As women, our bodies go through a lot of size changes, and it’s annoying to have to figure out how to fit into your costume each time you gain or lose weight. Or you may be a teacher that needs to manage costumes for students whose sizes come in a wide range. So this week and next week, I’ll be… Read more →
I often hear from dancers, “I’d love to be able to sew, but I can’t.” And for some, that’s the end of their story. But for others, that’s the beginning of a new dancer career – they start to learn how to sew and create beautiful costumes! Let’s face it – it’s impossible for dancers to NOT encounter costuming problems. … Read more →
The sound of zills is enough to get me excited and wanting to dance! 😀 😀 But they are a bit too loud to practice at night in my small apartment… 🙁 So in this tutorial, you’ll see how I made these zill mufflers and a matching zill pouch! You can make them to the sizes of your zills, and… Read more →
Last few weeks, I’ve been decorating this grey costume 🙂 I made the drape sleeve with lace…. added appliques… and I even made a matching hair clip that doesn’t fall off 🙂 It’s really fun seeing how the costume evolved! In this post, I’ll finish up this costume by adding small sparkly decorations. Let’s get started! How to make the bra… Read more →
What accessories do you wear with your dance costume? 🙂 In the last couple of posts, I showed you how I’m decorating this costume, and I wanted to make a matching hair accessory. So here’s a cute and easy hair clip to make, and the best part is, it won’t fall off even if you shake your head, which makes… Read more →
Remember this costume I used to show how to sew on beaded appliques? 🙂 Well, I decided to jazz it up with this vibrant yellow lace fabric 😀 In this video, you’ll see how I created this drape sleeve which continues over to the bra cup. It’s easy to do and very pretty! Let’s get started! To make this lace… Read more →
So I opened my DIY Applique Kit shop a little while ago, and people love the kits because they come with everything you need to create beautiful appliques yourself! 😀 But some of them asked, “How do I attach the appliques to a costume?” A very good question 🙂 In this post, I’ll show you exactly… Read more →
You know I love making beaded appliques and using them for decorating my costumes 😉 But finding the right beads and the right stones can be challenging, and often I don’t know where to buy them or how many beads to buy to make appliques. 🙁 It turns out, many costumers face the same challenge! I… Read more →
When I make beaded appliques, I like to mix in a rhinestone chain. 🙂 Rhinestone chains are great for defining the shape of the applique, which is a big plus for dance costumes. (Vague shapes don’t show well on stage.) And of course, rhinestone chains add lots of shine, and they are much quicker to sew on than… Read more →
If you’re in my Applique Making course or if you’ve read my decoration tutorials, you probably heard me saying, “It is important to make a clean outline.” I truly believe an applique will look beautiful with a clean outline, even if you mess up the inside of the outline a little 😉 It’s especially true for dance… Read more →