paint. Finally, we are going to show you how to use fabric paint to create a fade pattern on a garment. This is the perfect answer if you would like an ombre effect but want to have more control and definition than you would get by using fabric dye. Painting on Lace Here we are going to show you how to paint on a lace skirt giving it a little texture, helping the weight and the flow of the skirt. It is an excellent look to bring a little dimension to your lace garment. Recently while on a trip to Miami, we saw a gorgeous lace top in a specialty store. It was used on a bustier. We tried to determine where we could obtain this stunning fabric. During this process, we realized that they had simply applied puffy paint to lace and created a very dramatic look to the top. Supplies: 1. Lace dance garment 2. Puffy paint

73 3. Paper plates or sheets of paper 4. Rhinestones or glitter optional Directions: Choosing Your Materials If you already have a lace garment, you do not need to choose any material. The only thing you will need to choose are the paint colors you want to use. You need to decide if you want to use just one color throughout, different shades of the same color or more than one color. It all depends on the look you wish to achieve. Preparation Before Painting This method is really super easy. Before you start painting, you need to shake up the paint. As far as actually painting, you just need to determine what emphasis you want to place on the lace s design. If you are not used to painting with puffy paint, it would be a good idea to practice on a piece of paper before you start painting on the lace. That would help you get the feel of it. It is real easy to press too hard on the bottle and get a very uneven flow and leave globs of paint at various intervals. You could end up making a mess of the garment instead of making it prettier. Painting the Lace Before you start painting, make sure to shake the paint bottle up real well. If it is not properly shaken, you will get a clear liquid instead of paint or even a runny look instead of the right consistency. To make sure you have shaken it up enough, try painting a little line on a piece of paper, scrap of material or your paper plate. When painting on lace, you need to put a couple of sheets of white paper or a paper plate underneath the lace or the paint will bleed through on to your surface or onto other layers of fabric. It is important to understand that you will not be able to move the painted lace for awhile. You will need to let the paint dry before doing anything else.. We will be using both blue lace and white lace for our demonstration. We are going to use white puffy paint on the blue lace so that the paint is obvious and makes it easier for you to see. Normally, we would never use white on blue like this. We would use shades

74 of blue on blue lace or other colors that go well with the blue and will help pull the colors out. As you can see, white on the blue lace looks pretty hokey but, if you choose the same colors as the lace such as blue puffy paint on blue lace or other complementary colors, it has a very dramatic effect. Start with the center of a flower and just follow the lace pattern. Then, paint the outer edges of the flower. You need to look at the lace pattern as you go along and decide what lines you want to emphasize. If you have any scraps of the lace material, you might want to play around with painting it before you start on the garment itself. Puffy paint works really well if you are also putting rhinestones on the garment. From a distance, you would see the effect but not realize that it is puffy paint. We did not think we would like it, but we were amazed at how well it turned out. Since too much paint will cause the garment to end up hard and stiff, we would suggest you not paint the entire outfit. So, be careful that you do not overdo. If you want the fabric to flow and move when dancing, take extra care to not overdo the painting of the skirt. Reserve this for a top or something that is more fitted. You could also add a little glitter to give it a little extra shine. If you make a mistake and the paint is the same color as the lace, you could carefully wash the paint off. Just make sure to let the fabric dry well before you continue painting. Creating Leaves and Feathers for a Dance Costume This method is an easy way to create leaves or feathers and is a fantastic way to create a tribal or jungle look. One of our favorite things to do is to see something that attracts our attention and figure out how somebody created it. We have seen mesh in strips that look like feathers and leaves. We can tell they were not cut. We also know were they not sewn because sewing with stretch mesh leaves a little bowing effect to the edge. That is often called a lettuce leaf effect. Consequently, when we saw those leaves, we tried to figure out how they were created. We realized that someone had done it by using paint and that was our start. With a little trial and error, we were able to replicate the look. Supplies: 1. Mesh fabric or other material that will not fray

75 2. Fabric paint 3. Tailor s chalk or a bar of soap 4. Paper plates or sheets of paper Directions: Choosing Your Materials Obviously, since you are going to make individual leaves or feathers, you will not be using an existing dance garment. Although you will probably be wearing dance shorts o briefs underneath. Therefore, you will be looking for mesh or some other material that will not fray. The color you choose will depend on what you are making. For instance, if you are making leaves, you will use a shade or shades of green. You could use a light green mesh and a slightly darker green paint or go the other direction and use a dark mesh with a light green paint. This will be a matter of preference. If you are making feathers, your colors are not as limited. Preparation Cut a paper plate in the shape of the leaf that you want to create. This method can also be used for feathers. Using tailor s chalk or a bar of soap, draw around the leaf pattern onto the mesh fabric. For demonstration purposes, we are going to use a pen instead of tailor s chalk or a bar of soap so that you can see what we are doing. If you do not want to use mesh, you need to pick a material that does not fray. Make sure the tube of paint is well shaken. Then paint next to the leaf shape that you have drawn. Make sure that you press slightly into the fabric so that it adheres to the edge. Then, draw a curvy line in the center of the leaf to represent the main vein of the leaf and then draw a few lines off of the center line to represent the smaller veins of the leaf. Once the paint has dried, you can cut around the leaf shape. Cut as close as possible but try not to cut off the outside edge of the leaf. You are going to want to make multiple leaves. You need to determine how you are going to use the leaves. Are you going to have a few hanging off the costume or are you going to create a skirt? It is important to decide that before you start because if you are going to create a skirt of overlapping leaves, they need to be wide enough to cover and long enough for a skirt. To use it for a skirt, you should make about thirty or forty leaves. They do not have to be exactly the same width but they should be close. However, the length of all of the leaves should be the same. This would create a really unique look. No one else would have a look like this. Just enjoy.

76 Hemming with Paint Hemming with paint is very simple and really comes in handy when you want the look of a rolled hem on your garment but do not have a sewing machine that is capable of making a rolled hem. This method could also come in very handy if you are at an overnight competition and find you need to make a change in your hem. You just need to make sure you have time to let the paint dry thoroughly. This method can be used whenever you might want to use a rolled hem the hem of a skirt or blouse or even the hem of sleeves. When using paint over a large area like the hem of a garment, it is important to add textile medium to the paint before painting the garment. Textile medium added to the paint will make the painted fabric more pliable. Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Paint 3. Textile medium 4. Scissors 5. Paper plates or sheets of paper Directions: Choosing Your Materials Since you would be hemming an existing garment, all we would be looking for or choosing would be to determine the color of paint that you want to use with your garment. Hemming Your Garment It is very easy to hem your garment with paint. The only drawback is making sure that the paint is dry before you cut your garment. The first step is to determine the length that you want for your garment. Make sure you measure the hem carefully and then paint a strip approximately ½ wide around the garment starting about ¼

77 above the hem line. Once the paint is dry, carefully cut through the middle of the painted line all around the skirt. You would then end up with a ¼ line of paint above the cut line and a 1/4 line of paint below the cut line. Therefore, you would have ¼ painted rolled hem. How to Add Glitter to Your Dance Costume In this section, we are going to show you how to use glitter and paint together. It creates a striking effect at a very low cost. It is a great technique to use if you have a tight budget. There are actually a couple of different methods where you use glitter. We often add rhinestones to our look. Paint and glitter together will dramatically change the look of the fabric. It makes it look like there is a pattern to the fabric when it is just plain fabric. Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Three dimensional paint like Puffy paint or 3. E6000 glue 4. Glitter 5. Paper plates 6. Rhinestones optional Directions: Choosing Your Materials Choose the dance garment you want to embellish and then decide if you want to use the puffy paint, E6000 glue or both. Then, choose the glitter that you wish to use. Also, you will need to decide if you want to use rhinestones. Adding Glitter If you use a three-dimensional paint like puffy paint and then you sprinkle glitter on it, the glitter really stands out. For our demonstration, we are going to use going to create a pattern with white puffy paint on white fabric. Next, we are going to add a little silver glitter to the white on white so that you can see the glitter. If we were actually adding glitter to a garment like this, we would probably use iridescent glitter.

78 In our demonstration, we have drawn a random pattern, but it could be any kind of pattern at all. If you are a good artist, you could actually draw a simple picture. It is advisable to draw the pattern or picture on a piece of paper first so that you can see what it will look like. It will help you decide what kind of look you want. Do not worry how much glitter you use. You can be very generous with the glitter because it will only stick where there is actually paint. It is advisable to wait awhile after you have sprinkled the glitter to allow time for everything to dry before you shake the excess glitter off of the fabric. When you do shake the excess glitter off of the fabric, you should shake it over a paper plate. That way you can salvage the excess glitter and reuse it later. Even if you do not want to reuse the excess glitter, it makes it easier to clean up if you shake it off over a paper plate. Once the paint is totally dry, you can brush off any excess glitter still remaining. However, if you dry to brush off the last remaining bits of glitter and the paint is not totally dry, it will smear the paint. Actually, you do not need to use paint for the glitter. You can also use E6000 glue in a syringe to draw simple, small designs. For instance, you could draw a little heart with the glue and then sprinkle the glitter on it. The E6000 glue in a syringe is not the easiest to control but once you are used to it, you can get smaller designs than with the E6000 in a tube or with the puffy paint. If you want to use this method, it would be advisable to practice with the syringe until you feel comfortable and can get the designs you want. Whether you use the paint or the glue, you will still want to wait until the glue is totally dry before you dispose of the excess glitter. You could also use a combination of the paint and the glue, if you wish. Next, we will show you another type of glitter which comes in a spray bottle. This gives an glitter all over effect. You need to shake the bottle up real good because the bottle sometimes gets clogged up. Spray the glitter lightly over the whole surface. When it dries, it looks like it has glitter all over. Since the glitter is part of the spray, there will be no excess glitter to clean up. This technique works really well with something like a mesh fabric. This is an easy and inexpensive way to change up a costume. Think it out. Have fun with it.

