Categories
Costuming DIY General

Sewing Machine for My Mum

Last week I traveled to sunny San Diego to spend some quality time with my mum.  We had a big trip planned that included taking a hop-on-hop-off trolly, trips to the beach, a visit to Los Angeles, and much more!  However, I came down with a pretty miserable cold!  So as we lounged in front of the TV watching old movies like “Da Vinci Code” we started chatting about sewing machines.  Turns out her last sewing machine was kaput, and the only functional sewing machine in the house was very limited.

Vintage Pfaff 130

My brother owns a vintage Pfaff 130 sewing machine.  What a wonderful treat for me!  I spent some quality time cleaning this 1930’s vintage work-horse of a machine.  I found a manual for this model on the internet and gave it a good read.  (Digitized Pfaff 130 Manual)    It was a little more complicated to thread than a modern sewing machine, but we got it up and running.  We even stitched together some simple light-socks using this machine.  It was skipping the occasional stitch either due to a timing issue, or perhaps it had the wrong sized bobbin, but either way, it is now at the shop in the hands of a professional getting a good tune-up.

Choosing an Affordable Sewing Machine

My mum, however, doesn’t want to have to rely upon this antique to help her with her sewing projects!  I suggested she take what was left of her vacation budget and see if she could find a new machine. We started out going through this series of questions to help her identify the best machine for her current sewing needs.

What is your budget?  I believe that this is the single most important factor in choosing a sewing machine.  There are many companies to choose from, and there are many options within their lines. Much like cars, there are high-end, mid-range, and budget brands, and within each company, there’s a range of models. Once you establish your budget, you will know which brands are available in your range.

What features do you need? Honestly, I only use a fraction of the features that are on my bottom-of-the-line machine. Knowing what features are essential for your process will help you shop.  Consider the weight of the machine. If you have a dedicated sewing space, a heavy machine probably wouldn’t be a problem.  But if you are sharing space and have to put your machine away between rounds of sewing, you will want it to be lighter in weight for easy maneuverability.

Mechanical vs. Electronic? While this might not seem like an obvious question, it is one that I always encourage people to consider.  An all mechanical machine is less likely to have expensive problems with memory cards, screens, and electronics arriving damaged or developing issues. Mechanical machines are less expensive when purchased, and are also easier to maintain and repair.

What tools and accessories are included? Some machines are basic and just come with an assortment of ordinary feet, a few bobbins, and essential tools.  But sometimes, companies will put together bundles to suit different kinds of sewing. If you are a quilter or a dressmaker, look for combined offers that provide you with the special feet and accessories to suit your craft.  Bundles will save you money over purchasing individual items like feet.

Mum’s New Machine

Once we went down those list of questions, it was clear that what my mum wanted was a super-affordable, long-tabled machine with a walking foot to facilitate her quilting projects.  We went online to find the best deal. Because we were using the unspent “leftover” travel money, we had about $140 to spend.  However, we were happy to find this all mechanical machine from Brother that meets all her needs for much less.  At the time of writing, this was a steal at $113 on Amazon.

Three More Tips for Sewing Machine Shopping

While we went for a new machine purchased from Amazon and shipped to directly to my mum’s home, that might not be the right choice for everyone.  Here my top three recommendations for sewing machine shopping.

  1. Look for instructional classes – Sometimes a small sewing machine shop or sewing center will offer classes with the purchase of machines.  While you will pay more for a machine from these locations, if you feel like you will need help getting used to your new equipment, this might be a good choice for you.
  2. Consider a better quality, but used sewing machine – If you want a better brand, but are on a budget, consider buying your machine on the resale market.  You can find refurbished machines at sewing/vacuum repair stores, locally on Craig’s list and other resale sites, and on sales sites like eBay and even Etsy.  However, be prepared to take a new-to-you, but used sewing machine to a shop for a tune-up.
  3. Shop during the biggest sewing machine sales periods – Like all things, there are regular seasons that sewing machines go on sale.  Like most items, Christmas is a great time to invest in a new sewing machine.  But also consider shopping in the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day.  If you are shopping on the second-hand market.

