Thread: MORE PICTURES =) sewing surgery from the bedlah ER

Here where I am with the blue and black Alba

the original: http://www.bhuz.com/forum/bellydance...abla-sold.html

after a little work on the bra:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...z/IMG_0768.jpg

currently:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...z/IMG_0769.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...z/IMG_0770.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...z/IMG_0771.jpg

• removed the lining
• new lining on the shoulder straps
• material on the sides of the bra had stretched, so I removed, the beading, gently washed and pressed it, and reattached
• fixed the black fringe. Attached another layer of short iridescent fringe.
• made new fringe swag for the bra.
• replace a few missing crystals, maybe only 3-4 were missing.
• redo blue beading
• add black sequins( from the extra pieces included) to the sides of the bra
• remove the skirt from belt
• make belt smaller, and finish the edges of where it was cut to expand it

still to do, hopefully this weekend

• encourage the bra cups to be more rounded
• sew the skirt to a waistband, maybe elastic
• add 2 more layers of swag bead to the bra
• shorten the blue and black skirts
• reline the bra and belt and one arm thing
• set the hooks for the right size for me
• add elastic if needed
• decide how I look with the waist thing, or isf I turn it into more bra straps.

and in the future, since i have some spare turquoise chiffon, maybe make harem pants (hate hate, but necessary sometimes) and better matching gauntlets

"encourage the bra cups to be more rounded"

How do you plan to do this?

So far, it looks nice.

Azeeza

I'm not 100% certain yet. Right now I have newspaper stuffing to try and help. But there is the glue and/or sew something stiffer to the inside in the spots that are starting to cave in slightly. It's not that bad, but I'm trying correct it and keep it from getting worse.

Originally Posted by Azeeza

"encourage the bra cups to be more rounded"

How do you plan to do this?

So far, it looks nice.

Azeeza

Originally Posted by Azeeza

"encourage the bra cups to be more rounded"

How do you plan to do this?

So far, it looks nice.

Azeeza

*grabs pompoms, gives 'em a cheer*

PUSH 'EM OUT, ROUND 'EM OUT, WAAAAAYYYYYY OUT!

~~Kimahri

Originally Posted by Kimahri

*grabs pompoms, gives 'em a cheer*

PUSH 'EM OUT, ROUND 'EM OUT, WAAAAAYYYYYY OUT!

~~Kimahri

LMAO!!!!..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;,

How 'bout this cheer:

"They are cool, They are great:
Rounded Bra Cups 2008!"

that just might work ..l;,
hey, I still do have my cheerleading megaphone....

Good luck to you!

I recently took a new, perfectly lovely fully sequined & beaded bra and cut it in half!!!! Then added a much needed inch between the cups. I had to take a very deep breath before performing the first cut of that "surgery".

Originally Posted by Lesgemini_Zafirah

"They are cool, They are great:
Rounded Bra Cups 2008!"

I love it.

Originally Posted by Lesgemini_Zafirah

LMAO!!!!..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;,

How 'bout this cheer:

"They are cool, They are great:
Rounded Bra Cups 2008!"

..l;,

Updates, but not pictures.....yet

• encouraged the bra cups to be more rounded, thanks for all the cheers ..l;, not perfect, but better.
• skirt sewn to elastic waistband
• added 2 more layers of swag bead to the bra
• shortened the blue and black skirts
• relined the bra and belt and one arm thing, set the hooks for the right size for me and added elastic if needed
• made 2 knew gauntlets, with flounce, that match much closer to the color of the skirt

Working on the harem pants (in turquoise) and adding the waist strap to the bra as extra straps

almost done almost done (then onto the royal blue project....it never ends)

I have had good luck encouraging bra cups to be more rounded by sewing in some featherlite 1/4" boning (sold at any sewing store) across the inside, top of the cups and sometimes one up the middle for severe cave ins. Plastic boning is dry cleanable/washable and much easier to deal with than wire.

wire. go to your local home depot. buy 14 gauge wire. then you sew in channels of casing...I use bias tape. This is a time consuming process (but you've already put in so much!). Run your wire through the casing and sew shut.

I've sewn casings into bras: across the top, up the center of each cup, and along both sides of this same center line. It's a lot of work and wire, but...you can actually permanently change the shape of the cup this way. It's like creating a "cage" inside of your bra. Do this inside of the lining!

Ok. Hope that made sense. I've had 2 glasses of wine and a big emotional discussion with dh tonight, so I'm a bit woozy! PM me if you want any more clarification. I've used this process to make a bra for an "a" cup go up to a "c" cup and fit the breast with some nice padding and look proper for her shape!

