The Singing Costumer

When I came across a Facebook post about needing entertainment for a The Greatest Showman-themed birthday party, I was all over it. I believe I’ve talked about my love of that movie here before. I have done multiple Princess parties before, and loved it so much. And I am so excited that this is my first party under my new company Favorite Fables Entertainment, LLC. https://favoritefablesententertainment.com/ . I didn’t have long before the party was to happen, so I quickly started on a costume. I was lucky enough to find generous yardage of (what I assume to be) gray polyester wool at a thrift store. The skirt was the first project I started for this costume. It is the largest circle I could cut from the fabric. I made it a high-low by cutting the waist circle closer to one edge. Don’t ask me how I installed the zipper; It’s different every time. I did a waistband in the usual way. First, I attached the skirt to one side of the waistband. Second, I folded the waistband in half to co...

In mid 2025, I was thinking about all my Disney cosplays. I just started listing them. The list just kept going and going. I’ve been cosplaying for over 10, and I’ve amassed quite a collection. Including full cosplays as well as vintage-inspired Disneybounds, I’ve got at least 30 projects to show. Welcome to the year of Disney! I’ll be posting blogs and on my Instagram most every week with a Disney project. I have quite the collection of ballgowns already. I’ve done multiple looks for Belle and Ariel (and I have plans for more Ariel looks this year). There’s a few that I plan to remake or refurbish. My Elsa corset needs some TLC for sure. And my Minnie Mouse dress needs a collar to really finish it properly. I still have so many cosplays on my to-do list. There’s so many princesses I’ve yet to do. And Queens! I fell in love with the design of Queen Elinor from Brave at first sight. Some heroines are on my list too. Jane is my big build for the summer con season. I really want to combin...

I’ve started a new job as a preschool teacher. It’s a lot to handle. And I’ve had no energy after work. Now, I’m on Christmas break and needing a creative outlet. My sewing machine has been so lonely. Let’s change that! Simplicity S9846 is a 1960’s reprint, and still available. I’ve made 2 vintage-inspired specifically Christmas ensembles. One is a burgundy plaid 1960’s dress and coat from last week, and the other is a true red 1950’s dress. So I decided it was time to use green. The fabric is from Fabric Wholesale Direct. I’ve always had good experiences with them. https://fabricwholesaledirect.com/products/lino-italiano-polyester-viscose-linen-fabric?variant=39878267699315 This 70% polyester and 30% Viscose fiber “linen” in the color forest green was very nice. Essentially, it’s a poly rayon made to look like linen. The price isn’t bad at all. I would love to use true linen, but this is so much cheaper. Once I perfect some patterns and I know that they fit, I might splurge. This mate...

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, ...

  Moving on to the next and most important pieces in this “Delilah” ensemble. I used Simplicity 8162 for the stays. This pattern is by American Duchess for Simplicity, and I was pleased with it. This brown cotton twill was in my stash. But I thought this project needed a bit of pizzazz.  I am obsessed with the leopard print bias binding I used (found on Etsy). It really elevates this garment to the next level. As per usual for my boned garments, I used heavy duty zip ties. Getting the boning channels marked on the twill was quite annoying and tedious, but I managed in the end. All the channels were stitched by machine. I used my machine to sew almost everything on her. I think the only handstitching on this is the eyelets. I set small eyelets up the front and back, and then hand embroidered around each one.  I really don’t care that the sewing machine wasn’t invented in the 18th century. I’ll say this again, in case it isn’t obvious. I am aiming for historical accuracy in...

  I have quite a difficult time focusing on one time period. One minute, I’ll have grand ideas for a huge bustle gown. The next minute, I’m dreaming of medieval cloaks in warm, delicious, soft wool. It’s a problem, let me tell you. This year, I am trying my best to finish projects that have languished too long in Unfinished Objects purgatory. (The size of my UFO pile is embarrassing.) This set hasn’t been waiting as long as other projects, but I’m incredibly excited just the same. It is the underpinnings for an early-to-mid 18th century middle class ensemble. I’m calling this set “Delilah”. I have decided to name my sets, just for fun. I am getting close to my goal of sewing an undergarment set for every major fashion period in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.  I need to make a Regency set and an early Victorian set, and I need to finish a few other projects for other time periods. But I’m almost there.  The idea for this project was born when I found a fun leopard pri...

  Today, it is my distinct pleasure to debut not one but two Belle costumes. Her blue so-called Village Dress is a project I’ve been wanting to do forever. And her casual outfit from Wreck-it Ralph 2 is pretty cute. I decided pretty early in the Halloween season that I would do both. These two projects bring my Belle costume count to 5 (3 canonical outfits from the movies and 2 alternate universe concepts.) I can’t decide whether I want to continue with Belle looks or if I should move on to Ariel costumes. For Belle outfits, I still need to do her pink dress with the long cape and the green library dress. I do want to do Ariel’s pInk dinner dress at some point. All of these projects were made from fabrics from my stash. First, I’ll talk about the casual outfit. It’s a pretty simple look, with a sports bra, a shirt, and a pair of leggings. I bought the BFF (Beast Friends Forever) shirt on shopDisney a couple of years ago. It comes down super low in the arms. So I decided to make a s...