Thread: Newbie costume making questions

Ive descided to make my own costume! Have no sewing skills what so ever, but I am gonna do this!

(Im kinda depending on you girls to help me :p)

1: What is hotfix? It says so on some of the rhinestones ..g.:

2: How do I attach the rhinestones, bling, sequins without the thread showing?

3. Cotton or nylon thread?

4. Is there a bra belt tutourial?

5. How do I get the bra cups and the belt "hard"? Is there many layers of fabric?

6. How do I get the seams on the lining "on the inside"?

7. What is the metal that the crystals are attached to called?

8. Do I add the fringe first, or last?

9. Oh, and what are the bra and belt made of? What fabric, etc :D

..g.:..g.:..g.:..g.:..g.:

Guess you girls think Im insane, but I AM gonna do this :p

Hope some of you will help me.. lol.. ..l;,

Eli Ann

Girl, you gotta be kidding me. A bedlah is not a good first sewing project. I would highly recommend for your first forays into costuming to stick to a beladi dress, or a skirt and a top, something more forgiving.

If you are determined -- don't ask people online for a tutorial. Get yourself a good book:

Dawn Devine Brown: Embellished Bras by Davina aka Dawn Devine Brown - Author - Costumer - Dancer - Historian

Costume Goddess: Dina's Bellydance Costume Galleries

Or better yet, find a good costumer in your local community to guide you through the process. Online friends shouldn't have to give you twenty paragraphs on how to tackle this project!

(OK, now 16 people will tell me I'm mean. Go ahead.)

Yes, please do some research before posting here. We're here to help of course, but just even doing searches on bhuz will be helpful.

Here are a couple of other places to look:
Nadya's sewing hints for belly dance / oriental dance costumes;
TUTORIAL: Creating a Costume Bra - a set on Flickr

we start with the extreem from fredericks...it does not need stiffening...but spray on stiffin quick works.

Originally Posted by EliAnn

1: What is hotfix?

Embellishments that have a heat-activated adhesive on the back. It's effectively a small pattern of hot glue drops on the back of the item that is waiting for a heat source to melt it so it can stick to its destination.

2: How do I attach the rhinestones, bling, sequins without the thread showing?

Fabric adhesives for those materials, invisible beading thread, or matching beading thread that will not be noticeable from a distance. The last one is the preferred choice.

3. Cotton or nylon thread?

For garment construction, use what is appropriate for your fabric and pattern. For embellishments, use beading or heavy-duty thread.

4. Is there a bra belt tutourial?

Shira has information on her site (Shira.net), and here are a few other links in addition to the references already recommended:
Bellydance by Anthea: Costumes
Ïîøèâ îñíîâû ïîÿñà äëÿ òàíöà æèâîòà (This one is in Russian, so run it through a translating program.)

5. How do I get the bra cups and the belt "hard"? Is there many layers of fabric?

People use various materials for "hardness": buckram, pre-molded cups, fabric stiffener, hot glue. Layers and stiffening materials depend on the costume style.

6. How do I get the seams on the lining "on the inside"?

Either by constructing a formal lining and attaching it from the wrong side and turning it, or rolling your hem and hand sewing as you go.

7. What is the metal that the crystals are attached to called?

Settings? Bezels?

8. Do I add the fringe first, or last?

Depends on the costume. If your fringe is pre-strung and you are planning on hiding the stringing base with sequins or beads, it goes first. If your fringe rests on top of another design base, it goes second.

9. Oh, and what are the bra and belt made of? What fabric, etc.

The modern, minimalist costumes are usually made from 2- or 4-way stretch fabrics. Bra and belt bases are often a combination of interfacings and wovens. Skirts and ethnic dresses can be made from whatever you like.

[Continued...]

Guess you girls think Im insane, but I AM gonna do this

I wouldn't say "insane," but "a bit naive" perhaps. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but a costume can be an ambitious project if you do not have a lot of previous sewing or crafting experience. It also often ends up being far more expensive and time consuming than one initially estimates. I know making a costume sounds like it should be very easy and so much cheaper to make than to buy, but unless you have your patterns and techniques established, it can turn into a comedy of tragic proportions. Without access to sources with good pricing for your materials, you can easily exceed the cost of a ready-to-wear student- or low-pro-level costume trying to make your own--doubly disappointing if you look at your end product and think, "This looks cheap and homemade, it doesn't fit very well, and it cost twice as much as a Desert Swirl!"