79 Painting Simple Flowers Painting simple flowers create a dramatic impact on a solid fabric. We have done it here on a plain bra so that you can see it. You can make it in a couple of shades of the same color, us several colors or make it monochromatic. It is a great technique to add just a little dimension to any fabric. Supplies: 1. Garment 2. Paint 3. Tailor s chalk or small bar of soap 4. Paper plates or sheets of paper Directions: Choosing Your Materials With this technique, you are basically just choosing the garment and the color of paint that you wish to use. Painting Your Design We are going to show you a couple of ways to do this. You are going to want to decide where you want to put the first flower. This is usually in the center of the area that you want to paint or in the center of an imaginary line where you want to put a row of flowers. You will want to mark that spot with Tailor s chalk or a small bar of soap. This will become the center point of your first flower. Then determine how far apart you want all of the flowers. Do you want them in a straight line or random or some type of pattern? This will all depend on what you want. Even if you decide on a random pattern, there is still a certain amount of planning and design. So, you should decide how far apart you want your flowers and cut a piece of paper or card stock that is that measurement to use as a guide. Then, everywhere that you want a flower, mark another little center point. We don t usually recommend puffy paint in this technique but we are going to use it for this demonstration to make it easier for you to see. However, we do like the puffy paint when using it on lace or when using glitter because it gives it more of a three dimension. Once you have chosen which flower you want to use, then scatter them around the area you want to cover using the center point dots you previously made as a guide. Since

80 you have used a medium like a bar of soap or Tailor s chalk to mark these center points, you can delete any marks you decide not to use. Find the center of the area that you want to cover with flowers. Plan out where you want to put the flowers and mark the fabric with a dot everywhere that you want to put a flower. We are using ink to mark the fabric so that you can see it. But when you are doing this, we recommend using Tailor s chalk or a bar of soap to mark the fabric. This allows you to change your mind. The first flower we are going to show starts with a little dot and then you just pull the paint out creating a petal. You create about five petals pulling the paint out from that first starting point. This flower has more of a 70 s feel to it. The second flower is created by drawing a little circle and then drawing additional circles of the same size around that original circle. The bigger the center circle, the more petals you can put around it. This second flower is a perfect flower to put a rhinestone in the center of the little flower. These are our favorite flowers. Usually we use these flowers to add in other elements like rhinestones or lace. Sometimes we will use the same color as the fabric just to give it a little bit of a three dimension. Practice on a piece of paper until you are happy with the way the flowers look because once you put on the fabric, you cannot take it out. You should also try to map out where the flowers will go on the garment. Be careful when you are painting the flowers that you do not drag your hand over what has already been painted. Obviously, that would just smear the paint. Sometimes we get a little drop of paint where we do not want to have a flower. When that happens, we just go with it and create random drops between the flowers as if they had been planned that way. Think about it, plan it, plot it out and you will find that it is actually very easy.

81 Painting Swirls on Fabric Creating swirls using a small amount of fabric paint is a great technique that provides the illusion of length and texture to your garment. This is a very simple concept using S patterns down the side of a lightweight and not overwhelming. Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Paint or paints 3. Brushes 4. Paper plates 5. sheets of paper Directions: Choosing Your Materials First of all, you will want to choose the garment or garments to be decorated with these swirls. Next, you would need to choose the color or colors of paint that you want to use. Your colors could be complementary colors or colors that are just a lighter or darker shade of the garment s color. Painting the Garment For our demonstration, we will use a piece of Lycra to show you exactly what we want to do. Before you do anything, you will want to plot out your swirl design on a piece of paper or extra piece of fabric. In the case of our demonstration, we are going to make two swirls. We have decided the size we want. So, we created a piece of paper that is half the length of the area involved and then drew one swirl the length of that paper creating a guide to paint the swirl on the fabric. On our demonstration piece, we used a pen to mark the garment rather than tailor s chalk or a bar of soap so that hopefully you can see the markings but you would not want to use a pen because it may be hard to cover. Before you actually start painting the swirl, put your guide next to the fabric. Set your guide above the first half of the fabric of the sleeve or arm and copy the swirl onto the

82 fabric. From that point, you can use your guide to place the other swirls. Using your guide and the tailor s chalk or a bar of soap, mark the starting point and the ending point of the first swirl on the fabric. If you do not feel comfortable drawing the swirl freehand, you could use the tailor s chalk or bar of soap to draw the swirl itself and then paint next to it. Move the guide and repeat the process for any subsequent swirls. Another option would be to overlap the swirls. So, you would be making three swirls and your guide would be adjusted for that. Mark the beginning and ending spot for all three swirls. Paint the first swirl and with your starting point inside the second curve, start your second swirl. Then, do the same for the third swirl. Depending on the size of the swirls, the number of swirls on the leg or sleeve, and the look you want to achieve you could use more than one color for the swirls. Creating a Fade Pattern with Paint The use of paint to create a fade pattern is an easy way to obtain an ombre effect when you are not comfortable using dye. Using paint will give you more control and, as a result, a more accurate pattern than you can achieve using dye. Fade patterns provide a simple pattern that is unique, custom and looks expensive when it is actually very inexpensive. An important benefit to this technique is that you can cover up imperfections of your body, i.e., using dark paint to slenderize the hips. Supplies: 1. Fabric or dance garment 2. Paint a minimum of three different shades of the same color 3. Paint brush 4. Paper plates or sheets of paper Directions:

83 Choosing Your Materials As usual, the first step is to choose your fabric or dance garment. Then, of course, you need to choose the colors of the paint you wish to use. Remember, you need a minimum of three paint colors. For our demonstration, we are going to use three different shades of green paint and a pair of dance shorts. We want the color to fade down on the one leg. If you want the colors to blend a little, dampen the fabric. You want the garment wet, but not dripping wet. If the fabric is too wet, the paint will spread more and the edges will not be as intense. Next, dip your brush in the lightest color and paint the lightest color with downward strokes about 1/3 of the surface on the top portion of the leg. Next, do the same with the medium color covering the next 1/3 of the leg but slightly overlap the lighter colored paint with the medium color. Finally, do the same with the dark color and make sure you overlap the bottom of the medium color. There should be less of the dark color than the other two colors. Go back with a fairly dry brush with the darkest color and kind of blend the paint over the edges of the three colors so that the actual edges are obscured. You can then do the same with the light or medium color if you wish. The fabric will be stiff but that can be overcome by hand washing the garment with fabric softener. You could also mix a textile medium with the paint which would the paint and the garment more pliable. Simple Sewing Techniques to Enhance Your Dance Costume We are going to show you nine simple sewing techniques that will not only enhance your dance costume, but will make your life so much easier. The first technique we are going to show you is sewing appliqués on to a garment. Appliqués will give you a lot of volume. You can use it on a bra to give a little more coverage, or to hang over the edge of a garment to give your stomach area more coverage or even on your skirt. However you use it, an appliqué can tie the whole piece

84 together. It is a great look that can give your costume a lot of oomph for just a little bit of work. The second topic will be pins and needles. We will talk about a number of different needles, their sizes and explain how each is used. This technique is a great little informational tool. Showing you how and when to sew snaps or hooks and eyes onto your costume is next. There are a number of different types of snaps and hooks and eyes. Knowing how and when to use them is a great skill to have. You never know when you are going to need to replace a snap or a hook and eye on one of your costumes. Sewing buttons on a costume is similar to sewing on snaps or hooks and eyes. They come in many sizes, colors and either two hole buttons, four hole buttons or shank buttons. Knowing how to sew buttons on a costume is a great skill that can also become handy in your personal wardrobe. When dealing with dance costumes, sewing buttons on a costume will normally be decorative or replacing buttons that have fallen off. We are now going to show you how to sew buttons onto a garment. It is a really great skill to learn. It can create a dramatic impact and completely change the look of a costume. Plus you never know when you are going to need to sew on a button that has fallen off. How to ruch a skirt is the next method of enhancing your costume that we are going to show you. Basically, ruching is gathering up material. We are going to use a skirt for this demonstration but you could ruch a skirt, a dress, a top or any other garment you wish. One reason you would want to ruch a skirt is that it gives fantastic impact with a great deal of movement and keeps a lot of flow in the skirt. In addition to ruching a skirt, we are going to show you how to ruch a top. It is a wonderful way to take a simple sports bra and make it look unique and custom. Instead of a boring circular neckline, the neckline will have a soft, rounded vee and gives it texture and depth by gathering it up. That is all that ruching is it is simply gathering up. The method used to sew a skirt to briefs or shorts is probably the most basic of the techniques that we are showing you. This method will also work for a number of things such as tacking down parts of a garment that might move out of place while dancing and distract the judge. For instance, if you do not tack down a skirt that is supposed to be at the hips, it will want to move to the smallest part of the hips and either move up to the waist or down below the hips even if that is not where you want it to be. It is very simple to sew the skirt to shorts or a brief; however, it will have the most impact of any technique that you will learn.

