Let’s hear it for good workmanship!

By the time the night before the studio anniversary show rolled around I felt like I’d been altering costumes forever, before even tackling my own.

It wasn’t forever but I had altered three costumes for my dance partner and had a student who’d bought her first ever costume. It was new to her but previously owned and..well..WORN.

My students had been worried about finding any costume because she’s chubby by local sizes and already had a lot of insecurity around showing her body. I wanted it to be as fixed up as possible so she could enjoy wearing it and focus on her dancing. For three lessons she’d bring her costume, and before and after the lesson, I’d see what work was to be done. Each time I did a fair amount of sewing to show how to do the work (explaining sewing and alterations purely verbally to someone who doesn’t sew is hard enough in one’s own language, I didn’t think it was worth it to try) and send her home with more pins in her costume.

On the eve of the show I had to make sure that I had a costume that would complement my dance partner’s choice for our duet. She still can’t locate her duet costume so she’d be wearing another bra/belt I made in 2006 that she now owns. Luckily I’d made that costume for myself, in colors I know work for my completion, and had other handmade choices in similar colorways.

My bra/belt from 2007 would work. It’s an example of me playing with layers of plastic lamp-fringe, ribbon, and Kuchi jewelry embellishments to make a light-weight, quick-to-sew, “Tribaret” (tribal-inspired cabaret) costume, the sort I used to wear more often.

It still fits but the bra edge has always been a bit shallow so I added to the cups on Saturday night. The edge looks floppy here but when filled with cleavage it does the job.

The show opened it’s doors at noon, a lunchtime block, so I had to be there in make-up by 10:30. Well, I didn’t officially have to be there in make-up…but when you know a place is going to be crowded with dancers getting ready, probably poorly lit, without enough mirrors it’s best to come made up.

A student show isn’t a place to spend time doing my own face anyways. My job before a student show is to have supplies on hand to add MORE make-up to student faces: add highlights here, a pop of color there, help with false eyelashes until everyone feels lovely and confident.

Then, after we’ve checked blocking and made sure everyone knows the schedule, where to enter and exit the stage and such, I run around with safety pins double-checking the fit of everyone’s costumes.

It’s only after that when I can catch up with the other teachers, my dance partner, our guest musicians/dancers and such…and then worry about my own costumes.

Of course, my costumes are then under a groovy cover-up until stage time. Other people choose Middle-Eastern cover-ups. I raid Mrs. Roper’s closet.

The first set I watched my students perform my veil choreography and then got ready with my student of 8+ years, Yuko, and Jnana (a former student and now teacher) for my Turkish Roma choreography. My skirt, vest, and belt are all self-made.

Second set meant changing for my duet (and unfortunately missing other students who were performing a finger cymbal choreography I taught in a workshop last year) and performing with H.

https://videopress.com/v/y9RGpRyJ?preloadContent=metadata

Duet

The final set I could get back into quirky teacher garb and just enjoy.

Here I am heading back to my home with two bouquets of flowers from students and peers.

On the train home there were a groups of JR school girls on some sort of team low-key freaking out about me. I tried to ask why (in Japanese), they then asked me if I was Japanese and I replied that I’m American and they squealed more and I didn’t ask anything else.

The last time I encountered a similar reaction, and pushed for an answer, it turned out to be girls who thought I was a Tokyo Disneyland/Disney Sea face character actor getting off my shift. It’s not a crazy assumption to make on the train line that serves both parks…except that time I wasn’t one of Ariel’s sisters, I was just in very tropical dance face.

This time, if that’s what they thought, I can only wonder if they thought…

Because Evil Queen, or Lady Tremaine, are the only face characters this make-up would have explained. ..And I was in all black .

costuming, craft, dance, Doll

Parameters

I know I will need to create some structure for a year of art…because making (or writing about) creating/changing physical art objects everyday isn’t do-able. I’ll burn out.

I do consistently create (dolls, clothing, useful objects, decorative objects) every week…it’s just somewhat haphazard. The mood and inspiration strikes often but how much am I feeding it so it can thrive? How can both streamline my process and widen my scope of possibilities?