The right machine for you is the one that fits your budget and has the features that will allow you to stitch up the projects that you want to make!  What do I use?  I’ve got a 20-year-old Bernina 1008. BOY – did I have sticker-shock when I looked up this model today! Back when we purchased it, it was much less expensive and we got it on sale.  I bought the lowest price model for a top-of-the-line brand.  Considering how many hours of sewing this machine has logged, it was totally worth the investment!

If you are sewing machine shopping, I wish you a lot of luck!  If you have questions about sewing machines, or would like to join our on-going conversation about crafts, costuming, and more, come join us on the Studio Davina Facebook Group.

Happy Sewing!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
March 7, 2018

 

Categories
Costuming DIY General

February 2018: Winter Catch Up, New Products & Bonus Cats

BOY! This winter has been a rough one!  Although I started the year healthy and raring to go,  I’ve been battling a string of colds and bronchitis.  When your health is poor, it’s exceedingly difficult to stay focused and be productive.  However, even though I was under the weather, here is a run-down of some of the highlights of the past two months.

Bedlah Repairs

Staring on January 1, I picked up this lovely fuchsia and black bedlah sets to make some repairs.  This was a collaboration with dancer/designer Poppy Maya a couple of years back, and it was nice to have it back on my table making some repairs, replacing some hooks and eyes and tightening up some loose jewelry components.

Margo Anderson’s Choli Pattern

I was so pleased to get this new Choli pattern from Margo Anderson of Margo’s Patterns.  Last year, she ran a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the release of a new line of dancewear patterns. I fell in love the “Cold Shoulder” style on the bottom left. I just think that Margo’s patterns are great. Margo’s patterns are easily assembled, accurately sized, and fit well.  I’m looking forward to putting this pattern to the test in the spring.

Wicked Mojo – Jax the Seam Ripper

My brother, Joe who runs a woodworking company Wicked Mojo Designs, does custom turnings in wood and acrylic.  While I have admired his custom pens, what I really need in my life are some chubby hand sewing tools.  He did a little research and sent me three prototypes including this beautiful tool.  I decided to keep one made of wood, and put this little number on his brand new Etsy store!  Ya know what happened?  It sold before I had a chance to share it on this blog!  These seam rippers are comfortable to hold, and this double-ender comes with both a small and a large end.  Best of all, you can turn the points in to protect the point when you store your tools. I’m so proud and happy for him!  And although I may be highly biased, there are lots of great reviews over on the Studio Davina Facebook Group.

Nancy Hay’s – Booty-Licious Knit Skirt

One of my oldest and dearest friends just released her first knitwear pattern for a skirt on the Ravelry website.  Although I am not a knitter, I’ve seen this skirt in person and it’s super cute!  I gave her some assistance laying out her pattern and creating the .pdf and I’m so happy that it’s finally up and available and I wish her great luck in future sales!  If you knit, be sure to check it out!

Costume Rehab – Berry Delight

On the workbench is a leftover costume project from 2017.  Although this project has been on my bench, I have a reasonable policy of not working on sewing projects when I have a cold or a runny nose.  I know, that’s a bit “TMI” but it’s a good policy.  Since I’m a one-woman shop, when I’m under the weather, sewing projects get postponed.  But I’m now only a few hours away from being finished with this bedlah set and am pleased with the results.

I have to head out of town for family business and will be back at my desk beginning March 8. Watch for a future blog post, where I’ll be sharing some of the images of the deconstruction and remodeling of this “Costume Rehab” project.

Until next month!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
February 23, 2018

PS:  My Christmas Kittens are now 8 months old.  Stormy is on the top and Silver is on the bottom.

 

Categories
General

Free Class on Making Flyers with Canva

New free class on using Canva to make flyers

In my part of the world, belly dance event season has begun! Our inboxes and social media feeds are filled with event notices. At events, people are handing out promotional flyers and placing ads in programs.  I recently was talking with two colleagues in dance who expressed their frustration with finding an easy to use and affordable way to make flyers, advertisements and other promotional materials.  When I found myself explaining how I use Canva.com to create easy web graphics and flyers for the second time in a week, it became clear it was time to make a tutorial.

A well laid out flyer or digital graphic is essential to help
your future attendees find the information they need.