85 In this last section, we will show you how to perform several simple alterations to your dance costume. This technique actually consists of a number of different related items. One is hemming up a pair of shorts. Another is a simple method of adjusting a skirt that is too big. We are going to show you how to take in that skirt by creating a pleat in the back of the skirt that looks like it was supposed to be there all along. We are also going to show you how to take a sports bra and turn it into a halter. Sometimes a bra will be a little tight and you just need to loosen it up a little bit. This is a great way to solve that problem. Fixing a hole in a costume is another trick we are going to show you. Every dancer has had that moment where they have a hole and they need a way to fix it fast that will also be strong. Sewing Appliqués on Garments Sewing appliqués on garments is very easy to do and we are going to show you how. For our demonstration, we will use a top. However, you could also sew an appliqué on a skirt, dress, shorts or briefs. When you are done sewing the appliqué to your garment, you will be astonished at how simple it is and how elegant that garment looks. Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Thread to match appliqué 3. Straight Pins 4. Safety Pins 5. Needle 6. Scissors Directions: Choosing Your Materials When you choose an appliqué, your first consideration is the size of the appliqué that you will need. You will also need to consider the design of the garment and the design of the appliqué. You need to choose an appliqué that is conducive to the look you are trying to achieve. For our demonstration, we are going to sew appliqués a bra. The key to sewing appliqués on a bra is to open the bra up so that it is laying flat on the table. When sewing an appliqué onto a bra, it is important to consider how the bra fits. If the top of the bra has any gaps in the fit, this is where you can correct them. There are two ways to correct the gaps in the fit. You can either sew a running stitch along the top of the bra and gather the stitches up a little bit or you can put a little tuck or tucks in the top. Whether you do a running stitch or a tuck or tucks, you want to try and place these

86 corrections where the appliqué will cover them. The appliqué that we are using in our demonstration could go in any direction. It does not have a top or bottom. So, you will need to decide which way you want the appliqué to go. Lay the appliqués along the top of the bra and position them the way you want the appliqués to go. You may find that when using more than one appliqué there are flowers or some other designs in the appliqué that will interfere with the appliqués laying in a continuous line. In the case of our demonstration appliqué, there is a little flower on the end of the appliqué that would meet in the middle of the bra and unfortunately, they would interrupt the flow of the appliqués. Clipping the little flower off of each appliqué will allow a continuous line all the way across the top of the bra and the appliqués will appear as if they were one long appliqué. Find the center of the bra and pin the first appliqué down slightly past that center line. Continue pinning the appliqué from the center point to the armhole of the bra. If at all possible, pin the appliqués so that they rise just a little bit above the upper edge of the bra giving the bra a pretty, feminine edge. Then, take the second appliqué and starting so that the appliqué slightly overlaps the first appliqué, pin it down in the same way as the first. If you find that the appliqué puckers as you are pinning it to the bra, take a little tuck in the appliqué. Another way to fix the pucker would be to make a little snip in the appliqué that would allow you to reposition that portion of the appliqué. But, you need to be careful not to cut any threads in the appliqué that fastens sequins or pearls to the appliqué. If you do cut a thread holding down sequins or pearls, you will need to make sure that you tack them down again so that the sequins or beads do not fall off. If necessary, make the same alterations on the other side. However, since most women s breasts are not exactly the same, that may not be necessary. Y To ensure that the appliqués are positioned the same with respect to the top of the bra, turn the bra over. That will allow you to see if the portion of the appliqués that protrudes over the top is the same on both sides. Sewing from the front of the bra can cause the thread to catch in the appliqué or the sequins and beads attached to it. Therefore, you should sew from the inside of the bra. Starting in the center of the bra, sew the appliqué along the top of the bra to the outside corner. Make sure that you do not catch the thread on the protruding design of the appliqué and that the thread is hidden in the design of the appliqué. An easy way to do that is to hold the appliqué and the bra in your fingers in such a way that your fingers prevent the loose thread from coming in contact with the appliqué, the sequins or the beads. Sew all your stitches about an inch apart all the way around the appliqué.

87 Before you sew down the other appliqué, turn the bra over and compare the way the appliqués look above the bra line. Then, repeat this whole procedure on the other side of the bra. When you are done you will have a beautiful bra that looks very elegant and nothing like the bra you started out with. All About Pins and Needles In this section, we are going to tell you about pins and needles. There are many different needles available. Check out the information we are going to give you and you will find out a great deal about them. Supplies: No supplies needed. Directions: Choosing Your Pins and Needles We are going to go over a few pins and needles and show you different techniques using these pins and needles. If you are going to be sewing on a very fine material such as organza, you need to make sure your needle has a very fine tip so it goes through the material smoothly. Straight Pins There are a few different types of straight pins. When you go to buy pins, you will notice that there is one pin that has a very small, metal head. Then, there are two or three that have large plastic heads of different colors and come in different lengths. The pins with the big plastic heads are easy to see when you work with them and, therefore, are also very easy to find and pull out when you are done. Our preference is the long silky needles with the big heads. They are easy to slip into the fabric and because they are longer, they hold more material and are less likely to slip out. However, they do not work with fine materials because they are not as sharp as others. Safety Pins There are also several safety pins. They come in a number of sizes and colors. Traditionally, safety pins are either gold toned or silver but occasionally you can find them in white or black. Our favorite is a medium size safety pin with a curved back. These pins are very strong and do not open easily when in use. When you have a costume fitting or someone needs something done quickly, we always recommend using one of these safety pins. The normal pins with straight backs can easily pull open. If you only have those pins and you have a last minute, quick fix and need to make sure that the pin stays in place, take a pair of pliers or whatever you have available and smash the head of the safety pin so it cannot open. That way, the pin cannot open up when your dancer is dancing. We do not normally recommend the big safety pins because there is

88 just too much room in the pin and they tend to slide around. With the little pins, you can do a quick fix by just going through the fabric twice and it holds. If you ever have to put some straps on a costume at the last minute, use the smaller curved pins. Do not place the pins vertically because that will allow the straps to pull up and leave a gap between the strap and the garment or it puts pressure on the safety pin and causes it to open. However, if you place the safety pins horizontally, the straps will not pull up and it will not put undue pressure on the safety pin. Needles We prefer working with very long needles. They are easy on your fingers, easy to thread because of their very large eyes and you can sew faster because you can put more material on the needle. But, because they are not the sharpest needles, you cannot use them on organza or satin. You want a very fine point to sew on delicate materials like that. When it comes to threading a needle, there are a few ways you can do that. The traditional way is to thread the needle by passing the thread through the eye and then tying a knot on one end of the thread and leaving the other end of the thread loose. The problem with that is that as you pull each stitch through the material, the loose end pulls closer and closer to the eye of the needle. Eventually, the needle becomes unthreaded and you need to rethread it. We prefer to pass the thread through the eye of the needle, bring the two ends of the thread together, and tie a knot in both ends together so it becomes one big loop. An easy way to knot the two ends together is to slightly wet your index finger with your tongue, hold the two ends of the thread between your index finger and your thumb, wind the ends around your index finger and gently roll those ends between your finger and thumb and pull. This creates a nice neat knot at the end of the thread. When sewing a button, snaps or anything else that requires multiple stitches to make it extra strong, another neat trick is to take an extra long piece of thread and fold it in half creating a little loop. Pass that loop through the eye of the needle (which is very easy with that long needle with the big eye), pull the thread through the eye until that loop meets the two ends and tie off the knot with the loop and two ends together as described above. This, in essence, gives you four strands of thread instead of the one strand you get with the traditional method and makes each stitch four times as strong and much more secure. You only need to make a fourth as many actual stitches. This makes the whole process of sewing buttons or snaps on much faster especially when you have a lot of buttons. Typically, when using a running stitch, you will stitch in and out leaving gaps between the stitches. We prefer to make the stitches overlap the stitches making them twice as strong and ensuring there are no gaps. That is easy to do by making your first stitch and then bringing the needle back a little to insert it again instead of just continuing in a

89 forward manner. With each stitch you want to go back a little before you sew forward. Continue in that manner until you have completed your line of stitches. Sewing Snaps or Hooks and Eyes on Your Dance Costume. In this section, we will be instructing you on how to sew snaps and hooks and eyes. There are different types of snaps and hooks and eye and they each require a slightly different technique. But, there are great tricks to learn in this section. Supplies: 1. Snaps or Hooks and Eyes 2. Thread to match material or, as described below match the thread to snaps or hooks and eyes 3. Needle 4. Scissors 5. Measuring tape Directions: Choosing Your Materials When choosing your thread, usually you would use thread that matches your material. If you can hide the stitches in the layers of material, then consider matching the thread to the snaps or hooks and eyes. Traditional snaps are circular in shape and consist of two pieces that snap together. The snaps come in different sizes and colors. Typically, they come in two colors black or silver. However, sometimes you can find them in white. There are three different hooks and eyes. They also come in different styles and sizes. Like snaps, hooks and eyes use two pieces a hook and an eye. The hook connects onto the eye. The traditional hooks and eyes have two different eyes. One eye is flat and looks almost like an I and the other eye is rounded and looks like a fat U. When connecting the hook and the flat eye, the fabrics are a little bit tighter and a little bit closer than other hooks and eyes. The hooks and eyes also come in large sizes which are typically for heavy items such as coats or jackets. There is also a hook and eye that is slightly larger than the traditional hook and eye. They are very flat and smooth and are the tightest fit among the hooks and eyes. Once the decision is made whether you want snaps or hooks and eyes, you then have to choose the size and color. When it comes to deciding on the size of the snap, you need to consider the size and weight of the garment. As far as the color you choose, usually the only choice you have is silver. Sometimes, black or white is thrown into the mix. Then