I strongly recommend you consider the suggested references before heading out to the store to start buying. You might also look into finding a commercial sewing pattern to help you through the process. The major pattern companies for home sewing may sell some useful designs as Halloween costumes, but there are a couple of small design lines (Atira, Madame X, B.D. Patterns, Folkwear, etc.) who cater more specifically to what you might want.

Good luck! As anyone who's ever tried to make a costume will tell you, you'll need it...

Thanks! :D

I do a lot of "arts and crafts", my biggest challenge is to figure out the words and terms in english. And some words and terms seems impossible to translate :S

I have to travel for hours and hours to find a seamstress, and no one in my "district" does private work. They only work for the shopping centre :/

In Norway, fabric and beads is extremely expensive, so making my own probably will cost more then a custom ordered :D

Im doing this because I want a hobby besides dancing, and I need to get the ideas out of my head, and "to life" :)

I have painted some sketches, and I cant wait! :D

Thank u so much for the answers!

One more:

If I buy a bra, and alter it, should it be one without a "bøyle"..? hm... (the hard plastic thing at the bottom of the bras)

If I am supposet to stich the fabricthere, I mean..Or could I tuck the fabric on the inside, and make the seam about 1 cm from the bottom? If anyone knows what I mean.. sort of over the plastic thingy..

(hard for me to explain in english)

By the way, I dont hope people feel like they have to do anything, If someone wants to help, it is much appreciated. If they dont, and think Im crazy, then they dont have to answer my questions at all :)

If not to ask for starting tips and help here, then where to? I dont know about an other place where bellydancers "meet", and have made their own costumes.

Sorry if I offended anyone, or am posting in the wrong place

Eli Ann

i have been sewing since middle school, i spent 5 years (by choice ^_~) getting a BFA in costume design, which included flat patterning, and several levels of sewing classes (i taught myself to drape as well)
making a bedlah was HARD for me, and took several days to figure out, and many more days to complete (not counting beading.... if we count beading then we're gonna have to start measuring in years.... i will finish sometime! ^_~) even with that background.
i've considered doing sewing/design classes for bellydancers, and broke things into levels for the time when i'm ambitious enough to get students together. if you've never sewn before then make a pair of harem pants and a skirt or two as your first project. those (other than a loose, non-stretch, beledi dress) are the easiest.
when you're ready to challenge yourself with another level, move on to making some accessories, head piece, arm drapes, etc. you might want to do some beading on a head piece since it's small and will let your practice and get the hang of it before moving onto something harder.
after that, you can use some of the costume goddess's books, and try a belt. these generally have less shaping (but not none) which makes them a bit easier. also, i use boning in my bras but not i the belts, which makes them easier to bead through.
after you're at that stage (which will keep you busy for a while ^_~) you can start looking into making a bra to go with that belt.
IMO the most advanced skill is stretch fabric, but if you have a surger that becomes much much easier.

don't plan on wearing your first pieces. use cheap crap to make them out of, and consider it a practice throw away that MIGHT be useable for a comedy piece. save your money for when you're skills progress to a point where you can make the expensive stuff look good ^_~

I made my first bedlah about 4.5 years ago. Is it perfect? NO! But I was newly in a troupe and that's what we did in that troupe...custom costumes for almost every performance. About 10 bedlah later, I have a system and am happily working on a completely encrusted pearl bedlah. I learn best my trial and error, and watching other people...for me this meant YouTube tutorials and literally effing up a couple of tries. But if you use cheapo fabric at first and KNOW that those are your learning pieces, I say GO FOR IT! I imagine during the long winters in Norway, a beading project would be a great way to keep the darkness at bay mentally.

old school belts are heavy.pellon in the middle. mine are in 2 pieces...with hooks on both sides.you can adjust with monthy weight gain/loss with out loseing your center
feel free to PM me.

all the suggestions to start on something easy....very nice if you dont suck on a machine!...i use machine for velvet/grosgraion straps...i am a hand work only girl . so for me, a dress would 51/50 me !

