Thread: Foil Jersey - advice

Hi

I am making an egyptian style costume (an imitation of Scene Stealer by Eman Zaki to be precise) and was wondering if anyone here has used foil jersey fabric? What are your experiences with?

Its modestly priced and looks great but I'm worried that its a little thin.

Excellent advice from Dina the Costume Goddess on Shira's site:
Ask the Belly Dance Costume Goddess: Working with Glitter Dot Fabric
Re: the Sewer's Aid spoken of in the above - I use this a lot for difficult fabric, slides the needle thru, leaves no stain or mark. It's is also great for liquid lame.

If the foil jersey is the stuff I'm thinking of, it doesn't wear well. The metallic stuff wears off and the black backing shows through.

Re: sewing with glitter dot, a seamstress on Tribe posted that laying wax paper on top of the fabric while sewing prevents the build-up of glue on the needle and makes it easier to sew.

I have a couple of pieces that I got for the insane price of $2 a yard, but I haven't made them up yet. I expect it will be temperamental to sew--gummy and likely to run when mis-sewn, so I'll defer to Dina Lydia's advice on glitter dot.

As for the fabric itself, it is indeed thin, and as such, it will either need to be lined or treated like any other sheer fabric. Based on the flimsiness of the material, I'm afraid most designs for an all-in-one skirt are going to end up in an orgy of visible panty line and gilded cellulite. Something like the Scene Stealer might work at the hips, but unless you have rock-solid thighs, I think the thinner fabric won't be flattering below the sash element. My suggestion would be to use the look of a longer, fitted top (butt-wrap/miniskirt) wedded to a fuller bottom, like the Snake Charmer, because the extra construction at the top will give you the opportunity to line it (either with stretch or non-stretch fabric--your preference). If you don't want to deal with lining, full ruching (gathering) will also add substance to the top part, so perhaps you could riff the Scene Stealer off of that. I think the key is going to be extending the thicker part of the skirt past the potentially troublesome body parts. If you want to go off the board, perhaps another option would be to innovate an extra piece of fabric that flaps loose over the top of the skirt like Melodia pants sometimes have. Again, the idea is to keep anything too thin and conforming from riding directly against body parts that can look unflatteringly lumpy. Keep in mind that whatever you decide to do for the bottom of the skirt, if it is unlined, it will be as sheer as chiffon under stage lights, so if that look bothers you, you will either want to go with a lining or a fuller design.

Covering the bra looks tricky to me, so the more fabric you can use, the more you can camouflage it's fussiness. My natural tendency would be to want to fuse interfacing to the fabric to stabilize it, but you can't do that with the foil. Ruching is probably the best option, since I expect getting a smooth lay out of fabric that thin will be a feat. If you go with the Melodia-esque flap on the skirt, you could pick up the same idea of a loose-hanging drape on the bra. I think Eman was doing a similar style for a while.

Alternatively, you could make the fabric up like you would a chiffon skirt--either a traditional circle skirt or a very full panel skirt, and then wear a separate bra and belt set. That's probably the easiest and most-likely-to-be-successful option. That way, if it turns out that the fabric doesn't wear well as Dunyah says (and I suspect the same), it won't feel like such a loss of work to junk it when it starts to look shabby.

It doesn't wear well over time, I only use it for student costuming for stage recitals. And not a lot of it; it makes nice panels for example over a skirt or harem pants. It mimics sequins, under the lights at a distance, so has a nice bright quality.
For close up or professional costuming, it does say cheesy, kinda like the stiff lame stuff, unless covering some pieces & than adding other accents.

Originally Posted by dunyah

If the foil jersey is the stuff I'm thinking of, it doesn't wear well. The metallic stuff wears off and the black backing shows through.

Re: sewing with glitter dot, a seamstress on Tribe posted that laying wax paper on top of the fabric while sewing prevents the build-up of glue on the needle and makes it easier to sew.

Yeah thats the stuff! Its a shame it does look pretty - but I guess you get what you pay for!
Will get the same fabric that cost 3 times as much instead.