{"id":7351,"date":"2020-03-20T11:09:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T18:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/?p=7351"},"modified":"2020-03-20T12:27:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T19:27:29","slug":"7-bellydance-costuming-tasks-to-do-during-a-down-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/2020\/03\/7-bellydance-costuming-tasks-to-do-during-a-down-time\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Bellydance Costuming Tasks to do During a Down Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"As I write this in March of 2020, virtually the entire world has gone into quarantine as a preventative health measure. \u00a0With a bit more free time, you can now do some of those pesky chores that always seem to fall to the bottom of the list. So to help combat the overwhelm of the situation happening throughout the world, I\u2019ve created a list of costuming and wardrobe maintenance tasks that regularly need to be completed.<\/div>\n

Five-step plan to tackle these projects:<\/h2>\n
1 – Grab your favorite beverage<\/div>\n
2 – Put on your headset and listen to a playlist of upbeat music, an interesting podcast or an audiobook.<\/div>\n
3 – Choose a project from the ideas below<\/div>\n
4 – Work on it until it\u2019s done or you need to stop.<\/div>\n
5 – Stand back and admire your work!! \u00a0 If you\u2019re on social media, why not take a set of \u201cBefore and After\u201d pictures to share with your dance friends.<\/div>\n
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Now you might already have a to-do list and schedule for your costume wardrobe maintenance. \u00a0If so, I applaud you! \u00a0 I have quarterly objectives that I have set reminders in my Google calendar. \u00a0These \u201cnot so fun\u201d tasks can be difficult to make room for in my calendar, but then offer me so much satisfaction when they are done!<\/div>\n
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Update (or Start) your Costume Inventory<\/h2>\n
Years ago, I would keep a spreadsheet of all my costume pieces. \u00a0But now, in the era of the smartphone, I simply keep an album of me wearing each and every costume I have in rotation. So if you\u2019ve gotten new costume pieces since you\u2019ve done your last inventory, nows the time to add them.\u00a0 The same goes for things that have been removed from your inventory. \u00a0Delete them from your spreadsheet or move the photo from your \u201cWardrobe\u201d gallery into your \u201cArchives\u201d so that you can save the memory, but keep your wardrobe inventory accurate.\u00a0 These costumes are embellished with acrylic sew-on stones<\/a> I picked up from Amazon.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Do the Laundry<\/h2>\n
If you are like me, you probably have a veil that\u2019s been through the wringer or\u00a0a skirt that\u2019s been worn one too many times. Now is a great time to wash those pieces and get them clean and fresh for when the gigs start pouring in. \u00a0In my world I hand-wash silk veils using baby shampoo, I machine wash assiut pieces in a lingerie bag on the gentlest cycle (which on my machine oddly says \u201chand wash\u201d and I make sure that all of my spandex wear is washed in cool water and hung dry to preserve the spandex.\u00a0 What do I use to launder my assiut and tel kirma pieces?\u00a0 \u00a0I use Orvus<\/a>, which I think is the choice for vintage cotton textiles.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Clean and repair Jewelry<\/h2>\n
In our dance form, jewelry can take a real beating. So it\u2019s time to give your jewelry some TLC. \u00a0Give everything a good polish and shine. \u00a0Identify and repair any jump rings or missing pieces that you can. \u00a0While you have everything out and cleaning it, why not take photos for your inventory while you have everything out and on display.\u00a0 I use a jewelry cleaning cloth similar to this one<\/a> to wipe down stones, cones, and chains.<\/div>\n

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Re-line Bra and Belt Sets<\/h2>\n
Linings can get pretty gross. \u00a0They might get makeup on them, sweat, and oil from contact with our bodies. \u00a0Periodically I like to remove the old sweaty lining and replace old padding in the bra. Then I spray with disinfectant – I use 2\/1 vodka\/water. \u00a0Let the bedlah pieces dry thoroughly. Then I install a new lining into the garment.\u00a0 These Dritz ready-made bust pads<\/a> are quick and easy to install, but you can always make your own.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Make Repairs<\/h2>\n
Every wardrobe is completely different and unique, so ya never know what exact tools and materials you will need to make repairs on your garments. But I have a well-stocked sewing kit, and I try to keep a \u201crepair materials\u201d kit for each of my costumes. \u00a0That includes a selection of beads, rhinestones, coins, and other surface embellishments to make repairs. For touching up my shoes and other craft projects, I keep a collection of Sharpie markers<\/a> in various colors in my tool kit.<\/div>\n
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Clean Storage Boxes & Gig Bags<\/h2>\n
Since you will be pulling everything out of their storage containers, this is a great time to wipe them down.\u00a0 While you\u2019re at it, it\u2019s also a good time to clean out and wipe-down your class and gig bags too.\u00a0 I have owned this canvas tote bag from Lands End<\/a> for more than 25 years, and it’s still going strong!\u00a0 \u00a0But it no longer is completely white – even after cleaning.\u00a0 I kinda want to get another one, the new styles have an outside pocket, but this one has a lot more life in it!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"\"Makeup Stash Clean and Inventory<\/h2>\n
Oh you know it\u2019s a chore to go through and clean up the old makeup stash.\u00a0 First, focus on the tools and toss the dead tissues, clean the brushes and sponges.\u00a0 Next, go through your products to get rid of anything dried out, outdated, past its prime. If you haven’t used it in the past year, you might want to usher it out of your collection. Be sure to check all of your bags, purses, and pockets for hidden lip products.\u00a0 And don’t forget to wash the boxes, bags, and cups that you use to store your tools and products.\u00a0 Most of the brushes in this cup come from BH Cosmetics<\/a> and Real Techniques<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I hope that your time off is at once quiet and uneventful!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
Stay safe and be well!<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dawn Devine ~ Davina<\/em><\/strong>
\nMarch 20, 2020<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>

As I write this in March of 2020, virtually the entire world has gone into quarantine as a preventative health measure. \u00a0With a bit more free time, you can now do some of those pesky chores that always seem to fall to the bottom of the list. So to help combat the overwhelm of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7363,"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":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belly-dance-costuming","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/2020-3-19-Jewelry-rhinestones-bellydance.jpg?fit=576%2C808&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YZtR-1Uz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7351","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=7351"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7367,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7351\/revisions\/7367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}