Makes sense
I actually have wire (I've made fairy wings) as well as plastic boning (and maybe some metal from corset making), so I've got them ready when the cups collapse again.

Originally Posted by NajlaHalem

wire. go to your local home depot. buy 14 gauge wire. then you sew in channels of casing...I use bias tape. This is a time consuming process (but you've already put in so much!). Run your wire through the casing and sew shut.

I've sewn casings into bras: across the top, up the center of each cup, and along both sides of this same center line. It's a lot of work and wire, but...you can actually permanently change the shape of the cup this way. It's like creating a "cage" inside of your bra. Do this inside of the lining!

Ok. Hope that made sense. I've had 2 glasses of wine and a big emotional discussion with dh tonight, so I'm a bit woozy! PM me if you want any more clarification. I've used this process to make a bra for an "a" cup go up to a "c" cup and fit the breast with some nice padding and look proper for her shape!

here are picture of the new gauntlet.

There would be pictures of the costume all together, becuase I am finally
done with alterations

but...but

I had a close encounter with a flight of stairs yesterday.
Still sore and going to be some nice black and blue marks soon...sigh.
And I happened to be holding the laptop while I was walking down the stairs,
becuase my music was still on Itunes. ..cr.: So my laptop is very injured
too. Not good. I am hoping I can wear said costume before I have to sell it
to replace the laptop (ok, so I would need to sell 2 to fully replace the laptop,
but I still hope something can be salvaged), ok no more wining...time for
pretty pictures

gauntlet (I did make 2), very close to the original design,
but much close to the color of the skirt.


detail of the crystals, before I had added the diagonal beads.

Originally Posted by resullivan

I had a close encounter with a flight of stairs yesterday.
Still sore and going to be some nice black and blue marks soon...sigh.
And I happened to be holding the laptop while I was walking down the stairs,
becuase my music was still on Itunes. ..cr.: So my laptop is very injured
too. Not good. I am hoping I can wear said costume before I have to sell it
to replace the laptop (ok, so I would need to sell 2 to fully replace the laptop,
but I still hope something can be salvaged), ok no more wining...time for
pretty pictures

Eek! At least you got away with just black and blue marks.
The gauntlet is really pretty!

thanks. Good think my bones seem to hold up, I've never broken one *knocks on wood*. But now I will match the costume...feh.

Originally Posted by emijane

Eek! At least you got away with just black and blue marks.
The gauntlet is really pretty!

more pictures showing the full costume, and the purple one 2. I look kinda goofy in some, but the goal was to show off the costume, not me.

Questions:
1) does the turquoise and black look ok with the royal blue skirt and veil (I just finished the skirt, and hemmed the veil a while ago)?

2) Do the harems and gauntlets seem to match?

3) do the gold harem pants look ok under the purple?

Picasa Web Albums - Lorelei - blue and purple

I don't care for the harems with the purple. You have really beautiful legs, show them off! And the skirt, while being open, isn't going to flash anything unless you do something you shouldn't while wearing it ;)

I also don't think you need the black harems with the blue skirt, same reason, though they are better than the gold ones because they're sheer.

The problem is that both harem pants and the full skirt add a lot of "weight" visually, drawing the eye downward to your legs and hips. You're better off flashing some skin down there to balance out the skin shown up around your torso.

The gauntlets on your hands seem distracting. They're cute, and would be great for tribal/tribaret look. I really love the blue gauntlet/sleeve you did above. It's flattering on most everyone, and creates balance across the whole costume (adds visual weight up top, to balance out full skirts and loads of color around your lower half). Did you not want to do that same sort of look with the black? It would be cute in that lacey fabric.

Another option for breaking up the space above, is to make drapes of fabric that snap onto the bra straps and drape around the outside of your arm...like an "off the shoulder" look. With snaps they're removable and can be changed out with different skirts etc.

I hope none of this upsets you! I just want to give some helpful feedback so you can make the costume perfect for you!

I personally hate hate hate harem pants, especially one me....but

I watched myself dance in the purple costume on tape, and it looked like too much leg to me. And I know I will be on stage. I really want another layer of purple skirt, but alas no matching fabric has been found, ....yet.

At least I do have purple boy shorts that are a pretty close match. Feh, don't know what to do...hence looking for opinions. Thanks for the input.