And then there’s the fact that my other art is physically demanding.

I wrote yesterday’s post on the train to my second job….the OTHER other art I do. On Thursdays after a 8-4 Mon-Fri full energy job with about an hour commute each way, I go home for a nap and food, and then go to the studio to teach three dances classes (7-10)….and wake up the next morning at 6am.

Consistently feeding my dance self is a battle I feel I’ve been loosing. I currently teach 7 lessons a week. The studio I work at is about to celebrate their 10 year anniversary…with a student and teacher show.

So, my student attendance is up…but most everyone is focused on practicing the choreographies I’ve already taught so there is more running through whole songs and drilling tricky moves and less slower explanations…and this is true for my beginner students as well as myself and some peers. I’m drilling three choreographies and teaching a fourth one.

This is what I do when I’m not sharing my DIY. This is also a large part of my extra time this month.

My duet partner (and studio owner) H and I are reviving this choreography (with finger cymbals) I made and we performed 2015.

My Turkish Roma class had a student who wanted to perform a choreography I made two-three years ago. I’ll be dancing with her AND another student who learned it then but is now a fellow teacher. I like my choreography but it’s one I created to mirror “How I’d dance” instead of translating my choices to a more teachable/student oriented choreography. It’s VERY heavy on the heel bounces. This style is why massage places ask me if I wear heels a lot. I don’t, those are just the calves I get from this.

My beginners are doing a 3 minute choreography which has three distinct sections…veil work, slow moves, and FAST ALL THE SHIMMY. This is the veil work. Looking at this clip I realize that I’ve also lost weight since a few months ago because busy. Not intentional it’s just how my body ebs and flows. Enjoy my “lesson wear”

And last there’s the choreography my intermediate students are starting (not for the show) by a dancer I love learning from, Serkan Tutar. I have permission to teach it and alter it as needed. His choreographies always work well for me AND when it’s student appropriate and I DO teach what I’ve learned in his workshops it gives me some time off from creating new work…

And it’s finding ways to feed this, my other art, and myself, that can be hard.

costuming, sewing, Uncategorized

The dress with EVERYTHING.

My friend Ebony rocks. She really does. You should go check out the looks she serves up on Instagram. I’ll wait.

I can’t even tell you how essential she is to my life here. Not since art school have I had someone in my neck of the woods who was not only an amazing friend but who also makes s stuff all the time. All. The. Time.

I can talk shop with and bounce inspiration back and forth with her. I’ve helped her stain her couch black so it’d be more goth. She’s my year-round source of Halloween baubles.

She has her own impressive fabric haul. From time to time she’s given me fabric she realizes will be put to use by me before she ever will use it. Like..three meters of this.

Yeah. Take that in. Take it ALL in. That’s a lot of lot going on.

And for a year she’s been waiting to see what it will become.

well, you can’t get really complicated with a fabric like that so I turned to a simple pattern I’d modified until it fit. 2 or 3 years ago I made three dresses with variations based on Vogue Patterns Misses Jacket Dresses-V8146

And this would be no exception! SIMPLE CLEAN LINES!

But I wasn’t going to do all the insane pattern matching of the Maiko/Geisha patterned dress just so I could have pockets. I made EXTERNAL POCKETS with APPLIQUE!

I’ve had someone ask me if I made the dress and then ask me if I also made the appliques. I want to live in their world because it’s a world where ready-made appliques of octopuses drinking coffee and eating cheese MIGHT EXIST.

I’ve since slightly darted the neckline so it doesn’t gape.

Lemme tell you, this is a dress that makes people smile.

costuming, craft, Doll, monster high, sewing, Uncategorized

Little Dead Riding Wolf

One of my finished projects this summer was Little Dead Riding Wolf.

You may have noticed that I never show concept sketches. It’s not how I work. It’s never been. With dolls as with creating dance costumes I start with a very hazy concept, maybe gather some inspiration, and let the tools take me where they will.

I’m not proud of this. It’s just what I’m comfortable with.

In art school I’d just tackle large sheets of paper and see where the drawings took me. I think in my fine arts classes, because I drew (worked in dry and thus relatively fast materials) and i wasn’t majoring in illustration with need to think of a client, it was encouraged.