90 the only thing to think about when deciding the color of the snap is which color blends in the best with the material you are using. Using Snaps or Hooks and Eyes Snaps The snap we are going to show you how to sew on to your costume is the traditional snap. The first thing you want to think about is how the two pieces of the snap fit together. You want to make sure that when you sew the snap down, the two pieces of the snap will fit together. It is really easy to sew one of the pieces upside down if you are not really careful. Snap the two pieces together and that will tell you what sides face up. Carefully place the first half of the snap face up where you plan to sew it. You will notice that there are four holes on each half of the snap. So, the first thing you want to do is mark where you want the snaps to go. Then, thread your needle and knot the end of the thread. You can either double thread it which would give you two strands to work with at a time or even double thread it twice which would give you four strands to work with at a time. We explain both methods of threading the needle in the section on Pins and Needles above. We recommend the four strand method of threading when working with heavier garments. To sew the snap down, you first need to decide where you want to place the snap. To get a good fit, start with sewing the snap on the top flap first. If you are starting with the top flap, you want to make sure the stitches do not show if at all possible. If the material is doubled, you can sew your stitches in between the layers of fabric. If there is only one layer of material, you obviously do not have the luxury of hiding the stitches. Start the stitch just under where the snap will sit with the knot between the fabric and the snap and sew into the first layer of material. Sew your needle through the first hole, then go underneath the snap and come up through the next hole. Repeat that all the way around the snap. Basically, you are sewing around the snap from one hole to the next. This keeps the snap in position. Once you have sewn all the way around the snap, tie the thread in a knot. That way it stays in place if the thread breaks. If you have threaded your needle so that you actually are sewing with four strands of thread, you should only need to circle the snap once or twice. Otherwise, continue sewing around the snap but this time concentrate on one hole at a time. Sew into the first hole several times, tie a knot and then move on to the next hole. Continue this way until you have completely circled the snap again. Next, lay the flap down on the other side of the waistband. This will allow you to determine where the second half of the snap should sit. Before you start sewing the other half of the snap down, make sure that you match the two halves together to ensure that the two halves of the snap fit together. The way to ensure that is to press both sides of the snap together and this will show you how the second half should sit on the fabric. You will then sew the second half exactly the way you did the first half.

91 Hooks and Eyes - The second item we will show you is the hook and eye. The larger, flat hook and eye is typically used on a waistband. They are all pretty much the same in the way they are placed on the material and sewn down. With the hook and eye, you want to sew the hook on the underside of the waistband that overlaps the other end. You want to make sure that the stitches do not come through that part of the waistband because they will show on the front of the garment. Before sewing anything down make sure it is placed right. Place the hook on the underside of the waistband that overlaps the other side. Place the hook centered at the end of the waistband. Do not place it all the way to the edge or it may show. Give it just a little room between the end of the hook and the edge of the waistband so that the hook does not show when the garment is closed. You will notice that there are three holes in the hook. Doing your best to stitch between the two layers of fabric and not stitch through to the front of the garment, feed your needle through the first hole and then sew through the other two. This will keep the hook in place. Tie the thread off in case the thread breaks. Then, sew through each hole a number of times and tie the thread off. Remember, if you thread your needle as shown in the Pins and Needles section above so that you end up with four threads, you will need to make less stitches. Once you have finished sewing the hook down, place the top piece of the waistband on the other side of the waistband where it closes and mark where the hook meets the other side. That is where you will sew the eye. Place the eye so that it lines up with the hook and then sew the eye to the waistband with several stitches in the holes on either end of the eye. The smaller hook and eye is usually used at the neckline of a blouse or dress. It will be sewn down very similar to the large, flat hook and eye. Place the hook almost to the edge of the top piece with the hook just a hair from the edge and sew it down with several stitches in each hole. Then, slip your needle between the layers of fabric, bring your needle and thread up on one side of the hook and over the end of the hook and insert the needle back into the fabric on the other side of the hook. Make sure that the thread lies under the top portion and the base of the hook. If the material where you are sewing the hook is double layered, try to hide the stitches between the two layers. Once the hook is sewn down tight, place the eye on the other side of the opening and sew the eye down. If using the U shaped eye, we usually have the rounded edge protruding just slightly from the edge of the opening. Again, you want to sew through the two holes several times. Then, sew over the point protruding from the holes a couple of times to keep it tight. If you are using the straight I shaped eye, place the eye just parallel to the edge of the opening. Sew into the holes several times at the top and bottom of the eye. Sewing Buttons on Your Dance Costume We are now going to show you how to sew buttons onto a garment. It is a really great skill to learn. It can create a dramatic impact and completely change the look of a

92 costume. Plus you never know when you are going to need to sew on a button that has fallen off. Supplies: 1. Dance garment 2. Buttons of your choice 3. Thread to match garment 4. Needles 5. Scissors 6. Tailor s chalk or a bar of soap Directions: Choosing Your Materials There are two types of buttons from which to choose. There are buttons with a loop, or a shank, in the back and then there are buttons that have a single row of two holes in the button (we will call them singles ) or a double row of two holes in the button (we will call them doubles ). With the single row of two holes, you would obviously just sew in one button hole in the button and come out the other hole. With the single row of holes in the button, you could place the row of holes in the button in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction. It is best to have the row of holes in the button in the same direction as the buttonholes. For the most part, buttons on dance costumes are decorative rather than functional. Preparation When sewing any kind of button on a garment, we suggest that you use the threading method where you end up with four strands of thread. This method is explained in the section Pins and Needles above. Because you, in essence, are sewing with four strands of thread, it is easier and faster to sew buttons on to your garment. You will need to mark your costume to indicate the placement of each button. Using Tailor s chalk or a bar of soap, place a mark for each button that crosses over both sides of the opening. This method creates a guide that works if you have a row of decorative buttons on each side or if you have a row of functional buttons on one side and buttonholes on the other. Sewing Buttons on Your Garment Sewing Shank Buttons on Your Garment To sew a shank button onto your garment, pull your needle through your material from the bottom side. Sew the needle through the shank (the loop) and back down through the fabric pulling the thread tight. Repeat this several more times and tie it off. Then bring the thread back up on the right side of

93 the material and wind the thread tightly between the material and the shank of the button. This will keep it from flopping over. Sewing Regular Buttons With One Row of Buttons Onto Your Garment When sewing a regular button with just one row of buttons, start from the back of the fabric and sew up through one of the button holes and bring the needle and thread back down through the other hole. If the buttons are functional, you need to make sure that the direction of the buttonholes are perpendicular to the edge of the garment and that the stitches on the buttons are also perpendicular to the edge of the garment. This prevents stretching the buttonholes out of line. If the buttons are only decorative, it does not matter which direction you sew the buttons down. However, whichever direction you choose, all of the buttons should be sewn in the same direction. Even if the buttons are not functional, it is best to keep the stitching perpendicular to the edge of the garment. To keep the button from being sewn too tight, slip a needle or pin between the button and the material and hold the button and needle in place. Repeat sewing the button in this manner, through one hole and back through the second hole several times. Once you have completed this, remove the pin or needle. Tie a knot at the back of the material and then slip the needle back up so that it is between the button and the material. Wind the thread around the stitches under the button several times. Using the needle as a spacer and then winding the thread around the thread under the button creates a space that keeps the button from being sewn too tight and makes it easier to slip the button through a buttonhole. Sewing Regular Buttons With Two Rows of Buttons Onto Your Garment If you are sewing a button that has two rows of buttons, there are two ways of accomplishing that. Sew the first row of holes as you would the single row button as just described and then move the needle over and repeat the process in the second row of buttons. Or, you can sew the button down by sewing through the holes in a kitty corner fashion. This would result in an X pattern on the top of the button. Either way, you would finish the button as described in the single row button instructions above. Sewing Chains on a Dance Costume This section is to show you how to sew a decorative chain on your costume. One reason you would want to do this is to give you something that would create a military look. If you want the military feel, look for gold shank buttons with a military design on them to add to the chains. This is the perfect look to give you that military feel. Supplies: 1. Dance Garment 2. Chain 3. Two shank buttons to match chain

