Thread: "What are you working on?" June, 2009.

..l;, Glad I'm not alone. This week I'm at the beach and brought stuff to work on - even brought the SEWING MACHINE - but haven't touched any of it. (I've been reading the Twilight books, instead. Started Eclipse today.)

Originally Posted by ozma

For those of you who think my craft table is always tidy and organized:


This would be what I am working on, the coin set I hope to have out of my house and on a friend byt next week.

Originally Posted by ozma

For those of you who think my craft table is always tidy and organized:


This would be what I am working on, the coin set I hope to have out of my house and on a friend byt next week.

YEAH! Now I know I'm not the only one with a fabric and sparkly Explosion
Shannon

Originally Posted by Qamar60

Then I will add a few more square stones of it to and maybe redo the bra straps, cause they are a little bit dirty. Qamar ,r:;

Just so everyone knows, Qamar knew about the strap discolouration before she bought the costume - Qamar is a sweetie and I'm 100% sure she didn't mean it to sound that way, but I just want to make sure no one thinks I sell costumes with dirty straps ..g.: ..g.:

Dying to see a body pic Qamar!

Originally Posted by RioDancerCO

I got it! I got it! I got it!!! Eeeeek!! I tried taking pictures in the morning sunshine today and the camera couldn't come even close to capturing what my eyes were seeing! It's sooo much better than I expected :D It has the overall tiger stripe pattern, the shiny green 'spots' and then it throws prismatic rainbows and has deep green shimmers... it's just...wow.


~Rio~

I agree with everyone else who has commented... wow! I can't wait to see what becomes of this fab fabric.

Originally Posted by ozma

For those of you who think my craft table is always tidy and organized:


This would be what I am working on, the coin set I hope to have out of my house and on a friend byt next week.

My whole house looks like this right now - it looks like a belly dance bomb went off.

Currently everything that isn't already covered with glitter has bits of string, scraps of fabric and/or stray sequins on it.

ETA: today I made a garment that Bahaia has dubbed the "freaky dashiki" - a very colorful open in the front caftan. I'll post pics later - gotta go get ready for a party!

Originally Posted by Sarahamh

Just so everyone knows, Qamar knew about the strap discolouration before she bought the costume - Qamar is a sweetie and I'm 100% sure she didn't mean it to sound that way, but I just want to make sure no one thinks I sell costumes with dirty straps ..g.: ..g.:

Dying to see a body pic Qamar!

Oh, no I did not! and actually you found the right word "discolouration", and don't forget, I'm French speaking, so I have to translate everything in my head before writing, and something is no always as clear as it is in my mother language! .w.:..l;,

Hugs to you Sarahamh, bisou!

Qamar

Originally Posted by kiyaana

..l;, Glad I'm not alone. This week I'm at the beach and brought stuff to work on - even brought the SEWING MACHINE - but haven't touched any of it. (I've been reading the Twilight books, instead. Started Eclipse today.)

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one sitting on the beach working on costumes!!

I love this thread. :thumbs_up:

Originally Posted by tamrahennatx

Thank you! I can't remember when I bought this fabric or what I was planning to do with it at the time, but my hubby is a huge bug nut, so I couldn't resist it. And now it's my favorite of the bags I've made so far - also, I think I finally got the dimensions of the bag right.

How do you transport your costumes now? Do you use plastic tubs? This method definitely won't work for all costumes, but most good, solid b&b sets or even bra/skirt sets would do fine in these bags, I think.

Someone has to be a bug nut. For me it depends on the bug. I'm constantly learning, like miner bees, the American Burying Beetle, and we have some bumblebees in our backyard (yay!)

For me, right now? I have a single costume.

I store the bra/belt set in a shallow plastic tub that the belt can lie in, but not shut tight, with an old towel below and above the belt, and the bra with the cups up on top of that.

When I travel, I fold the belt carefully in a towel (it abrades itself with all the chain swag on it), and place the bra on top of that ... and hope for the best. The bottom of my belly dance bag is about 12" round; it's just a stripey bag from walmart with a single pocket.

Having said all that, I took a luggage carry-on for all my crap last time, because of the bedlah AND harem pants AND the 25-yard skirt AND bolero that went with it all. Heh.

Hmmmm, might have to try this out sometime ... *thinkthinkthink*

I'm officially no longer working on this one. My last post about it was a lament that the colors just didn't look good on me in spite of all the blue I added. It has however found a new home with my student and made a debut performance last week end (debut solo for the student also!) This is not the greatest picture, will repost if I get a better one. The costume fits like it was made for her and positively makes her skin glow!! Wish it would have looked like that on me!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by banatsusan

I'm officially no longer working on this one. My last post about it was a lament that the colors just didn't look good on me in spite of all the blue I added. It has however found a new home with my student and made a debut performance last week end (debut solo for the student also!) This is not the greatest picture, will repost if I get a better one. The costume fits like it was made for her and positively makes her skin glow!! Wish it would have looked like that on me!!!!!!!!!

I applaud you for knowing when something won't work, and having the ability to pass somehting you've worked so hard at for yourself to another body/home. That isn't easy.

