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Once you get into costume making, you'll discover three main ways to DIY.
1. Use pre-made patterns:
This is easiest in terms of pattern design, but you still have to read the pattern, deal with thin paper, and then try to refold the pattern! You also still have to make fit adjustments.
2. Use measurements and draw out the pattern
This is great for personalization, but you have to know what measurements to take and then how to draw them out on paper. I use SparkleBelly for this reason.
Mao does an amazing job of breaking down measurement, drafting, and making.
DIY helps you understand what you're actually doing and why. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get the right fit just with this method.
This first top is designed purely with measurements.
This one doesn't provide all the coverage I would like, but it does work as a layer over a fancy bra or tube top.
3. Use plastic wrap and duct tape.
This process is used by many cosplayers!
Wrap yourself in plastic wrap and then several layers of duct tape.
Draw the pattern on the top layer of duct tape, and then cut the the layers off your body carefully!
Use the lines that you drew as a pattern. This can help you fit exactly to your body.
Again, you have to understand basic pattern ideas like seam allowances and darts, but it's a great way to visualize what you want and make adjustments on your body.
I did a mixture of two and three with the second top.
The duct tape helped me draw on where I needed more coverage, but Sparkle Belly pattern making made me understand a little better what I needed to put on paper and mark on myself.
It fits much better than the first top, but I wish I had put elastic in the under bust area!
What about you?
Do you have any sewing tips?
My preferred material is wood. Here, the use of tape is often used, even double sided tape to hold pieces in place while working on them. However, cutting and fastening tools are quite a bit different. ;) Blog on!🤓
Amy, thanks for a wonderful post. I used to sew a lot, both from patterns and ad hoc. But now I know the duct tape technique-- awesome!! To me, one of the strengths of belly dancing, as a "sport", is that is enlivens the very zone of the body that so often becomes dormant-- the midbody. How powerful for the entire metabolism and future health. A tip: where you want elastic, put a 1-inch safety pin through a length of 1/4" wide elastic. Make a tiny slit at the right end of where you wish you had elastic. Now slip the safety pin head in, and nudge it along leftward with your thumbs. While you are nudging, pin …
I don't have any sewing tips for creating costumes, but I have crocheted costumes. At one point, I used the tabs from cans of soda pop, which I crocheted together, to make chainmail. It was great fun, for sure.