94 4. Safety pins 5. Thread to match garment 6. Needle Directions: Choosing Your Materials We are going to show you how to sew chains and buttons on your dance costume. Although we are going to demonstrate with a pair of dance shorts, this look could be used on a top, a jacket, a skirt or any other garment you would like. You can sew the chains on the costume without the buttons but the inclusion of buttons is a really popular look right now. We would not normally recommend doing it with pink dancewear and gold buttons and chain, but we want you to be able to clearly see the contrast between the dancewear and the chains. The first thing you want to do is pick out what items you want to use. For our demonstration, we are going to use a high-waisted brief. In our demonstration, we want the chain to hang over the hip from the front to the back. The first thing to do is fold the brief in half with the side seam being the center point in the middle of the fold. The next step is to find spots in the front and back that are equidistant from the side seam. Now, take a pair of pliers and open one of the links on the chain so you now have one full length of chain rather than a loop. Close the links up again by smashing them nice and tight with the pliers so that a thread cannot get through. Because of the weight of the chain, we recommend that you thread the needle with four strands as described in the Pins and Needles section above. The best way to sew chains and buttons on a garment is to sew the chain to the briefs first and then sew the button on afterward. When you do it that way, you want to make sure that the shank of the button sits nicely within the chain link. It has a much cleaner look and keeps the button from bouncing round too much. Go through the backside of the material and bring it up where you have marked the briefs. Sew the link down. Even though the link has been smashed together and is closed real tight, make sure that the end of the link that was opened and closed is at the bottom so there is no stress on the end that had been opened and smashed closed. We like to sew the chain and button separately because it makes them a little more secure. Sew around the link several times to make sure that that the chain is securely bound to the brief. Go around the link several times and then knot it on the inside of the brief. Sew the button down with the shank securely inside the link. Check the button to make sure that the insignia on the button is not upside down or cockeyed. You can feel the shank of the button from the back side. Make sure that the shank is securely inside the link. You can feel the hole in

95 the shank through the back side of the brief. Sew through the shank several times making sure the needle and thread goes through the hole of the shank. Then knot it on the inside of the brief. Something to keep in mind when you measure this chain the brief is going to stretch out when the dancer puts it on, so you need to make allowance for that stretching. It is highly recommended that you try the brief on the girl to determine what the placement and length of the chain should be. Once you have determined where that chain should be, open up the link and take the excess chain off. Again, make sure that the link is tightly closed up. Repeat the process you used on the other side. Ruching a Skirt We will now show you a simple technique called ruching. This is basically gathering the material up. We are going to show you this technique using a skirt but it could be used on almost any garment. This is a great method if you want to show a little leg. We suggest you use it on the side of the garment where you are going to be doing the most kicking. It is a great look if you are looking for something that is a little saucy but you still want to keep it elegant. Supplies: 1. Dance skirt 2. Thread to match dance skirt 3. Appliqué or broach, optional 4. Thread to match appliqué, optional 5. Small scissors to clip threads Directions: Choosing Your Materials The first thing you need to do is choose the garment that you want to ruch and then choose any optional appliqué or broach you may want to use. For our demonstration, we are going to use a short circle skirt. This technique also looks really nice on a long skirt. Ruching a Skirt The first thing we are going to do is find the center back of the skirt. Then decide where we want the ruching. Do you want the right leg? The left leg? We are going to go ahead and choose slightly off center on the right side. You really want it to be off center because if it is in the center it will look like an arrow pointing to the crotch. That is very unflattering. Fold the skirt in half with the center back seam off to the left. That means that the fold on the right will be off center. Using Tailor s chalk or a small bar of soap, draw a line

96 down that fold. Lay the skirt out again with the center seam in the center and make sure that the chalk line is in the correct location. In the demonstration, we are using white thread so that what we are doing is clearly visible. However, you will want to use thread that matches your skirt. From underneath the skirt, start sewing from the hem up towards the waist with even stitches about every ½ inch along the chalk line gathering the material as you go. Think about how far up you want the ruching to go. Do you want to go all the way up to the waistband? We would suggest you not go quite that far. When you get up to where you want it to end, tie the thread off on the underside of the skirt and then anchor it with another stitch and tie the thread off again. At this point, you want to even the gathers out. You will notice that there is a slight tab of material at the hem. You can leave it the way it is or you can fold it under the skirt and stitch it down. We prefer to fold underneath and stitch it down. You could leave the skirt like it is. However, we often add an appliqué over the ruching. If you want to add the appliqué, then just lay the skirt down again and place the appliqué over the ruching. Even the gathers out and then pin the appliqué in place and stitch the appliqué in place making sure not to catch the thread on the appliqué. This gives it a beautiful finished look and it keeps the ruching even. Ruching a Top In addition to ruching a skirt as we did above, you can ruch the hem or side of a top or a dress. In this demonstration, we are going to ruch a top. It is a great technique to give it a little bit of texture and a little bit of oomph. Wherever you put it, your eye will be drawn right to that spot. Supplies: 1. Dance Top 2. Thread to match dance skirt 3. Rhinestone strip, optional 4. Appliqué, optional 5. Thread to match appliqué, optional 6. Small scissors to clip threads Directions: Choosing Your Materials The first thing you need to choose is the dance garment. We are using a sports bra in this demonstration.

97 Ruching a sports bra The first step is to find the center point of the sports bra. The way to do that is to put the shoulder seams together, the straps together and the side seams together. This will create a fold down the center of the top. Mark that fold with Tailor s chalk or a bar of soap. Double thread your needle. We prefer the long needle with the big eyes. It is best not to start at the bottom of the bra but to start just above the elastic. Start with the knot on the inside of the bra. With thread that matches the top just weave in and out along the chalked line gathering as you go. When you get to the top, stitch through to the inside and tie a knot. To make it extra strong, go back down the same line and catch the gathering stitches. When you get to the bottom, stitch inside again and tie a knot on the inside. We usually repeat this pattern two or three times to make sure it is strong. Because your bra will stretch, you cannot be too secure. The sports bra should look fantastic as it is or you could sew a rhinestone strip or an appliqué on top of the stitches if you want to give it a little bit extra strength and a little bit more oomph. If you want to use an appliqué, stitch the along the edges so they do not pop up. Sewing a Skirt to a Brief or Shorts Sewing a skirt to a brief or to shorts is a simple technique that will have a huge impact on your costume. We are going to show you how to tack a skirt to your briefs or shorts. This technique can work on a lot more applications than just tacking things down so they do not move around. It is really important with this skirt because the skirt will want to naturally move up to the smallest point which is the waistline which can really distract the judges. So this is a really important technique to learn that can come in super handy. Supplies: 1. Dance shorts or briefs 2. Dance skirt 3. Straight pins 4. Safety pins 5. Needles 6. Thread to match 7. Small scissors to clip threads Directions: Choosing Your Materials The only choice of materials to be made here would be the pair of shorts or briefs and the skirt that you want to put together.

98 Sewing the Garments Together We are going to show you how to put a pair of shorts and a skirt together. First, you take the back seam and the front seam and hold them together. Bring the waistband together matching the center seam and the side seams. Pin the side seams together at each end. The skirt we are using only has one seam in the back. So, to find what would be the front center seam, pinch the back seam with your finger and thumb. Then while holding the back seam with your finger and thumb, smooth the skirt out so that it creates a fold. Put a pin in that fold and that pin will act as the front center seam. Then, take the back seam and match it up to the pin in the front. This will create a fold on each side. Put pins in those folds and you will have pins in what would have been the front seam and the two side seams. You can then match the back seam of the skirt and the three pins to the seams in the shorts. However, the best thing to do is to put the shorts on the dancer and then put the skirt over the shorts and then decide where you want the skirt to rest. Should it go up higher or go down lower? Once that is decided, mark the shorts where you want the skirt to sit. In this case, we already know that we want to sew the skirt right so the elastic of the skirt meets the edge of the shorts. So, we will pin the skirt to the shorts at the back and the front seam and at both sides. If the dancer is wearing the shorts or briefs at the time, use safety pins. You can pin them together at as many spots as you wish by pinning the skirt to the shorts in between these four basic spots. Just make sure that you stretch the shorts and the skirt out as you pin if your dancer is not wearing them. For our demonstration, we are just going to use the four basic spots. We like to use long needles with big eyes and double thread the needle as shown in the Pins and Needles section above. Make sure the needle tip is sharp because it will have to go through several layers. Weave the needle in and out at the waistlines tacking the two garments together. To tack the skirt and the briefs or shorts together, stitch going through both the skirt and briefs or shorts and then tie a knot. Then, tack the skirt to the shorts by making several stitches through both garments at the same time until it they are good and tight. Tie the thread again. Repeat the same process at the other three basic spots. Make sure to tie a good, strong knot at the beginning and end of each place that you tack the skirt down. Once you have the spot at the back nice and tight, move to the front and repeat the process. Next, do the same on both sides. How to do Simple Alterations In this section, we are going to show you four techniques to alter your garments by hand. They will come in handy if you need to make quick changes at the last minute. These are four quick tips that can work in an emergency or you could even leave them in place if you want. These techniques may also be helpful in other circumstances.

99 Supplies: 1. Dance garment as required Sports bra, Dance shorts, Dance skirt 2. Thread to match 3. Straight pins 4. Safety pins 5. Scissors 6. Tailor s chalk or bar of soap Directions: Choosing Your Materials The materials you choose will depend on what needs to be altered. In our samples, we used a sports bra, dance shorts and a dance skirt and, of course, thread to match the dance garments. Alter as Required Let us just start with a few simple alterations. Sports Bra into Halter Bra - We have a sports bra here and our client wants a halter bra instead. This demonstration will show you how to turn a sports bra into a halter bra. The first step is turn the sports bra face down on the table and cut the straps at the base of the straps where they meet the back of the sports bra. Try to cut the straps down as close as possible to the back so that there is not a stub above the back of the bra. You now have two loose straps. Take care not to cut the back itself. Have your dancer put the bra on so you can determine how long the straps should be. Take the two straps and bring them up to the base of her neck until they meet each other. Pin the two straps together with safety pins at the nape of her neck. Using safety pins instead of straight pins will keep the dancer from being stuck when the dancer takes her top off. Once she has taken the sports bra off, sew the two straps together. Before you actually start sewing, make sure that the straps are not too tight around the dancer s neck. Now that the dancer has taken the top off, you can change it to straight pins if you wish. Either way, you want to sew the two straps together using teeny tiny stitches. Keep sewing with these teeny tiny stitches until you get to the other edge. If the sides of the straps do not match up, tug the shorter side until they match up and stitch it down so that they meet. Stitch around the end a couple of times and then tie a knot in the thread to make sure the straps do not come apart if the thread breaks. To be extra careful that the straps do not come apart, repeat this process back and forth across the width of the straps one or two more times. Turn the bra over and open up the straps up and tack the ends of the straps down and then cut the excess of the straps off. You now have a halter bra.