Thanks Ozma! It actually now frees up my creativity to work on another project I had put aside until I decided what to do with this one...guess I'm a one project at a time girl! I extended the length of this belt by cutting it in half and then adding to the edges. Now I'm working on making the bra cups larger by adding a relatively large wedge shape to the outer edge of the cup. Somewhere I have pictures of the bra and somewhere in the old posts are a few pictures of this in progress:

Here's the bra, before I added to it...

and here's where I'm at in the work...

My mom and I designed this costume, she beaded it and I did all the pink sequin work. Only thing we did wrong was to make it to fit me perfectly. Then my body started changing and well, here I am tearing it apart to make it wearable once again!

wow ...that is pretty!

So far this month, I've finished a burgundy with aqua and pink costume for myself. But I'm STILL working on a leopard print for my client, a dove gray/blue bra that needs finishing, a 2 1/2 circle skirt that needs hemming and some sewing work for my sister.

My biggest achievement was getting my sewing room cleaned up - that took 12 hours, but I can finally see the floor again!

I should have photos of everything in July. I hope.

Hi there, Ladies!

I'm a brand new member of bhuz.com, but I have long been admiring the lovely costumes and handiwork on this thread! I have finally just finished two costumes that I have been working on for quite some time, and I wanted to get some opinions, constructive criticism, etc.

The first is a "Queen of Hearts" bedlah, in what I call "Valentine's Day" colors:






This one took me over 3 weeks to complete, and contains over 4,000 medium-sized sequins in red, pink, and white, with close to 7,000 glass beads in red, white, baby pink, clear, and hot pink. The loop fringing was a pain in the BUTT! I'm not crazy about the meager 3 loops of fringe on the bra, so if anyone has any ideas of how to improve it, please do share! Also, I think I need to make a loop fringe necklace to match the bra and belt. Alas, these projects are never done....

The second costume I have finished is a Star Wars Princess Leia from "Return of the Jedi"-inspired costume, which is designed to look like a belly dance cabaret costume version of the metal bikini outfit she wore while in Jabba's Palace:





This one took ~60 hours to complete, using over 3,000 large-size gold sequins and glass beads. The bra is a Gilligan 'o Malley strapless plunge bra from Target, and it is PERFECT! Tons of padding, very durable. The side pieces on the belt are actually stretchy gold hair bands, beaded and sequined. Still not done with all the accouterments (the hair pieces, the collar, the boots), but I'm trying to give my left hand a rest for now!


Any comments or advice on how to improve these costumes would be greatly appreciated! I'm still very much a budding costumer!

Thanks, Ladies, and happy costuming!

-Maddie :)

I love them, they are wonderful! ^^^^

Thank you, dahhling! You do some amazing work yourself!

Originally Posted by PassionWarfare

Thank you, dahhling! You do some amazing work yourself!

Oh, I have only posted some blouses that were non-bellydance related and things for my sons nursery. I have projects to do I just need the time to get them started.

Originally Posted by PassionWarfare

Hi there, Ladies!

I'm a brand new member of bhuz.com, but I have long been admiring the lovely costumes and handiwork on this thread! I have finally just finished two costumes that I have been working on for quite some time, and I wanted to get some opinions, constructive criticism, etc.

The first is a "Queen of Hearts" bedlah, in what I call "Valentine's Day" colors:






This one took me over 3 weeks to complete, and contains over 4,000 medium-sized sequins in red, pink, and white, with close to 7,000 glass beads in red, white, baby pink, clear, and hot pink. The loop fringing was a pain in the BUTT! I'm not crazy about the meager 3 loops of fringe on the bra, so if anyone has any ideas of how to improve it, please do share! Also, I think I need to make a loop fringe necklace to match the bra and belt. Alas, these projects are never done....

The second costume I have finished is a Star Wars Princess Leia from "Return of the Jedi"-inspired costume, which is designed to look like a belly dance cabaret costume version of the metal bikini outfit she wore while in Jabba's Palace:





This one took ~60 hours to complete, using over 3,000 large-size gold sequins and glass beads. The bra is a Gilligan 'o Malley strapless plunge bra from Target, and it is PERFECT! Tons of padding, very durable. The side pieces on the belt are actually stretchy gold hair bands, beaded and sequined. Still not done with all the accouterments (the hair pieces, the collar, the boots), but I'm trying to give my left hand a rest for now!


Any comments or advice on how to improve these costumes would be greatly appreciated! I'm still very much a budding costumer!

Thanks, Ladies, and happy costuming!

-Maddie :)

OMG...Costume #2 is soooo sexy .I LOVE IT

Originally Posted by PassionWarfare

Hi there, Ladies!

I'm a brand new member of bhuz.com, but I have long been admiring the lovely costumes and handiwork on this thread! I have finally just finished two costumes that I have been working on for quite some time, and I wanted to get some opinions, constructive criticism, etc.

The first is a "Queen of Hearts" bedlah, in what I call "Valentine's Day" colors:

Because it's hard to get a clean line when you're using a medium that is all circles, like sequins, the hearts lose definition at a distance.

