Thread: I need some help making a skirt

Hi Everyone!
I am currently making my first costume and I have never made a skirt before so I need help with some of the details. The design is just a regular straight skirt (I thought that would be easiest for a first attempt) and it is made out of slightly stretchy glitter velvet. I will be stitching the embellishments directly onto the fabric. They won't be that heavy but to guard against stretching/sagging of the fabric I was going to line the top of the skirt with some interfacing. I just finished sewing that in and it seems to have canceled out the effect o the elastic waistband I put on earlier. My hips are only about 2 inches larger then my waist so I didnt think it would be a big deal but the fit seems to have gotten worse because of it. What do you ladies normally do to prevent stretching of fabric if you are sewing beads directly onto it? Should I remove the interacing? How do I account for stretching of the fabric when I sew on strings of rhinestones?

Slightly off topic, but related to the same costume, what do you use for the finger loops in the end of gauntlets? It seems to be a very thin elastic, but how do you sew it together if it is really thin? Is there something specific I should look for when I head to Joann's Fabrics tomorrow?

Thanks! Sorry if this is a topic that has been discussed in the past, I am fairly new here and new to costume making in general.

one way to make the skirt fit is to build a belt inside the skirt and fit the fabric to the belt. this ensures a sturdy and solid fit around your hips/booty.
try something like this:
http://sugarpetals.com/bra_belt.asp
scroll down to the belt forms. it can be strait across in the front and fitted to your booty in the back.
you can even make it out of denim or some heavy material. then make an opening slit in the skirt where the belt will hook.

after you embellish the skirt, line the belt area with felt. this will help protect all the stitching, absorb sweat and help give it "grip"

this is only one method. i am sure there are many other ways to do it.

as for the finger loops, hand stitching is the best way for those tiny little things.

hope this makes sense. good luck with the costume. when you are finished, will you post a picture of it? would love to see it.

If you create a skirt out of stretch fabric, you can stitch the beads and sequins on so they will stretch with the fabric. What it comes down to is that you don't stitch them on in straight horizontal lines, but try to stitch them on in diagonal or vertical lines. Since the stretch is in the horizontal direction most of the time, the beading will stretch along with the fabric. If you machine stitch them and the applique's are non stretch, this will not work.

I also go for hand stitching the elastic to the top of your gloves. Or pin it to the glove and machinestitch a couple of times, so at least some of the stitches attach the elastic to the fabric. Then hand stitch without fumbling to keep elastic and fabric together while trying to sew them together.

Lining the whole top with interfacing is going to work against the natural beauty of the fabric and negate the nice clinginess and stretch.

You can just use patches of interfacing behind parts where you bead. That is, the fabric is sandwiched between the interfacing and the embellishments. If the embellishments are large, this method can be more problematic and create puckering.

You can also bead onto the stretch velvet while it is stretched to simulate how it will pull when on your body. Use strong thread with loose stitches and knot well. Dress forms make this a bit easier.

The rhinestone strings can be anchored with small circles of interfacing. If you plan to have large widths of fringe, it may be better to make a separate belt because of the weight.

Try taking a look inside professionally made costumes the next time you have a chance. May give you some ideas.

Originally Posted by Mintaka

Slightly off topic, but related to the same costume, what do you use for the finger loops in the end of gauntlets? It seems to be a very thin elastic, but how do you sew it together if it is really thin? Is there something specific I should look for when I head to Joann's Fabrics tomorrow?

For the finger loops I've used clear elastic- it's not massively stretchy, but it's more or less invisible.

Hey,
Thanks for all of you comments, this is very helpful. I probably should have mentioned that I don't use sewing machines, I have always done everything by hand, even hems. Its slower, but I like it. Maybe someday I'll try using sewing machines.

The built in belt would be a good idea, I do have a Sugar Petals belt form, but the performance I need it for is Saturday night so this time I'll just make a simple skirt and maybe take it apart after the show and do that. Luckily the embellishments are very simple. I like the idea of the interfacing only in patches behind embellishments, I think I will take out the interfacing I put in last night and try it this way.

As for lining it I was going to use satin because I figured it would be light enough to not impact the skirt movement, but is felt better? Or may felt for the top so it doesn't slide on my hips?

Thanks! I'll let you all know how it goes and I will be sure to post pics by the weekend!