100 Fixing a hole in a costume We are going to use a pair of shorts as an example. Let us say there is a hole in this pair of shorts. This particular hole is along the seam. Turn the shorts inside out and starting above the hole, stitch along the seam and then branch out and sew around the hole. In essence, you are going to create a detour. Make sure that your stitches are tiny or you may find that your stitches pull out and leave an unsightly seam line. Continue down and slowly bring your stitching to the seam. You do not want the new seam to be too obvious. Make sure your new seam line moves out gradually and around the hole and then gradually comes back to the seam line. Turn the shorts right side out again and check to make sure there are no bumps and that the seam is nice and smooth. This is especially important when working with fabrics that stretch. Tie the thread and make sure it is secure and then sew back on top of what you have just sewn and tie it down again. This should make it nice and neat Shortening a pair of shorts Using the same pair of shorts, we are going to show you how to shorten a pair of shorts that are too long. Turn the shorts inside out and then turn the hem up to the length you want the shorts to be. Sometimes, it is just a matter of turning the hem up at the seam line. That would make it easy to keep the hem even. If you need it to be shorter, take a little card or piece of paper and use it as a guide. Often, a business card works perfect for this especially since most of the time someone will have one handy. If one of the sides of the card does not work as a guide, then cut it down until it is correct. You do not necessarily have to cut the card in two pieces. Just cut a little notch to indicate the length you need to take out of the shorts. If you do not have any scissors, fold the card to the length you need. Sliding this guide, along the present hem of the shorts allows you to turn the hem to the correct length. At this point, use straight pins to keep the length of the shorts consistent. You can then start hemming the shorts. With the shorts still inside out, stitch the new hem all the way around the width of the leg. We suggest you start the hem at one of the side seams. That way it gives the seamstress a good starting place to anchor your thread. With the thread knotted, stitch into the side seam and then place your needle into the shorts where the old hem was and slide the needle down about half an inch or three quarters of an inch and then bring the needle back out. Take a little tiny stitch into the leg and then put the needle back into the old hem and run the needle down about half an inch to three quarters of an inch and bring it back out. Repeat this process all the way around the width of the shorts leg. When you get back to your starting point, sew into the side seam that was your starting point. This is a blind stitch which means that if you use thread that matches your shorts, all you will see when you turn the leg inside out is a very tiny stitch or maybe just a little pucker on the outside. On the inside of the leg all you will see is a little stitch coming out of the old bottom of the shorts and then another little stitch back inside the old hem. You also want to make sure that the bottom of the shorts is still able to stretch. Turn the leg inside out intermittently when you are sewing the new hem to make sure that everything is okay to make sure the stitches look good and there are no puckers or

101 anything else that might mess up the look of the hem. Next, do the exact same thing on the other leg. Fixing a skirt that is just a little too big In this case, you have a skirt and are ready to perform and the skirt is just a little bit too big. In this scenario, you will end up with a little pleat in the back. Our preferred method is to determine how much the skirt needs to be taken in and measure that amount. Turn the skirt inside out and run a seam down the center of the back waistband. This new seam will run down the center back of the waistband. Again, you want to use teeny, tiny stitches. Make sure that both sides of the seam match at the top and the bottom. Sew this seam once, tie it off and sew it back to your starting point. You want the seam to be snug but not real tight. On the inside of the skirt, fold the excess material so that there is an even amount on each side of the new seam creating a pleat. Pin the sides of the pleat down at the waistband. Adjust the waistband as necessary to make sure that the waistband matches all around and sew the sides of the pleat to the waistband. Make sure that the stitches do not come through the waistband to the front of the skirt. This process will give you a hidden inverted pleat. This method will also work for t-shirts where the neck is too big. Seven Ways to Use Dye to Change Your Dance Costume In this article, we are going to show you seven different ways to use dye to create your own unique dance costume. There are many different methods but these seven are some of our favorites. The first technique we are going to show you will make your costume unique by creating a watercolor effect. The color will go from light to dark with added spots of color. Adding the darker spots of color at the top of the garment is necessary to prevent this beautiful watercolor effect from looking like an ombre effect. The second dye method is our favorite technique. It is something that is exciting and creates a lot of movement. It creates flames using fabric and dye. The next technique is creating an ombre effect. We use two colors but you can go with one color. Just start light and go darker. In our demonstration, we started with the Mauve and then went to Pearl Gray to get this nice rich color difference in here.

102 We are now going to show you how to create the accordion effect. This technique allows you to create your own individual costume which is great to use if you are looking for that 70 s feel without that psychedelic color scheme that was prevalent then. In this section we are going to show you the basics of using fabric dye. It is really simple to do and it allows you to create your own fabric. This would be the perfect first step for you to learn how to use dye. This next method is mixing dye and paint together. It is a great technique where you use dabs of color rather than dipping the fabric into the water. It is a wonderful way to get a unique fabric that nobody else will have. In this next technique, we are going to show you how to use fabric dye and paint to create a forest feel. This is perfect if you do not want a straight out camouflage fabric but you want it to feel forestry - like you are in the middle of the forest. Depending on the theme of your dance, this is a great technique. NOTES TO REMEMBER: There are a number of things to remember that apply to all methods of dyeing fabrics or garments. Following are a number of things you want to remember. Pots and Tools Any pots, pans, rubber gloves, spoons or any other tools used in the dyeing process should be designated for dyeing only. This alleviates any possibility of contaminating your cooking utensils and contaminating your food. Fabric or Garment Make sure that the fabric or garment you wish to dye will actually accept fabric dye. Clothing Remember that no matter how careful you are, you are more likely than not to get spots on your clothes when you are dyeing fabrics or garments. Therefore, you should always use an apron. If you do not have an apron available, wear old clothes that you do not care about so any spots will not matter. Actually, even when wearing an apron, we still consider using old clothing. Better safe than sorry. Preparation - When you use powdered dye, make sure you dissolve the dye in a small bowl of very, very hot water. You need to make sure that the dye is totally dissolved or you will have tiny specks of dye all over the fabric or garment. If you use liquid dye, shake the bottle real well before using it. Darkness and Richness of Color There are three things that control how dark and how rich the color is. The first thing is the temperature of the water. The hotter the water is, the darker and richer the color. The other has to do with how much dye you use. The more dye, the darker and richer the color. When adding dye to the water, it is better to start our using less dye. If the dyed garment is not dark enough, take the garment out of

103 the water and add more dye. Then re-dip the garment to get the color you want. The third method is to leave it in the dye longer. This will also make the garment darker. Setting the Dye It is important to make sure that you set the color when you are finished dyeing the fabric or garment and there are a few different ways to do that. First of all, you can rinse the article in cold, running water. The cold water stops the dyeing process. Next, you can wash the article in a vinegar bath which is a mixture of a half cup of vinegar and a sink of water. You can also do the same with a salt bath which is created by mixing a cup of salt with a sink of water. Both of those procedures work the same way to stop the dyeing process and set the color. Another way to set the color is to rinse the garment and heat set the color. You can heat set the fabric or garment by laying the fabric or the garment in the sun, using a hairdryer or using a steamer but do not use an iron. If you decide to heat set the color by putting the fabric or garment into the clothes dryer, you need to rinse the document in the washing machine. Afterwards, make sure to clean the dryer by wiping it down with a bleach mixture. Softening the Fabric or Garment We find that using fabric softener in the final rinse gives the dance garment a very pleasing feel. The garment is softer, especially where paint has been used, and the garment moves much better. Cleaning up after dyeing - Whatever means you use to dye your garment, you need to use bleach to clean up behind you. If you use the sink, make sure to rinse the sink with bleach and then wipe the sink down with a mixture of bleach and water. Any pots or utensils you use should be dedicated to dyeing only and should also be rinsed with bleach. After dyeing articles in the washing machine, clean the washer out using at least a cup of bleach into the water and putting the machine through the wash cycle. We have a load of old towels that we throw in the washer with the bleach. If we have used the dryer in the setting process, we use the same towels to clean the dryer. First, wipe the dryer down with a bleach mixture and then put these towels in the dryer.

104 Creating a Watercolor Effect In this first step, we are going to show you how to create a watercolor effect using dye. We are going to use a white skirt in our demonstration since that will make the skirt so much easier to see. Supplies: 1. Dance garment or fabric 2. Clothes dye - either powder or liquid - in three different colors or three different shades of the same color and in three different intensities 3. Rubber gloves 4. Wooden spoon or other stirring utensil 5. Apron or old clothes 6. Bleach Directions: Before you do anything else, check the Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Choosing Your Materials First of all, choose what garment you want to dye. You could also use a small piece of fabric if you prefer. You will need to determine what colors you want. Those colors will depend on what overall effect you want from your costume.

