The Singing Costumer

For a short time in spring 2024, I was attending 2 dance classes a week. I had tap on Mondays and Ballet on Thursdays. I was cast in a show that summer, and then caught covid again, and then life just happened. I haven’t gone back to the studio yet. I really hope to do so soon. But the point of this blog is that I really got bitten by the balletcore bug, hard. Pastel colors of blue and yellow, and especially pink and mauve. Bows and lace details everywhere. It’s just such a fun and sweet aesthetic. So I thought I’d blog about my makes in a “What I would wear to class” format. For Ballet, form-fitting clothes are a must. The teacher has to be able to see the lines of your body to make sure you’re performing the movement correctly. Simplicity 8424, the pattern that I choose, has several simply adorable pieces. For my blue top, I used view E. It’s a cute little wrap-top with long, wide ties. This blue knit was from the Wal-Mart mystery fabric bin. The pattern was straight-forward, and I h...

  Blue and pink is a common color combination you will find in Medieval manuscripts. It's not so common today, unless one is Disney-bounding Princess Aurora at Disneyland. Which is something I would do. Probably while singing “I Wonder” and “Once Upon A Dream”. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  This outfit is partially new, and partially new-to-me. The over dress and hood were made by a dear friend, and later passed to me. The Queen of my Medieval Fair made these two pieces so many years ago. They fit me pretty well, only a little bit big, so I have worn this ensemble to a few medieval and renaissance fairs. I had to wear a dress under it, of course. The only option I had in my costume wardrobe that worked was a cream dress. I made it for this costume, but I was never a fan of the look. So I decided I needed a new under dress. I searched my fabric stash for a good option. Eventually, I found a good length of plain blue cotton. (I am happy to say that I have used most of the ...

I am pleased to return from my blog hiatus with my Valentine's Day dress from 2021. I didn't blog about it at that time, but I did post pictures on Instagram. It turned out adorable, in my opinion. It's simply scrumptious. I especially love the way light reflects and dances across the satin fabric. A lovely shade of pink, gentle gathers, and a beaded net overlay combine for a soft and romantic look. In real life, I don’t wear dresses to work or church often. I’m much more comfortable in pants. But I love sewing them and wearing them for photos! I simply had to wear my beloved American Duchess Pompadours. I still need to sew an 18th century costume one of these days. For other accessories, I wore a single strand of pearls and a pink flower brooch. One of my favorite past-times is refashioning dresses from the thrift store. Sometimes, the dress doesn't fit and I have to figure out a solution. I used a pink satin bridesmaid gown for the main dress. The gown was long, so I ...

  This dress. Oh boy, this dress. Where do I even start? I guess, the very beginning is a very good place to start. This dress has been in progress since 2016. It’s made of a pink quilting cotton with a blue and cream floral design. The garment consists of a separate skirt and bodice. It closes down the front with hooks and bars, and the skirt attaches to the blouse in the same way. It started its life as Simplicity 5442. It has gone through several changes since then. Originally, this was made for a college broadway revue show. I made this for Joanna from Sweeney Todd.  My voice teacher from college was teaching voice at another school and needed some costumes. This was when I was starting to get really interested in historic dress and costumes. The pattern was for a sheer dress, fashionable in the Victorian era. I used the pieces marked for the sheer layer and just made it in the cotton. The pattern has a lot of gathering and is very pretty. I knew that I wanted to keep it, ...

  I a m pleased to return from my blog hiatus with my Valentine's Day dress from 2021. I didn't blog about it at that time, but I did post pictures on Instagram. It turned out adorable, in my opinion. It's simply scrumptious. I especially love the way light reflects and dances across the satin fabric. A lovely shade of pink, gentle gathers, and a beaded net overlay combine for a soft and romantic look. In real life, I don’t wear dresses to work or church often. But I love sewing and wearing them for photos! These photos are from last year. One of my favorite past-times is refashioning dresses from the thrift store. Sometimes, the dress doesn't fit and I have to figure out a solution. I used a pink satin bridesmaid gown for the main dress. The gown was long, so I had plenty of material to cut the bodice and skirt panels. The beaded net overlay is from another bridesmaid dress. I love the combination. The pink satin and the embroidered and beaded flowers on the net go so...

  I finished this costume last year and I did a blog about it, but I made some changes this year. Hence, an updated blog with new photos for your reading pleasure.  In the tradition of Tinker Bell and her friends, Rosalind is a Flower Talent Fairy from the South. She is just a sweet peach.  She, like all fairies, loves nothing more than to dance and sing and play with her friends. Also, she loves exploring and discovering new flowers and trees. I am writing down a few of her stories and might be doing some YouTube storytimes. Basically, my goal for this costume was to use up some miscellaneous pieces from my stash. I had a small stack of fabrics that looked so stunning together, I just HAD to use them all in the same project, and this is the outcome. And in case it isn't clear, this is pure fantasy.  No hint at a historical era or a specific location was attempted. I just wanted a pretty dress! The base skirt is a full circle of a smooth, thick burgundy satin, with 2...

I have had this pretty fabric in my stash for a long time, and I decided 2020 was the year to do something with it. It's a lightweight, almost sheer purple-pink cotton blend with a floral print. Some of the flowers are flocked and soft, too! It looks vintage (it might be), so I thought a vintage Easter dress would be just the thing. This spring, I am especially loving pastel colors and dainty flowers. Of course, these come in fashion every year. But for some reason, I am just obsessed this year. Another new obsession is Splendette reproduction jewelry. They are inspired by Bakelite jewelry of the 1940's and 1950's. They have such a wide range, including bangles in 3 widths, earrings, brooches, and necklaces. They offer each bangle in Maiden, Regular, or Duchess size (small, medium, or large). I own 9 pieces so far and I have an incredibly long wishlist. Here, I am wearing their Drop Hoop earrings and Midi bangle in Amethyst. Sadly , this color was discontinued and th...

Presenting my “Frozen Raspberry Gauntlets of Power”. I don't name my projects every time, but it just happened in this instance. For whatever reason, these fingerless mitts decided that this is the name by which they shall be known. And there was nothing I could do about it. I have no idea where I got this yarn. The color is difficult to describe. It is a beautiful mauve/maroon/burgundy/purple. It has this secondary white yarn twisted into it, giving it almost a halo effect. It reminded me of frozen raspberries (hence the name). It is itchy, sadly, but not unbearably so. Also, I knit it a bit too small for my hands. I believe this was my first knitting project, so there were bound to be issues. But overall, the tension is fairly even, tight, and neat. And I adore the color so much. It's so fun and colorful, yet still sophisticated. I just wish I had more, so I could have made a matching hat or something. It was incredibly simple to knit. A 2X rib knit stitch ...

YouTube video associated with this blog For my first project in my “Unmentionables thru the Decades” project, I decided to start with the 1930s. This was really the decade when the fashions for underwear changed into the form we recognize today. In the '20s, they did have bras and panties more or less as we know them today. But they were really only popular with the very young and fashion forward ladies. More conservative ladies and older ladies still wore plenty of layers. Maybe not a true corset as we would call it today (more like a girdle), but basically everything else their fore bearers wore. But by the '30s, a much lighter style of underthings was worn more universally. Here is a gorgeous example I found on Etsy. It has a similar style. And here is mine! I decided to begin this project with a gorgeous reproduction pattern, Simplicity 8510. It is a reprint of a bra and tap pants set pattern from the 1930s. https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity...