{"id":6806,"date":"2019-02-25T10:03:24","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T18:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/?p=6806"},"modified":"2019-02-28T11:59:59","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T19:59:59","slug":"gg-bellydance-costume2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/2019\/02\/gg-bellydance-costume2\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Goddess Belly Dance Costume – part 2 – Sketches and Illustrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This is part two of a multi-part series where I share the design and construction process for a glamorous show-girl style costume I’m calling the “Golden Goddess.”\u00a0 If you haven’t checked out part 1, you might want to go here to start this series from the beginning.\u00a0 To start at the beginning of this series click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Design Process<\/h2>\n

Let’s get real.\u00a0 Planning, budgeting, sourcing, and organization aren’t the most glamorous parts of costume creation.\u00a0 So before we can get to the second fitting stage where we have a lovely garment, I need to step through the dull, yet essential planning and prep steps.<\/p>\n

\"\"Set up Project Boxes<\/h2>\n

The project boxes are where I stash all the materials and supplies as I source them.\u00a0 Every project gets at least one box. However, due to the complexity of the design, this project has two boxes.\u00a0 One holds the fabrics including the cotton lining, micro-sequin, passementerie lace for the bedlah set.\u00a0 The materials box also contains the skirt’s accent fabric, a polyester mesh with gold polka dots.<\/p>\n

This project also requires smaller embellishment box that holds all of the surface embellishments.\u00a0 For this costume, there’s sew-on rhinestones, sequin-on-string, and rhinestone chain in various sizes. At the end of each project, I sort the leftover materials into their proper storage locations leaving this box free for the next costume.\u00a0 I think I’ve had this flip-top shoebox for more than 20 years and have used it for hundreds of projects.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Revise the Design<\/h2>\n

While it’s good to have a preliminary design when you are planning the costume, it’s just the first drawing. While you might have a great concept for the style, cut, and embellishment of your costume, you might find it difficult to source the materials needed to fully realize your design.<\/p>\n

For this costume, we selected materials and supplies from various places both locally and via mail order from a variety of websites.\u00a0 Once the materials have been gathered, it’s time to spread them out and see if the initial design will work.\u00a0 In this case, I needed to do a redesign, as the large square rhinestones were proportionally too big for my initial design.<\/p>\n

In the picture at right, you can see my preliminary costume sketch on the top right of the page.\u00a0 But once all of the materials were in my hands, I realized that I need to make some adjustments.\u00a0 The adjusted costume is on the bottom left.\u00a0We also looked at the budget and our materials and decided to simplify the design.\u00a0 This is a page from my studio log book<\/a>\u00a0that I use to record my project notes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Communicating with Clients<\/h2>\n

I use my studio log book to hold all my project notes, measurements, and rough sketches. This is often quite raw and not very visually appealing. So when I’m working with a client, I use a Project Planner form. This document is used for costume planning.<\/p>\n

On this document, I include notes about my dancer’s needs, a sketch of the garment, a list of materials and supplies, and preliminary dates for the first, second, and final fittings.\u00a0 \u00a0It’s important at this stage of the game to communicate openly and transparently with your client and establish a timeline for the project. You might look at this form and wonder where the financial information is located.\u00a0 I use a good old fashioned two-part receipt book for financial info.\u00a0 The customer will get one half, and I will keep the other.\u00a0 \u00a0I always date the Project Planner sheet, scan it, and give my client a copy, and put the original in a client binder. If you like this form, I sell it as part of my Studio Log & Planner printable on Etsy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Create the Build List<\/h2>\n

Each and every costume I build is unique, so I always make sure to make a build list or order of construction for the project. The build list steps through the process and workflow of costume creation. From the abstract tasks of designing a costume with a sketch and flat illustration to the more concrete tasks like making the pattern or sewing a seam, the build list helps me keep track of what still needs to be done and where I am in the project.<\/p>\n

I refer to the build list before each work session so that I keep on track. Checking off the steps is very satisfying and keeps me on track. Sometimes I realize that I’ve missed something because it’s on the build list and not checked off.\u00a0 If you look carefully at this list, you will see that I completely disregarded constructing the straps. As I took a photo for this blog post, I realized I had missed them.\u00a0 I went into the fitting with the client missing straps, so we did the fitting with plain grosgrain ribbon. While this isn’t a great tragedy, it did impact how the costume looked at the time of the fitting!<\/p>\n

Although I picked up my current to do notebook in the UK, I have in the past used a similar one like this.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0However, any notebook will work for this organization method.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Make a “Realistic” schedule<\/h2>\n

How fast do you sew?\u00a0 After working on for clients, friends, family, and on my own projects for more than 25 years, I’ve got a good idea of how fast I can sew.\u00a0 But I’m limited in how many hours a day I can physically maintain my peak performance sewing.<\/p>\n

For this ensemble, I’m spending 16 hours on the bra and belt, and 5 hours on the skirt.\u00a0 However, though you might look at those numbers and think, “Wow, that can be done in a week!” I have to consider my limited “per-day” requirement.\u00a0 So I’m allowing a full month to finish this entire ensemble.<\/p>\n

Another component of scheduling is planning client meetings. When I’m working with clients, we schedule three meetings. There’s an initial consultation, a first fitting, and a second fitting. We have already had our initial meeting where we decided on a budget and style.\u00a0 The First fitting will happen next week.\u00a0 Before the first fitting, I need to have all of the components of the bra and belt finished for this try-on.\u00a0 If there are any design changes or adjustments necessary, this is the time we make those choices and adjust the production schedule.<\/p>\n

Tracking for Business<\/h2>\n

I use a vertical planner as a time tracker and business log.\u00a0 As you can see in the image above, when I am working on one or more sewing projects, I assign that project a color.\u00a0 Then when I’m working on the costume, I log it in my book.\u00a0 I use a waterproof pen so I can go over the words with a highlighter. Using this system, I can see at a glance how many hours I’ve worked on sewing projects.\u00a0 If I have more than one project under construction, I will choose a different color highlighter.\u00a0 Since I charge by the hour, keeping accurate track of my billable hours is essential for me to accurately bill my color.\u00a0 I’ve been using the Passion Planner<\/a> for the past several years, but you can find loads of vertical planners and if I were to switch to another brand, I might consider this planner<\/a> or this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions about how I track and log my sewing projects, come join the conversation.\u00a0 I have an active FaceBook group<\/a> where you can ask questions, share sewing and costuming project, and commiserate over sewing projects.<\/p>\n

Happy Costuming,<\/em><\/strong>
\nDawn Devine ~ Davina<\/em><\/strong>
\nFebruary 25, 2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

First Post in this series –\u00a0https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/2019\/01\/golden-part-1\/<\/a>
\nNext Post in this series – Coming Soon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>

This is part two of a multi-part series where I share the design and construction process for a glamorous show-girl style costume I’m calling the “Golden Goddess.”\u00a0 If you haven’t checked out part 1, you might want to go here to start this series from the beginning.\u00a0 To start at the beginning of this series […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6830,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/NLDL4468.jpg?fit=432%2C432&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YZtR-1LM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6806"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6843,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6806\/revisions\/6843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}