Thread: Only 2 yards of delicious stretch velvet - halp!

OK, ladies, I was at the fabric store the other day and they had a both of this most fantastic grey/silver stretch velvet. There were only 2 yards left on the bolt, I bought it all.

I have just enough to make either a semi-full at the bottom trumpet/mermaid skirt, using velvet as the inserts. Or enough for a nice and full skirt, using something else as the inserts at the bottom. If I make the skirt using an accent fabric, that means I will also have a small amount of velvet left over - either enough for a short sleeved U-shaped top with cap sleeves (similar to the LRose top), or for a pair of gauntlets, or to cover a bra top.

What to do??? (Also, have not seen more of this velvet anywhere else)

How about a bra and a longer butt-wrap/mini-skirt style belt at the top of a chiffon skirt? You might have enough left over to make gauntlets out of two yards, depending on the width and whether you shirred the fabric or not. Basically, I'm thinking of something like this idea:
Belly Dance Store.com: gallery

You could use the same fabric from the inserts in the skirt to cover a bra.

is it 60". Do you have a larger bust? You could make a skirt, armbands and cover a bra with that easy!

I would make a bra, and the top part of the mermaid skirt, add chiffon on the bottom. From the left overs, you should have plenty for gauntlets, armbands, and a headband.

Or instead of a mermaid skirt, make a belt, and make a separate chiffon skirt. This way you can wear the bra / belt w/accessories with other skirts.

Let's see, if I hold the fabric up, I've got from my nose to my toes, and from fingertip to fingertip(unstretched). I'm a short and fluffy hourglass. I do have a huge bust, but since this is stretch velvet, it'll go a lot further than just by yardage.

The one thing I worry about, doing a seperate skirt and wide belt, is that the velvet might ride up - I guess I'd need to tack it down to a lining of a sturdier non-stretch? Like a pencil skirt? If so, what sort of a skirt would I want to wear under it to give that mermaid effect? A circle skirt?

I kind of have a vision in my mind of being able to wear it with a black or black/silver bedlah, when I finally get one.

OK, I think I shall go make some sketches, and come back to you ladies...

3 sketches - the first 2, I can wear as is for a simple, elegant costume, or I can add belts or swap the bra out for different styles - in particular, with the first, I can make an additional chiffon bra swag and wear it with my tribal coin bra for a nice tribaret look. Number 2, also can be work with existing bra/belt combos for a tribaret look, and can wear with other bra/belt sets later.

Sketch #3 is a full skirt/bra concept that I can wear onstage, as is. If I can find me some monster crystal/rhinestones (not too hard), and maybe some tiny coordinating ones, I can go with a "starry sky" sort of look. I actually got the basketweave ruching idea from a pillow my mother in law has... .w.:

Originally Posted by raniraqs

3 sketches - the first 2, I can wear as is for a simple, elegant costume, or I can add belts or swap the bra out for different styles - in particular, with the first, I can make an additional chiffon bra swag and wear it with my tribal coin bra for a nice tribaret look. Number 2, also can be work with existing bra/belt combos for a tribaret look, and can wear with other bra/belt sets later.

Sketch #3 is a full skirt/bra concept that I can wear onstage, as is. If I can find me some monster crystal/rhinestones (not too hard), and maybe some tiny coordinating ones, I can go with a "starry sky" sort of look. I actually got the basketweave ruching idea from a pillow my mother in law has... .w.:

Beautiful sketches! Please post through the whole process of making the costume!

Thanks!

I was originally leaning towards #2, because I could wear the top and skirt with other bra/belt sets...

But since all I own is tribal/tribaret stuff right now, I'm thinking maybe #3 is the best idea.

Now I have to decide what color!!! Time to take my pile of velvet to the fabric store and go shopping. Apparently black and white zebra was popular this summer, and there should be a few bolths of zebra chiffon on sale, might look good. There should also be "platinum" and "pewter" colored chiffons on sale, either of which might look nice. But that silvery stuff might look good with a garnet color.