FREE Class on Using Canva

Link: Belly Dance Business Academy
Free Class: Flyer Design with Canva

Flyer Design With Canva 

This 15-minute demo/tutorial steps through the tools I use to create a simple but functional flyer for a mythical belly dance event. At it’s most basic, designing is a process. Throughout this tutorial, I explain my choices in fonts, sizes, and positions, so you get a sense of my own approach to flyer making. From picking and positioning the photo, to using the simple “2 Font Rule,” I step the viewer through the order of construction that I follow when making informational flyers.

In addition, I also touch on the essential information that a basic flyer needs to be an effective promotional tool for your event.  I like to begin with a simple “5 W’s” approach to planning the essential information. Once I have chosen the event details to include, I place them into the document, organizing them into logical groups, and formatting them to make it easy to read. At Right is the simple flyer I put together in the class.

The Class is Free – The School is Free – The software is Free

If you are interested in taking this class, I recommend setting up a free account on the Canva.com website.  This web-based app is a tool that I use every week for creating graphics for a variety of purposes.  It’s become the essential tool I use for making memes to share on social media, thumbnails for YouTube, and even when making quick mock-ups of potential book covers and page designs.  The graphic was below made using Canva.

Belly Dance Business Academy – A Great Place to Learn and Explore

One of the best things about the Belly Dance Business Academy is absolutely free to enroll. Better still,  there are hours of free courses to explore.  When you find an instructor or topic, you can then invest in more in-depth courses, workshops, and masterclasses. You get to learn the subjects you want at the pace that is right for you.  And unlike an in-person class, you can repeat the material as often as you like

Link: Belly Dance Business Academy
Free Class: Flyer Design with Canva

Come join me at the BDBA and learn how to make your next promotional flyer in Canva.

Have a happy Valentine’s day
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
February 14, 2018

 

Categories
General

Costume Inspiration: Lily Elsie’s “Merry Widow” Assiut Corset

I just love the costume worn by actress Lily Elsie in the 1907/8 theatrical production of The Merry Widow in London. This amazing ensemble was created by Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon working under her professional design name Lucile.  She was one of the first British high fashion designers and was quite a character in her own right. Here’s a link to a blog post where you can read more details about Lily Elsie, Lucile, and the Merry Widow costume.

For this project, my goal was to create a Merry Widow inspired costume in the style and flavor of the image below. To catch the essence of Lily Elsie’s look, we started with a ready-made corset-style top. The assiut covered corset was the only part of my ensemble that we stitched for this look. The corset-top was a previously owned costume piece, but you can find similar items on Amazon. If I were going to make another one of these today, I would start with a style that’s currently available.

The Inspiration

Lily Elsie as The Merry Widow, 1907-08 wearing a costume designed by Lucile

Postcard of Lily Elsie as the Merry Widow by Foulsham & Banfield,
published by Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, bromide postcard print, 1907

I worked with my friend, costume maker Misia Rockte and together we strategically place assiut motifs between the bones of the corset.  Most of the motifs were scraps and leftover pieces from a variety of projects I was building for my book, The Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut.  Available on Amazon and Etsy.

Although I don’t have any images of the corset embellishments during construction, we used standard thread and simple hand sewing applique techniques to apply the assiut motifs. Using a ready-made corset as the foundation made this project quick and affordable.  I was very happy to use up a bunch of scraps, but if you needed to purchase assiut for a similar project, plan on using half of an assiut shawl to get this level of motif coverage.

Completing the Look

Once the corset was completed, three uncut assiut pieces finished the look.  Under everything, I’m wearing a simple black skirt and tank-top. Around my hips, I draped a large ornate modern assiut shawl and pinned it into place. To capture the essence of Lily Elsie’s large double-brooches, we added a bracelet and a necklace that gave the same shape and visual weight.

For sleeves, we used an assiut shawl in the lantern style.  I quickly tacked this shawl in four places to create a tube. It was tucked at the tops of my shoulders to keep the sleeves in place.  Over my chest, I tucked a white assiut triangle and let the beaded embellished edge drape over the top of the corset.  This echoed the white lace top that Lily wore under her corselette.  If I were going to wear this garment for a long period of time, I would hand stitch these pieces into place, using sturdy thread and big stitches that are easy to remove.  Since we were just staging a photo, tucking was perfectly fine.