When I started dancing I was more comfortable soloing improvisationally than I was confident in making choreography…but in grappling with how to learn AND create choreography I’ve become a better dancer overall. In this new-to-me art I think some pre-planing and concept sketches would save time AND help me be more productive overall. I just need to figure out how to start that journey.

I’m getting that out here so I can think on it.

Little Dead Riding Wolf started out hazy.

The concept was part of the original doll’s name…I had one from the 20 doll haul.

And I knew that I wanted to do 1). more experimentation with Goth/Fantasy concepts on darker skinned dolls 2). unraveled yarn to create kinkier textured hair.

I bought red and brown acrylic yarn at the 100¥ shop. I unraveled it and re-rooted her head.

I covered her hair to spray her with a few priming layers of Mr. Superclear and got to coloring with chalk pastels, water color pencils and acrylics.

Next came how to redress her. I decided that Little Dead Wolf would want to warn possible grandchildren she met in the forest NOT to mess with her. I set to making a skull from Apoxie Sculpt. Nothing says “nope” like the skull of your vanquished enemies.

I drafted the cape myself. The red/black velvet is left over from a dance costume I made for myself.

The making of that and the lace beading can be found on my costume page.

For the rest of the outfit I turned to Requiem Art Designs. Etsy: DGRequiem is THE source to turn to when you wanna make doll outfits but don’t want to make your own pattern AND are willing to pay another artist. I went with her Rococo Lolita pattern.

And I took a trip to Nippori (our fabric street) for remnant scraps.

Let me tell you, it took me two tries to get the brocade to behave. I have a less than perfect version I’ll find a use for.

Then I made a short skirt using her pattern AND a longer skirt by free-styling it.

The awesome belt came off one of the other MH dolls from my haul.
I layered those two skirts. I’m a huge fan of the idea that you just layer fabrics until they look expensive and fabulous.

For a final touch I painted those horrible purple boots to match her new outfit.

I’ll need to make her a basket soon but for now I love her.

costuming, sewing, Uncategorized

Finished Costume Pictures.

I totally forgot to show you finished costume pictures from RomaFest.

But you need to know that I got there nice and early for pre-show rehearsal and spent times napping dressed like this.

The show was huge, those of us dancing in a Turkish Roma influenced style were but a small part, probably making up about 10-20% of the performer. This is Team Turkish Roma Style, minus one. We danced improvisationally with live music and then did our own solos or work with our troupes. I have no troupe yet so I soloed.

Left to Right:
Marika, Nourah, Miho, Me, Ikuyo and Tomoka.

The last member, Ai Donya, can be seen in front here.

I liked how the body stocking looked, and got good feedback on it, but I will add more bling to it so it doesn’t stop below my ribcage.

There was also a camel costume.

Other random shots.

I don’t know if there are any in-action photos.

costuming, craft, sewing, Uncategorized

Costume Finished!

I hope to get better photos at the show on Sunday but here we go!

RomaFest is this Sunday. I am having some strong imposter syndrome feelings but I know I love to dance.

I didn’t have time to make something from scratch nor the money to buy anything that would be of the same quality as my handmade skirts.

And when I make skirts I generally make GIANT HUGE SKIRTS.

So I took an existing skirt I’d bought used and changed it up instead. I also made it a narrower skirt, more like my favorite teacher Reyhan Tuzsuz would wear.

I think I invested about 20$ in trim for this project, which is cheap.

Final skirt and general outfit (sans accessories):

I’d also literally made the vest top from pieced together fabric scraps from a too-small pair of fancy dance pants someone gave me for the fabric. I did that in 2017 here.

I’ve decided to give a body stocking a try. Not out of feeling insecure about my tummy but because Turkish Roma women who dance often do NOT show their stomachs and feel like that’s a better choice for me to make when participating in a festival about Roma music and dance.

If you’re wondering about Roma/Romani people and wonder why my dance costumes look like what you’d describe as “g*psy” costuming, here’s a fine start to why I don’t use that word and you probably shouldn’t either.

costuming, craft, sewing, tutorial, Uncategorized

Stuffed Animal Renewal.