I'll keep you all posted as I figure things out, and post lots of photos along the way!

What if you combined ideas #1 and #2? If you used skirt #1 with interchangeable bottoms, you could take the U-top from #2 and then change out the bra and get more than one costume out of your fabric. I'm thinking you could rig the bottom of the velvet skirt top with snaps or even a split/detachable zipper that mates with a ruffle of some other fabric, and they you would use some of the second fabric to cover the bra from #2. You might even have enough of the gray velvet to make the gauntlets from #1.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the sheer bottoms on the skirts. I like a little less knee and a little more mystery in my dancing--I'd be tempted to use a more opaque accent fabric. I'd also like to see a little decoration at the top of the skirt--maybe some of those Eman bead swags? I'm not sure why you couldn't sew a series of split rings across the top of the skirt and at the center of the bra and then change out your bead swags (using lobster claw clasps) for a different look. Those clasps are sturdy enough for jewelry, so I should think it would hold for dancing (shouldn't be any different than a coin belt).

#3 is a beautiful design, but it does limit you in that it's a single outfit. (BTW, if you don't mind square acrylic stones, you can often get a pack of trim with 1-cm clear stones sewn on it for less than a box of loose stones, and you can just cut them off and throw away the base trim. They're usually sold in the embellish-your-jeans-and-purses section of the craft store.)

So what sort of fabric would you recommend for the bottom "tail" of the mermaid skirt? Around here, all I see is trumpet skirt after trumpet skirt, some with slits, some without. Almost all of them are made from one fabric. Either that, or a straight skirt with a slit.

Would a taffeta be too stiff? Satin? Stretch satin? I feel like I might want something flowy, as opposed to stiff (no knee tu-tus, thank you very much). I actually do have a bunch of red jewel toned silky polyester, it's a fake silk with a slight crinkled texture, I'm sure I have enough for the ruffle and a bra, or even a full circle skirt and a bra. Possibly even enough for a choker and/or a headband.

I agree that you want something with a nice drape to it. It sort of depends on what you can find in your price range that looks good with your gray. Grays can be funny to match--sometimes they have an unexpected green or yellow undertone to them, so you need to bring a swatch to match at the store.

Fabric wise, the easiest choice would be to find a pleasing color in the same kind of stretch velvet. That way, you've harmonized with a consistent fabric, and you can just tie the two colors together with your embellishments. If you can't match the stretch velvet, I'd probably go for a stretch satin or compatible-weight Lycra. I like using fabrics that have a little give to them anyway, but it's easier to sew two fabrics that have the same amount of stretch to them (as opposed to combining knits and wovens)--it decreases the chance of having weird seams. I wouldn't use a stiff woven, unless you find something that is absolutely the most perfect match in the world and you just can't live without it.

I think I've decided on doing kind of a faux mermaid skirt, with the ability to swap out underskirts to match more outfits. Then for sure, some gauntlets, and if there's enough, a U-top or vest type thing.

My biggest question now, is: how would I keep the velvet miniskirt from riding up? What length would be ideal to fake the mermaid style skirt - knee, lower thigh, mid thigh? The other thing I'm really drawn to is the skirts that are ruched right in the center front (generally I see them with a big applique right over the ruching) - possibly that style?

I am just wondering if the skirt as a single layer of velvet would sit still, or if I need to line it, and if so, from what? o.O So far my experience sewing in stretch velvets has been making cholis and sewing dresses for myself and my daughter.

Originally Posted by raniraqs

My biggest question now, is: how would I keep the velvet miniskirt from riding up?

Hmm, not sure about that. I've never worn that style myself, so I don't know. It might be the weight of the bottom of the skirt that holds it down, or maybe it is tacked underneath at the side seams to a pair of bike shorts or something like Spanx? I think at one time someone was selling this idea as two separate pieces, a miniskirt that fit over a floor-length skirt--at which point it was probably just pinned in place.

What length would be ideal to fake the mermaid style skirt - knee, lower thigh, mid thigh?