The final step was to load up with rhinestone jewelry.  Earrings, three necklaces and a pair of bracelets complete the look.  Ultimately, the corset wasn’t REALLY my size, so there are no back shots and it went on to another home.  Someday, I hope to get a corset-top that really fits me well to create a full ensemble to really wear.  I’m keeping my eyes peeled for better jewelry to capture the Edwardian theater look.

I really enjoyed using assiut scraps to create a new look. I currently have a fairly good-sized bin of scraps.  Perhaps I’ll get one whipped up before the end of the year!

Happy Costuming!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
February 10, 2018

Categories
General

Building Firm Belly Dance Bra Bands

One of the most frequently asked questions over on my sewing circle on Facebook is, “How do I make a solid non-stretch belly dance bra band?”  Because this question has come up so many times, I thought I would take a moment to share my current method, materials, and techniques.

Studio Davina Behind The Seams – Facebook Group 

Back in November of 2017, I wrote a blog post listing all the reasons why I prefer to use a solid, non-stretching bra band in my higher-end costumes.  While it isn’t a necessity to swap out a stretchy lingerie-style bra band, they do have some limitations.  Read “Musing on Embellished Bra Brands & Straps”  

Since that post, I’ve had folks ask me about the construction of my firm bra bands.  So without further ado, let’s go.

Three-Part Bra Band Structure

While there are many materials and supplies you can choose for building your bra band, there are three categories of materials that I believe are essential for creating a garment that will stand the test of time.

Supporting Layer – This is the heaviest duty layer, the one that provides the strength and resiliency to stand up to the pressures and forces of rigorous physical movement.  This layer should be a sturdy, thick fabric with a minimum of stretch.  I’ve used a wide variety of materials from heavy-weight denim, cotton canvas, pant-weight twill to recycled jeans and up-cycled woven upholstery fabric.   Here at Studio Davina, we are currently using mid-weight buckram.  If the costume will have a lot of heavyweight embellishments like chain and coin, I will use two layers.  See it here at Joann Fabrics – Buckram Fabric 

Padding Layer – This is composed of either one or two layers of a fabric that will add a thickness to the band to make the costume more comfortable to wear and add gravitas to the finished garment. I prefer to use non-stretch materials, but since this layer is supported, if the fabric has a little give, that’s okay.  However, very stretchy fabrics might sag away from the inner structure, so use your best judgment.  In the past, I’ve used fleece, denim, corduroy, leftover velvet or velveteen from previous projects, and even up-cycled towels.  Today, we stock Pellon TP971 Fusible Thermolam. See it here at Joann Fabrics – Thermolam 

Edge Reinforcement – Once I’ve bonded or stitched together the supporting layer and the padding layer, I reinforce the edges of the band to prevent stretch.  This extra step will also help prevent the edge of the costume from rolling, giving extra support for the dancer.  The bra will lay smoother and flatter across the back. There are several ways to reinforce edges.  When I was first learning my craft, we added 16 or 18 gauge wire to all the edges of the costume.  I still use wire if I’m doing a fancy cut edge.  However, I’ve found that grosgrain ribbon will help minimize stretch and is far more comfortable for the dancer.  It also saves a lot of time because I can quickly stitch it into place by machine.  I like to buy wire and grosgrain from Amazon.com here is what I purchased last time I restocked. Wire and Grosgrain Ribbon on Amazon.

Bra Band Order of Construction

To create the supporting sandwich, I always follow the same order of construction.

  • Cut out all the parts
  • Fuse or Stitch interfacing to the buckram
  • Machine stitch grosgrain ribbon

Once the band is complete, your design will dictate how you will proceed forward with your project.  Some designs will call for a single piece of fabric that covers the bra cup and band seamlessly, and for those designs, you will sew the band to the bra before you cover with your fashion fabric.

If you want your bras to have the most adjustability, you can design the bra and band as two separate pieces.  For those designs, you will cover the bra cups and bra bands individually and then sew them together as the next step.  This makes it easier for future owners of the costume to make fitting adjustments.

Once the bands are completed, I always sew the bra bands to the bra cups by hand using upholstery grade thread. I use a big whip-stitch that wraps around the underwire of the cup for the sturdiest results.

And that’s what’s inside of my firm belly dance bra bands!

Best of luck on all of your costume making adventures!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
February 6, 2018