105 Dyeing Your Garment This method can be done in your sink using both powder dye and liquid dye. Make sure you are wearing gloves and an apron or old clothes that you do not care if the dye spatters on them. Fill your sink with very hot water and put a small amount of very, very hot water in a small bowl. Mix the powder dye and the very, very hot water in the medium bowl and let it sit. You want to make sure that the powder dye has totally dissolved in the water or you will end up with little specks of dye all over your fabric or garment. Dip your garment or fabric in the water and make sure to dampen it all over but make sure it is not too wet. Wring it out if necessary. You can then hang your garment or fabric over the side of the sink. Mix the lightest colored dye in the sink of hot water. The hotter the water, the deeper the color will be. You don t need to use the whole bottle - just enough to get the desired color. It is better to start out using less dye. You can always add more dye if you need to make the color darker. But make sure you take the skirt out of the water before you add more dye. If you put the whole bottle of liquid dye in the water, it will give a darker look to the dye. Put the whole entire garment into the sink and make sure the entire garment is evenly covered. This will give a nice light colored garment. If you decide you need more color, make sure to take the garment out of the sink before you add more dye to the water. You do not want to add more dye while the garment is in the sink or you will end up with the garment looking splotchy. In the case of our demonstration garment, we want it a little darker so we are going to add a little more of the lightest color dye to the water and re-dip the garment. Next, pour the small bowl of very, very hot water and dissolved dye (the medium colored dye) into the sink and mix it in with the light colored dye that is presently in the sink. This will give it a color that is a little darker. Take the whole garment and dip it into the water. Make sure you only dip about two thirds of the garment into the water. Dip it into the water two or three times each time stopping at the same point. You will notice that the bottom two thirds of the garment will be darker than the top one third. With each step, you will notice that the longer the garment is in the water, the darker the color will be. The next step is to pour your darkest colored dye into the water but this time, do it while the bottom third of the garment is draped in the water so that you can actually pour the

106 dye onto your garment. You only want the bottom one third of the garment in the water. Again, you will notice that there is another layer. So, you should end up with three distinct layers of color graduating from light on top to dark on the bottom. Remember, if at any stage you want the garment darker, leave it in the mixture a little longer. Last, pour some of the darker liquid dye directly on the bottom edge of the garment. Rinse the top of the garment. Put one of your gloved hands into the sink and get it wet with some of the dark dye. Twist and squeeze the garment around with your gloved hand getting some of the dye in various spots. You want to spread some of the color around so that you do not end up with an ombre effect. You want to keep going until it gets the watercolor effect you want. You can use as many colors as you want, spread it around with your gloved hand as much as you want. It is totally up to you. You want to wring the fabric or garment out but make sure the top of the garment is higher than the rest of the garment so that you do not mix the bottom of the garment with the top of the garment. Unwrap the fabric or garment and check it out. This is how you get the watercolor effect. Look over the garment and if you see any tiny spots. If so, you can rub the tiny spots and they will blend in with the rest of the garment. Creating Flames Using Fabric and Dye Next, we will show you how to create a flame effect using dye and fabric. It is a great, unique look if you want that fiery, flaming look. If you are using a really saucy dance, it is a great idea to use this type of effect. Supplies: 1. White or light colored skirt 2. Fabric dye in four different colors, i.e., Golden Yellow, Sunshine, Tangerine and Wine 3. Large soup pot (dedicated for dyeing material) 4. Rubber gloves 5. Apron or old clothes 6. Bleach Directions:

107 Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Choosing Your Materials Choose a white or light skirt because it will give the best colors. The important thing is to make sure the fabric can be dyed. Then, of course, the next step is choosing your four dyes as outlined above. Preparation In this demonstration, we are going to use a large soup or stew pot with really hot water. You will want to make sure you are wearing a pair of gloves and an apron or clothes that you do not care if they are stained. Shake each color of liquid dye very well before you use it. If you use powder dye, make sure it is completely dissolved before you use it. Dyeing Your Garment The first step to create the flame effect is to dye the skirt using the lightest of the four colors. In our demonstration that will be the Golden Yellow. Stir the Golden Yellow into a soup pot of very, very hot water. If the water is too hot to put your gloved hands into the water, add a little cool water. Dip the skirt completely into the lighter color. Take the skirt out of the water and add the second color. For our demonstration, it will be Sunshine. Stir the Sunshine dye into the colored water and mix it well. Because the water is super hot, the skirt will take the color really fast. Holding the skirt at an angle, dip the skirt two or three times into the pot. This will cause the color to be uneven and the dark color will be higher on one side and lower on the other. Hang the top of the skirt over the edge of the pot. Add the third color (we used Tangerine for our demonstration) to the pot. Because it does not have to be perfect, you can leave part of the skirt hanging into the pot and add the third color while the bottom of the skirt is still in the water. Dip the skirt partway into the pot a couple of times. If it is not dark enough, add more Tangerine to the water and dip the skirt a few more times. Add the fourth color, Wine, to the mix. Pour the Wine color into your gloved hands and squeeze the color around the bottom of the skirt. You do not want it to be too perfect. If you see any lines between the colors, squeeze around the bottom of the skirt to blur those lines. Just mess the lines up a little.

108 Drying Garment Under normal conditions, we would dry this skirt in the dryer. However, for this demonstration, we do not have time to do this. So, we will go ahead and cut it while it is still wet. Make sure to use and clean the dryer as explained in the Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. The last step is to make the hem appear tattered. Once the skirt is dry, cut raggedy strips up the length of the skirt cutting from the hem all the way into the lightest color. Make the cuts very choppy and uneven up towards the top. Go all the way around the skirt. If you end up with a little tiny angle off by itself, just cut it off. You do not want the length even so at some point you may want to cut the hem at an angle and then go back and start chopping up towards the lighter color again. Keep cutting in and out in no particular direction until you have gone all around the width of the hem. Creating an Ombre Effect Using Dye Now, we are going to show you how to create an ombre effect using dye. This is a unique technique that is easy for you to do to that will create your own original costume that no one else will have. Supplies: 1. Fabric or dance Garment (we used a skirt for our demonstration) 2. Dyes 3. Large soup pot (dedicated for dyeing). 4. Rubber gloves 5. Apron or old clothes 6. Bleach Directions: Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above.

109 Choosing Your Materials First, you need to choose your fabric or garment. This method could be used on any garment, top or bottom. For our demonstration, we are going to use a white skirt. Next, you need to choose the colors that you want. You want to use at least two colors but you could use more. Preparation Fill the sink with hot, hot water and add the first color. If the tap water is not hot enough, you can add water heated on the stove. For our demonstration, we are using powdered Mauve dye. Since the powdered Mauve dye is the first dye we are using and the water is very, very hot, we can empty the package directly into the sink. Mix the dye with a very large spoon that is dedicated to dyeing making sure that the powdered dye is completely dissolved. Remember, the hotter the water, the richer and darker the color you will achieve. Also, mix powdered gray dye in a small bowl of really hot water. Stir it very well and let it sit. Make sure that the dye is totally dissolved. Dyeing Garment Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. To get the result we did using the colors we did, dunk the whole skirt into the sink containing a mixture of very, very hot water and the main dye you wish to start with. For our demonstration, we used Mauve dye. Dunk the garment two or three times. Next, gather the top part of the skirt and hold it very tightly in your fist. Pour some of the second dye in the small bowl (we used dissolved powder Gray dye) on top of the skirt and into the sink. Pick an arbitrary spot on the skirt that you want to be the beginning of the second color (Gray). Look at the skirt and pour more of the concoction from the small bowl onto the hem of the skirt. While you are doing this, you want to make sure that you hold the top of the skirt up high so that you do not get bits of color on the upper part of the skirt. Keep doing this while you are also moving that top line of the second (gray) color down. Pour more of the liquid from the sink onto the bottom of the skirt two or three times. Move that demarcation line again. Scoop more liquid from the sink (which now consists of the remainder of the original dye and the second Gray dye) and pour it on the skirt starting

110 at the new demarcation line. Make sure you keep the top part of the skirt out of the darker colors and squeeze the liquid out of the skirt as you go. When you are done, you will see that you have a variation of three or more colors going down the skirt. That is how you make an ombre. Creating an Accordion Effect We are going to show you how to create an accordion effect using dye and fabric. It is a wonderful look that gives your costume a 70 s feel. If that is what you are looking for, this might be the perfect process just for you. Supplies: 1. Fabric or dance garment 2. Dye 3. Very large rubber bands 4. Large soup pot (dedicated for dyeing) 5. Wooden spoon or other stirring utensils (dedicated for dyeing) 6. Rubber gloves 7. Apron or old clothes 8. Bleach Directions: Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Choosing Your Materials First, you need to choose your fabric or garment and the color you want to use. This process could be used on any garment or on fabric. Preparation First, fill the sink or soup pot with hot, hot water and add the dye. If the tap water is not hot enough, you can add water that has been heated on the stove. Mix the dye with a very large spoon or other stirring utensil that is dedicated to dyeing. Remember, the hotter the water, the richer and darker the color you will achieve. Next, lay the garment or fabric on a table and fold it like an accordion or venetian blinds. Place rubber bands approximately every four inches around the folded item and