I didn’t just have conjunctivitis, I also had a sinus infection. It took me DOWN.

Also, it’s made a lot of detail work I could be doing impossible. When I tilt my head down to focus on what my hands are doing I feel all the weight of the crap in my sinuses and it hurts.

I haven’t had much energy while getting well but I’m NOT GOOD at not doing anything, or doing next to nothing. I get a little stir-crazy. I’ve spent a lot of time in bed so I’ve mustered the ability to do laundry, make my bedroom feel clean..and renew an old stuffed animal.

I’ve written about my history with Ralph here before. Because I’d found him left behind at a campsite, I’ve never known him in pristine condition….but I figured he could look better.

I decided first to restuff him. I opened him up at side seams, removed the existing filler, stuffed him with polyester filling, and restitched him. His body was filled with foam chunks, I’m glad I did this before those started to chemically break down into dust. His limbs were filled with cotton-like batting. The final photo is after this process. Ralph is sitting a little prouder.

Then a made a paste of baking soda, dawn dish washing soap, and a little water. I took a toothbrush and started scrubbing his fur.

Then, when I’d scrubbed as much as I could like that I took a spray bottle of vinegar, spritzed him bit by bit and removed the fizzing/past residue with a clean towel.

To get rid of the rest of the moister/oil/grime I put him in a plastic bag, poured about a cup of baking soda in, and shook until he had a nice crust.

I let him air dry a few hours.

Then came the dusty task of rubbing/cracking him down with towels first and toothbrushes second to get all that baking soda out. I suggest doing that over a bathtub because there will be baking soda everywhere.

Along with the toothbrush I used a pet brush to make the fur fluffier again.

No, I don’t have a pet with fur who needs this. It’s for doll wigs/ stuffed animals/and re-rooting with yarn.

Fluffier Ralph! He still has a bit of baking soda to work out of his fur here.

I also used some high-grit sanding paper (1000/6000/8000/10,000) to buff some deep scratches out of his eyes.

And, in my final act, I’m stitching new fabric on top of his old ear-lining… because that fabric is sad.

I have one more ear to go but Ralph is already looking much better.

New Year, New Ear, New Me!

costuming, craft, sewing, Uncategorized

Costume Alterations.

Today brings me to sewing I don’t really want to do but need to do.

I have two jobs. One as a mild-mannered English teacher (for Japanese children) and the other as a belly dance teacher/performer (for Japanese adults, Turkish restaurants, etc.).

My English teaching is within set hours that don’t fluctuate from week to week except during vacations. I teach six dance lessons a week and that only fluctuates if I do any substitute teaching or have a workshop to teach.

Then there’s gig life. That can be super dry or super busy, rarely anything reasonable in-between.

It’s been dry. Maybe a studio show, restaurant gig, or dance show here and there. When it’s like that I can get away rotating the same few costumes i’m feeling and fitting well into and not altering much.

My costumes I often make from scratch . Some I fix up after buying them used. years of that can be found on my FB costuming page.

And now, suddenly, I find myself doing two restaurants shows (two different nights) a week in Shinjuku…every week.

It’s time to open the costume closet (yes, I have a closet of just costumes) and figuring out what needs altering. NEVER FUN. Sure, I see things I haven’t worn in a while but I also have to confront the why of it.

Bellydance costumes are tricky to fit as you want everything tight enough that you don’t worry about anything sloshing out or slipping down but not SO tight as to give you excess muffins tops or injury.

I’ve gained some weight at my waist, but my belts and skirts are fine! The thing I’m finding my costumes need is wider ribcages. For some this means just moving hooks but other costumes actually need longer ribcage straps…which is what I’m doing tonight. Luckily this was a used costume in bad shape I fixed up…so I still have extra fabric from my past changes. These alterations don’t help me in cleaning my stash “but what if i neeeeeed it”

An album of ALL this costume has been through can be found here.

I even used this as part of one of the tutorials I made for a Japanese book on how to DIY when you’re a bellydancer in Japan.