My advice is to not be afraid of also using the negative space of unsequined fabric and bead-lines to help really POP a shape or the sequins. All sequins and all beads sometimes need a contrasting texture or matte/velvet/silk to really shine.

Advances in the Pharonix fix-up:

Originally Posted by ozma

Advances in the Pharonix fix-up:

That's hot! I am going to review all of your bra reconstruction posts soon, I am ready for a new home made bra&belt set

Originally Posted by PassionWarfare

Hi there, Ladies!

I'm a brand new member of bhuz.com, but I have long been admiring the lovely costumes and handiwork on this thread! I have finally just finished two costumes that I have been working on for quite some time, and I wanted to get some opinions, constructive criticism, etc.

The first is a "Queen of Hearts" bedlah, in what I call "Valentine's Day" colors:



The second costume I have finished is a Star Wars Princess Leia from "Return of the Jedi"-inspired costume, which is designed to look like a belly dance cabaret costume version of the metal bikini outfit she wore while in Jabba's Palace:

Any comments or advice on how to improve these costumes would be greatly appreciated! I'm still very much a budding costumer!

Thanks, Ladies, and happy costuming!

-Maddie :)

Hi Maddie, keep working, you have lot of pretty and original ideas!
I will also write some advices, hope it would help :)

The heart set is beautiful, I think that the only improvement would be contrasting the shape of hearts, as Ozma already wrote. Maybe you can line the hearts with a row of red beads.

I like the idea of Leila's costume and pattern of the belt and hip-straps.
The only think I would make diffrent is using so much sequinses.
I know it's just the matter of taste, and maybe you or the other dancers like it this way, but for me the belt reminds me of the cheapest turkish costumes like this:


it think its a pitty to do so much work on very original design, and get something what looks little bit like the most common costume.
Now I am talking only about the belt, not the bra.
Maybe if you use metalic or some shiny fabric, cover the belt with this and then use less sequinses just for some nice details.

Regarding the bra: bra is awsome, I love the idea and the back of bra.
Maybe I would use wider ribbon for the back of bra, because whole bra is very shinny and eye-catching, and the back-ribbon looks too tiny compared to this.

I don't want to sound like I am telling you only negatives. There are lot of positives on your work, and I would change only these 2 details. The rest is amazing and I am looking forward what you will post next :)

Originally Posted by PassionWarfare

Any comments or advice on how to improve these costumes would be greatly appreciated! I'm still very much a budding costumer!

Thanks, Ladies, and happy costuming!

-Maddie :)

Hi Maddie! Obviously you have a knack for beading an sewing. I love the design of the second bra! Very original, I don't think I've ever seen a costume like this. The only comment that I would make would be to take bras with larger bra cups. Once you cover your bra with fabric and bead over it it shrinks and I think those two bras look a tiny bit small on you. Posing to the camera might not reveal the issues, but have you tried dancing with your arms raised? Or doing some chest isolations? If the bra is small it might ride up and reveal unwanted parts of the body :) If you wish to learn more about bra construction I would highly recommend reading up Ozma's blog, she's got lots of great advice on how to position the cups, where to connect them to each other and where to place the bra straps, etc.

Originally Posted by ozma

Advances in the Pharonix fix-up:

Looks great! I love the Satin Skirt with it.

Originally Posted by ozma

Because it's hard to get a clean line when you're using a medium that is all circles, like sequins, the hearts lose definition at a distance.

My advice is to not be afraid of also using the negative space of unsequined fabric and bead-lines to help really POP a shape or the sequins. All sequins and all beads sometimes need a contrasting texture or matte/velvet/silk to really shine.

Ah... so less is more?

Originally Posted by bdaddiction

Looks great! I love the Satin Skirt with it.



Ah... so less is more?

well...more isn't always better. It's important to step away from your work and view it from a distance. NO use in busting your hands for something that gets lost a few steps away.

My first costumes were bead intensive,I covered large areas with beads, but then I learned to be more selective so that well-beaded sections and nice fabric would save me hours and days of work

ozma - it's looking great!!
my, wasn't June a productive month! even i started getting somewhere ^^

Originally Posted by PassionWarfare

I have a question. I love the back of this bra, but it does look like it cuts in, does it?

I made a bra with one less set of criss-crosses and inch-wide straps and I have to be tied into it. The lift is great and the fit is secure, but I'm looking for my next bra to be something I can get into myself. Mine doesn't cut in, it's totally comfy in that respect, and I wonder if I can use a narrower strap or not so much.

Originally Posted by ozma

well...more isn't always better. It's important to step away from your work and view it from a distance. NO use in busting your hands for something that gets lost a few steps away.

My first costumes were bead intensive,I covered large areas with beads, but then I learned to be more selective so that well-beaded sections and nice fabric would save me hours and days of work

I have a pending project that involves some Swarovski crystals, I purchased on the Swap Meet. So this is good information so I don't over do it. Not sure if I will use sequins, beads, or both.

It will be my first bra/belt that I am starting from scratch. I have only taken a bra off and added to another bra. You know the routine. So I really didn't ever have to do too much bead work on them.

Thanks!