111 make sure that the bands are very tight. If you want more of the base color to show and not be dyed, use more rubber bands. The reverse is also true. If you want less of the base color to show, use fewer rubber bands. Also, check to make sure that the material remains properly folded under the rubber bands. Dyeing the Garment Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. The biggest difference between dyeing a garment or fabric to achieve the accordion effect is that the fabric must be dry. Dip the folded and banded fabric or garment into the dye two or three times. Do not squeeze the fabric or garment or you will spread the dye all through it and will ruin the accordion effect. Rinsing Fabric and Garment and Setting the Color walls with bleach and water. With the rubber bands in place, rinse the fabric or garment in cold, running water for a few minutes to stop the dyeing process. Again, do not squeeze the garment. Once it has been thoroughly rinsed, remove the rubber bands. If necessary, cut the bands but be very careful that you do not cut the fabric. Do another cold water rinse. Last, you want to heat set the dye. To heat set the color, you can lay it out in the sun, use a steamer or even a hair dryer. If you choose to use a clothes dryer, rinse it out in the washer first using cold water. Otherwise, you will spread dye in the dryer. Even so, wipe the dryer Using Fabric Dye We are going to show you how to use fabric dye. It is really easy to do and you can create your own fabric that no one else has. So, if you are looking for a specific color, your favorite color and you cannot find it in fabric, this is the answer for you. You can even mix colors to come up with your own color that no one else could possibly have. Our favorite brand of fabric dye is Rit. It provides a rich dark color. Most of the other brands of fabric dye do not work well with Lycra fabrics or with mesh fabrics. You just do not receive that rich color or dark color with other brands and they are a lot harder to use whereas Rit is really simple to use. But, make sure you are wearing gloves and either

112 an apron or clothes that you do not mind getting stained because trust us, there will be one drop that will end up on your clothes and ruin them forever. Supplies: 1. Dyes 2. Large soup or stew pot designated only for dyeing fabrics 3. Small bowl for dissolving powdered dye and to be designated for dyeing fabrics 4. Rubber gloves 5. Wooden spoon or other stirring utensil (designated for dyeing) 6. Apron or old clothes 7. Bleach Directions: Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Choosing Your Materials The materials will depend on what you are dyeing and what method you want to use. Dyeing Techniques There are three different dyeing methods that we use a lot. By Machine - The first method is using your washing machine. But, that is not really possible if you have a front loading machine. So, if you have a top loading machine, you just dump the package of Rit dye into the machine. You can use either powdered Rit or liquid Rit. Fill the machine with the hottest water available and let the machine agitate for a few minutes. Because of the volume of water used in a washing machine, the color will be somewhat diluted. Consequently, you will need more dye. Of course, if you use powdered dye, make sure it is totally diluted before you add any garments or fabric to the washing machine. Once the machine is ready, add your garments and let it agitate for approximately one minute. Stop the agitation cycle and let the machine sit for a few minutes. The longer it sits, the darker and richer the color of your garment. Periodically you can start the agitation cycle for another minute and then stop the machine and let it sit. Once you feel you have the color you want, let the machine continue through the washing process.

113 Keep in mind that the final color may be slightly lighter than it was before the washing machine cycle are completed so you may want to leave the garment in the water a little longer. Make sure that clean the washer as described in the Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Using Powdered Dye - The second method has to do with using the powdered form of Rit. Use a small bowl (one dedicated to the use of dyeing) and fill it about half way with very, very hot water. Thoroughly stir the powdered Rit into this hot water and let it dissolve. Stir the powdered dye in the water several times to make sure that all of the little granules of the dye are completely diluted. If they are not completely dissolved, you will end up with little specks of color all over the fabric or garment. Once you have accomplished that, pour that little bowl of dissolved dye either into a large soup pot or into your sink. If you use the soup pot, you can boil the water in the pot to make sure that you have hot, hot water. Remember, whether you use a sink or a soup pot, the hotter the water, the better the color you will receive. But, you also have to remember to be careful that you do not burn yourself in the hot water. This pot should be only for dyeing and not ever be used for cooking. If you do not have a pot that you can designate only for dyeing, you can fill your kitchen sink up with the hottest water possible and pour the bowl of diluted dye into the sink. If you want the sink water to be even hotter, add water that has been heated on the stove. Using Liquid Dye - The third method, and our favorite, is the liquid Rit dye. In our demo, we are just filling the sink with the hottest water possible. It needs to be hot but not so hot that we cannot put our rubber gloved hand into the water. Otherwise, you would need to use a wooden spoon or some other utensil that is dedicated to dyeing fabrics. Shake the bottle of dye to mix it up. Pour the liquid dye into the sink, tightly put the lid back on the bottle and stir the liquid dye into the water. When it is fully mixed up, take your garment and put it into the sink. Move the garment around in the sink so that the garment is fully engulfed with the colored water. You may want to let it sit for a few minutes and then repeat the process of moving the garment around until you get the color you want. Then, squeeze the excess water and dye out of the garment and rinse the garment with cold water until the water runs clear. The cold water will stop the dyeing process and set the color. Keep in mind that when you rinse it out, the color may end up a little lighter. You may want to add some salt to the rinse. You can also steam the garment but we would not suggest using an iron. We often let it sit outside for awhile. Then, rinse the garment again and put it through the dryer and let the color heat set.

114 Using Both Dye and Paint For this next method, we are going to show you how to use paint and dye to create a kind of spotted fabric. The paint just gives it a bit of added texture. You can spread the paint around, paint a design on the garment if you want or just use your fingers. Sometimes we use this process and add other things. Usually we do this in addition to other dyeing techniques. Supplies: 1. Garment of your choice 2. Dyes 3. Paints 4. Rubber gloves 5. Bleach Directions: Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Choosing Your Materials You will choose any garment you desire. Dying the Garment With this technique, you will need to get the garment very wet using clear water but, not dripping wet. You will not immerse the garment in water that has been mixed with dye. Shake up the bottle of dye really well. Pour small amounts on your gloved hands, rub your hands together and then randomly squeeze the fabric to spread the dye all over the garment giving it a spotted look. You will apply the paint in the same manner. When your costume is all wet first, it will really create a blending and a bleeding of the dye instead of just straight, defined spots of color. Although the paint will bleed or blend slightly, it will not bleed or blend as much as the dye. You will notice how it starts to blend together as you apply the dye. This really

115 comes in handy if someone accidentally ruins a costume with spots because you can just add more spots and make it look like that was the intention all along and no one will ever know that it was not meant to be that way. In our demonstration, we first used Fuchsia dye and then a darker paint. You can add as many colors as you choose. Remember, if you add a lot of colors of dye on top of each other they will blend and also change colors where they overlap. If you want the colors to stay true, you will want to use paint for some colors and also let the garment dry between colors. Creating a Forest Effect Using Paint and Fabric Dye We are going to show you how to create a forest look using fabric dye and fabric paint. This is a great look if you want that jungle feel but you do not want a straight out camouflage look. Supplies: 1. Garment 2. Green and brown dyes and in other colors that you believe will give you that forestry or woodsy feel 3. Rubber gloves 4. Apron or old clothes 5. Bleach Directions: Before you do anything else, check Notes to Remember in the introductory section above. Choosing Your Materials T0 start, you need to choose the dance garment that you want to dye. The next step would be to choose the colors of dye and paint that you wish to use and that you believe will give you that forest or woodsy feeling. This forest look is not quite a camouflage look but it does appear like you could blend into the jungle. We are going to use a white skirt for this demonstration. We like to use the white base because then you can really get the colors you want.

116 Dyeing the Garment First, dip the skirt into clear water and wring the skirt out. Next, pour a tan or light brown liquid dye in splotches on the skirt. Pour some of the brown dye into your gloved hands and then spread the brown dye onto the skirt. In some cases, rub it over areas rather than pour it on the garment. In other cases, splatter the dye all over the skirt in a very random, sporadic way. Make sure you keep it very unique and individual. There should be no pattern of any kind. Squeeze the skirt together spreading the colors even more. Then, add spots of green paint. In our demonstration, we used paint because we like the richness of the green. You can go with a darker green, maybe deeper forest green if you like. That works, too. Again, squeeze the bottles of paint into your gloves and rub your gloved hands together. Spread it around by gathering up parts of the skirt and squeezing it into the material. The purpose of mixing the fabric paint with the fabric dye is that it keeps the colors from bleeding together and it gives the colors a different texture. If you use just liquid dye, all of the colors will bleed or blend together and the green will not stand out as much but just mix in with the browns. That would create more of a camouflage look. Next, we are going to go with a darker brown liquid dye. Pour some brown dye into the palms of your gloves and then rub the liquid dye all over the palms and fingers of your gloves. Then, start applying the darker brown liquid dye to the skirt using the fingertips all over the skirt. The next step would be to apply the dye to the skirt using the palms of the gloves and squeezing all over the skirt. If the color still looks too light, add a darker color. Black paint can be used, but you should not put black paint directly onto the skirt. Instead, pour some of the green paint into the palm of your gloves and then add some drops of black paint. Mix it up in the palm of your gloves to create a darker green paint. Repeat this process several times. Use any colors you like that you believe will give it that woodsy look and start with the lightest colors and then work your way up to the darker colors. Add and mix colors however you wish as you go. Be creative and make it the way you want it. Remember that the skirt is wet so you will not get definite splotches of color - the dye will definitely blend. And, there you have it a nice jungle or forest feel.