Originally Posted by NajlaHalem

I don't care for the harems with the purple. You have really beautiful legs, show them off! And the skirt, while being open, isn't going to flash anything unless you do something you shouldn't while wearing it ;)

I also don't think you need the black harems with the blue skirt, same reason, though they are better than the gold ones because they're sheer.

The problem is that both harem pants and the full skirt add a lot of "weight" visually, drawing the eye downward to your legs and hips. You're better off flashing some skin down there to balance out the skin shown up around your torso.

The gauntlets on your hands seem distracting. They're cute, and would be great for tribal/tribaret look. I really love the blue gauntlet/sleeve you did above. It's flattering on most everyone, and creates balance across the whole costume (adds visual weight up top, to balance out full skirts and loads of color around your lower half). Did you not want to do that same sort of look with the black? It would be cute in that lacey fabric.

Another option for breaking up the space above, is to make drapes of fabric that snap onto the bra straps and drape around the outside of your arm...like an "off the shoulder" look. With snaps they're removable and can be changed out with different skirts etc.

I hope none of this upsets you! I just want to give some helpful feedback so you can make the costume perfect for you!

I agree with NajlaHalem's recommendation for bra cup roundage. Can you apply liquid stiffener on the insides and then stuff with oranges or grapefruits to encourage roundness as it dries? You don't have to make them bullet hard, just stiff enough so that they do not cave in. The wire, rather than plastic, is malleable and you can readjust them as they flatten or whatever (though the boning plastic would be great for other projects, hmmm!!!).

BOY SHORTS, all the way, especially if you have lovely legs, which it looks like you do. You can even go to your local American Apparel store and pick up a pair of the liquid lame boyshorts they have in turquoise and a host of other colors (such as silver, which might work 'coz you got silver-ish bling going on). Also, being able to see the skin below the skirt, creates continuity from the top area of skin showing (your arms, torso), giving you a longer line, if that's okay with you. ;0) Grrreat job!

I am very much into covered up legs (yeah, major costume prude here), so I'm not sure my vote goes for bare legs/boyshorts - but I don't care too much for the gold or black. Instead, if you're into a more covered look, I'd consider side-slit purple chiffon pants, maybe with a similar gold details as the purple skirt. That would look more luxurious, which is I think the right "feel" to go for.

You are inspiring me to get to work on a new costume! I appreciate your attention to all of the little details. That's what happens when you have a math brain ..g.: (I love math, too!)

grapefruit!!! And that has got me thinking about Bocce balls (we used to have some)

I have been trying so hard to think of something to fill the cups with more weight than newspaper. THanks

Originally Posted by Azhiadancer

I agree with NajlaHalem's recommendation for bra cup roundage. Can you apply liquid stiffener on the insides and then stuff with oranges or grapefruits to encourage roundness as it dries? You don't have to make them bullet hard, just stiff enough so that they do not cave in. The wire, rather than plastic, is malleable and you can readjust them as they flatten or whatever (though the boning plastic would be great for other projects, hmmm!!!).

BOY SHORTS, all the way, especially if you have lovely legs, which it looks like you do. You can even go to your local American Apparel store and pick up a pair of the liquid lame boyshorts they have in turquoise and a host of other colors (such as silver, which might work 'coz you got silver-ish bling going on). Also, being able to see the skin below the skirt, creates continuity from the top area of skin showing (your arms, torso), giving you a longer line, if that's okay with you. ;0) Grrreat job!

that was my first plan, but then I couldn't find purple that was close enough. Feh, too many different purples. I may be off to fabric row in philly soon.

Originally Posted by steffib

I am very much into covered up legs (yeah, major costume prude here), so I'm not sure my vote goes for bare legs/boyshorts - but I don't care too much for the gold or black. Instead, if you're into a more covered look, I'd consider side-slit purple chiffon pants, maybe with a similar gold details as the purple skirt. That would look more luxurious, which is I think the right "feel" to go for.

thanks. I've been waiting since August to have time to tackle all my sewing projects. Still have a few to go.

Originally Posted by kiyaana

You are inspiring me to get to work on a new costume! I appreciate your attention to all of the little details. That's what happens when you have a math brain ..g.: (I love math, too!)

**drooling** Faaaabric Rooooww..... I spend WAY too much money whenever I walk in the door at Kincus Fabrics. For great service there, ask for Harold (thin black man, very well dressed at all times). He's my main guy there and is used to all the funky fabrics I request. Tell him you know Christine, the petite Filipino belly dancer who moved to Canada. ;0) Aaand then, while you're at it, have lunch at Essene for me???? Aaaand...(just kidding!)
Show us a pic of the final product, eh? Would love to see it! Azh