I'm not sure I'd go down to the knees for fear of making it hard to dance in, but where you'd stop on your thigh depends on the shape of your legs. Obviously, you want something that makes you look hourglassy and leggy, not saddlebaggy and stumpy. You'll just have to experiment. What length do you like for (regular summer clothing) shorts?

The other thing I'm really drawn to is the skirts that are ruched right in the center front (generally I see them with a big applique right over the ruching) - possibly that style?

Right--something along the same idea as the skirt of a Snake Charmer at the Belly Dance Store. I don't know why you couldn't do something like that, particularly if you carried some of the design elements over to the gauntlets, too.

I am just wondering if the skirt as a single layer of velvet would sit still, or if I need to line it, and if so, from what? o.O So far my experience sewing in stretch velvets has been making cholis and sewing dresses for myself and my daughter.

I'm always amazed at how little attention goes into lower- and midrange-priced dance costumes. It seems like they're rarely lined, backed, or otherwise reinforced. Personally, I'd be hesitant to go with a nonstretch fabric for the lining, just because it would be more difficult to fit/sew. Could you line it with a gray or nude Lycra or stretch mesh? I'm not sure I'd go as far as a Powernet, though.

hahahaha, shorts. Ugh, I don't wear shorts. I'm always in jeans or a floor length skirt!

Luckily though, I don't have any sort of thigh saddlebags at all, my hips are kind of boxy/squareish, but I do have a nice sticky-outy booty.

It does mean I have to adjust all my skirts and give them about 3 inches more in back than in front.

I am high waisted, but now that I'm losing some weight, I have a fairly nice nip in the waist (it's just far, far away from my hips!).

If I wear a body stocking, it smoothes out the kind of odd squareness to the top of my hips and makes me nice and hourglassy. But my other problem is, now that I'm losing weight, a lot of things slide down after dancing for a while.

Again, I solve that with bodystockings - I end up pinning everything down! I forgot to pin my shalwar down last night (They are the Indian style, on a yoke) - I thought they'd stay up just fine, and halfway through a dance, I'm noticing that the yoke was halfway down my thighs. So, things do have a tendency to slide right off, unless they are super-stretchy.

So I think that means no non-stretchy linings for me. I am tempted by the idea of pinning the mini skirt to shorts underneath. The pins could either go through the skirt, or if I wear a circle skirt with 2 slits, the pins could go right at the slits. Since the velvet is silver, and all my safety pins are silver, I doubt you could see the pins even right up close.

Also, if I did the style that is ruched in front, I could maybe instead of doing an applique, maybe put a line of some sort of trim, maybe a line of gems/crystals, that I could put around the armband of the gauntlets? Or maybe just spangle both the skirt and the gauntlets with allover gems?

I'm not sure what else I could do to the gauntlets to make them match, I'm definitely open to ideas for that.

You're only limited by your imagination and your budget! My personal feeling is that you have to be careful to integrate whatever you're doing on the center front into a larger design. Particularly when you're working with a longer "belt," I think it's easy to fall into the trap of creating a design that looks like a sequined codpiece. If the rest of the design doesn't flow into whatever you've got in the center, I think it calls too much attention to the crotch (which is actually one thing I don't really like about the Snake Charmer). If you're going to ruche the center line, I think I'd almost rather see a minimalist design, or maybe something radiating outward (like scattered sequins or rhinestones) across the whole "belt," rather than a big sparkling thong-front. You could also use scattered tassels or bead strings on the top part, and just leave the ruching line to speak for itself as a design element.

Personally, I also like to see a little decoration at the very top of the skirt (if it isn't being worn with a separate belt). Even if it's just a row or two of sequins, I think it makes for a more finished edge, and it brings a nice bit of attention to the hip area. It should be easy enough to take whatever you choose to do on the skirt and replicate a little bit of it at the top (or top and bottom edges) of the gauntlets to tie everything together. You could even ruche a center seam up the gauntlets if you chose to.