That girl in the corner? That’s me. I was the sequin and bead master and hand model. These medallions are my creation and my tutorial.

So, again, I’m changing another part of this costume.

Tonight I extend the rib cage.In the future I’ll probably change the neck straps so they cross over and connect to the back instead of attaching like a halter. The chest uplift of a halter is no longer worth the risk of pinching nerves in my neck. Criss-cross straps are a bit harder to get into but they provide the same lift with less neck strain.

I won’t wear it for tomorrow night’s gig, I’m already packed, but it might be worn this Friday or Saturday.

And, I’ll be packing some train sewing for the train into and out of Shinjuku. I’ve wrote a few of my blog posts on the ride last week.

Back to the machine!

costuming, craft, Doll, pullip, sewing, Uncategorized

Dressing to Dance. Nah-atto part 1

I’m a belly dancer. I teach and perform and study belly dance. I also make belly dance costumes.

There was no doubt that I’d combine dolls with dance. As soon as I saw a used Pullip Nah-atto doll I had to have it.

But let’s be honest, Nahh-ato is all Orientalist tropes.

Genie lamp, harem pants, odd collar with a ring, lounging couch, a not included in this photo but totally included in the outfit face veil….

That’s not to say that I, as a Western white woman involved in the dance, am not guilty of appropriation and Orientalism. I try to educate myself. I listen. I make mistakes and hopefully I have and will continue to correct myself when called out.

My Nahh-Ato has arms that have grown loose and floppy over time. So, she’s getting a new body. The closest skin match I could find for her was the MTM Soccer barbie.

This Barbie can easily fit in every part of the outfit except the bra-top. So, while repainting the face and awaiting new eyes, I made a dance costume modeled after 1960’s/1970’s belly dance albums and fashions…all from leftovers in my stash.

I serged/roll hemmed four half circles (two larger, two smaller) to make the skirt. Then I sewed the remaining serger tail into the serged area and beaded the edge.

I then made harem pants with side slits that close at the ankles and are open on one side at the hips.

I stitched the pants onto a Barbie bikini bottom that closes on the side (you can see my basting stitches). I then attached the skirt to the panty-harem pants combo. In human-sized belly dance these would be three separate items you could mix and match but a doll can’t afford that many rolls of elastic and fabric bulking up her form.

All of these layers were eventually attached to her belt so her waist-down outfit snaps at the side and the ankles.

I used interfacing to start making the belt form.

If I were costuming for a human the form and back of the belt would be two separate pieces that overlapped at the sides… makes altering costumes when dealing with weight changes easier, you just unstitch the joined side and the hooked side and adjust symmetrically. But dolls don’t change size and don’t appreciate the extra layers.

The fray check stained the satin but that wouldn’t be an issue as I was adding another layer of fabric, silver lace.

I started using chains and decorations from some cannibalized jewelry I have in my stash for decorating dance costumes…

I made a top based loosely off her original one using the same techniques. It snaps at the back and neck.

The ribcage articulation reads a little like underboob from this angle.

This is her face, waiting for eyes and a few finishing touches.

Enter a caption

….and I found Nahh-Ato’s lounging couch at my local Hobby-Off….so she’s ready for her eyes, wig, and the sort of “lounging bellydance” photos that bring ALL the haters and shamers to the yards.

costuming, craft, Uncategorized

Turkish Thrown Together.

I’m doing a no-buy November. If I were better at planning I would have thought ahead on what projects I’d like to work on and stock up on what I might need…but that’s not who I am right now.

The dark months of winter are coming. Despite being on a higher dosage of medication for anxiety and depression to get through the bonus S.A.D. months I do feel it.

But there’s not much I need to work on, just projects that need finishing.

However, the dance studio has a student-teacher recital tomorrow. Two of my classes have single students who’d like to perform what they’ve learned from me but are nervous about performing alone…so I’m performing with them. One is dancing a bollywood inspired choreography of mine and bought herself an adorable bright pink costume. I have a skirt that will go well with it but I hadn’t figured out a top.

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Do It Yourself: WFU

The dolls and art of a woman in Japan trying to be better.

Category Archives: costuming