Wow, I forgot about youtube! :D

Yeah, the winters are "kinda" long :D We have had 2 weeks of sunshine this summer, and now its over :S

I also learn best by watching and trying, and Im shure Im gonna want to throw the whole thing in the garbage more then once, but I have descided that I can do this, so I will :D

Making harem pants and such probably is a good way to learn to use the sewing machine, but I dont want to make harem pants or simple tops. I want to make a bedlah..

And maybe it is silly, but I want to sow by hand.

I sorta wish I could just scrapbook a bedlah, but I really want to learn how to do this.

I highly recommend this site:

Nadya's sewing hints for belly dance / oriental dance costumes;

I have learned a lot from it, and it has helped me much more than the Dawn Devine Brown books.
Of course the only way to really teach yourself is by trial and error.
I've made lots of errors!!

I would seriously consider starting with a simple project. I've been sewing since I was 7. I've made prom gowns for myself and other clothes, and a bedlah was a rather difficult project at 19, even with help from my teacher. You can sink A LOT of money into this project and have it look bad.

I would make sure that your sewing skills are up to par before really starting to make something. If fabric and beads are really expensive in Norway, I don't think it's a wise idea to start with a bedlah. It sucks when you start a project with nice fabric and at the end, you realize that your project can never be worn and that you wasted this beautiful fabric.

There are other things you can do learn how to sew by hand. You could try learning beading by hand; there may be someone in your community who can help you learn that.

Originally Posted by EliAnn

In Norway, fabric and beads is extremely expensive, so making my own probably will cost more then a custom ordered

You will definitely want to look for places that specialize in theatrical supplies and bulk beads. Buying your supplies one little package at a time in a regular store will really add to the cost.

If I buy a bra, and alter it, should it be one without a "bøyle"..? hm... (the hard plastic thing at the bottom of the bras)

I think "underwire" is the term you are looking for. Some dancers like them and some don't--it partially depends on your anatomy. If you need underwires for good support, work around them. If you don't, you can skip them.

If I am supposet to stich the fabricthere, I mean..Or could I tuck the fabric on the inside, and make the seam about 1 cm from the bottom? If anyone knows what I mean.. sort of over the plastic thingy..

I've seen professional designs where you could clearly see an underwire, but it isn't very common. If you do have an underwire bra as your base, you can always camouflage it with a trim element or hang fringe to cover it.

If I were a millionare, I would buy and mail you two or three books by the Costume Goddess (someone already mentioned her website. "Flattering Costumes for Bellydancers", and depending on which direction you think you want to go with your costuming, either "Easy Costumes for Bellydancers" or "Cabaret Bra and Belt for Bellydancers." I can't recommend these highly enough! If you read these, you will have the knowledge you need to make a first costume that looks great. You don't want to put in all that hard work and end up with a costume that looks ill-fitting. Undertaking a bedlah is a huge task, but there are many great costumes that can be made easily as a learning project, either sewing from scratch or modifying a garmet that already fits you into a dance costume.

And I think that people aren't offended, they just can't possibly post a book's worth of information here. As you research your costumes and begin construction, you'll probably have more specific questions and people will feel more helpful.

Since you are determined to make a bedlah, you might want to join tribe.net and check out this link. I find it a good resource for help. But do a search first as there have been several postings already in the tribe that cover many of your questions. http://tribes.tribe.net/diycostumes

Tiger: MEANIE! :)

No, really, I think everyone's right: very, very ambitious. I once had a knitter tell me, of knitting, "If you find a pattern you want to make, look it over. If you don't understand more than three of the terms/instructions, put it down and choose something easier until you're more advanced." IOW, don't get too ambitious too soon, or try to learn techniques on the fly and in a hurry when it really matters (something you don't want to mess up learning on).

(I'd love to learn to sew, lol, but I'm terrified!)

You know, I have a couple of very simple vintage bedlahs which don't have a lot of beading on them. they also helped me to understand how they are made.

My suggestion is this: if you can get them, the books suggested are life savers. Not perfect, and you might want to run the ideas by someone you respect. That always helps to minimize wrong turns. You also might want to think about what alternate materials you can use instead of doing heavy beading. The first vintage bedlah I owned used a lot of pre - beaded trim along the top of the cups and Christmas tree beaded garland for the looped fringe. It actually looks great and would be easy to replicate if necessary.

{{{HUGS}}}

PS: My sister-in-law lives in Fredrikstad. She is thinking about taking up Belly Dance this fall!

EliAnn; I love your determination, you will make great costumes if you are determined.

I would totally recommend making a headpiece, or armband etc. to learn beading technique, also this is a good way to test out your design approach to a full costume, to see if you like the colors, designs, beads, etc. You can make adjustments to the colors and design after you complete the accessory.

Also, the tribe thread is very good, as others have mentioned. There are many threads here with good advice if you search.

Hmmm...maybe we should start a thread with a collection of "most asked costuming how to's" to collect all of the previously posted threads?

Thanks all :D

my search button on bhuz doesnt work anymore :S or I would have done a search :)

the accessorie thing is very smart :D i will do that :)

Tahira: she is lucky to live in Fredrikstad when it comes to bellydancing and dance community ( if you understand, not shure how to explain)

she is close to the biggest town in Norway, and there are many great dancers there. ;) I live on a island on the west coast of norway, and there are not many dancers here. We have to go to Stavanger or Bergen :) hope she starts dancin! :)

thanks everyone, for the book suggestions, and web links :)

Hi EliAnn, good luck with your project! My first costume project was a bedlah too -I´m Swedish so maybe its a Scandinavian thing :)

Try Slojd-detaljer in Skara for material Slöjd-detaljer SE,
they´re not very expensive and you can order online.

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

TUTORIAL: Creating a Costume Bra - a set on Flickr

This tutorial helped me a lot. I printed it out and stapled the left side to make a book!

I recommend not having a deadline. :-) I took forever to get through each step and I have plenty of experience sewing. This is totally new territory. Making a bedlah is so unique. Most of it is handwork.

I used a bra with an underwire, I just covered it and it didn't show. No worries.

I don't know if what I did is exemplary (ha) but I recommend a lot of reading on the how-to, and then going ahead and doing it. The folks on this board were REALLY helpful and had lots of great suggestions. Much of the credit for the wearability (sp?) of my bedlah belongs to them.

I found out things I won't try again because of their impractical nature, but the bedlah is still usable/functional. (I later fixed a few things.)

Good success!

I've made a few bedlahs, and I think the greatest learning tool I had was altering one that I bought. I got see how it was put together, take it apart, and reassemble it. After that, I thought I could do that!

I've heard good things about Mishsa's tutorial,which has already been recommended. I also made my own tutorial, but it's for an x-back with a tie. I use similar steps for building the bases for bedlah tops, but I don't use rings and ties.

Belts are the easiest part for me to construct. Tops are evil, and it takes me at least one full day to assemble one. It takes weeks to decorate too.

I had NO previous sewing skills whatsoever and four years ago for my first show, I made this bra and belt set:
(Hopefully the pics are going to show up)


And then a year later I made this (the blue/red one):



The skirts I had a seamstress make for me but I'm living proof that you can make a decent bedlah with no sewing skills - BUT it is super time consuming, expensive, and you have to do a lot of research. My first costume took close to six months to complete (working on it off and on, remaking stuff...).

Another friend of mine made and embroidered the whole costume in the pic below with no sewing experience as well - and she didn't even use a sewing machine for that skirt! This was her first costume ever. But it did take her a long time and a lot of trial and error.



Go for it! And good luck!

I second and third the fact that it is certainly do-able. Take your time and be patient. It's going to be a fairly steep learning curve for you, and you just may be tempted to quit part way through. Grab your courage in both hands and dive in!

Wow, you girls are amazing!! :O

marsbar, you are my hero! :D

This is really helpful! :D

Thank you so much everybody! Im reading all the posts several times each day :D

I think you can do it! Just be patient with yourself and have fun with it!