Guest Post: Columbia Shorts by Russ

Super excited to feature a guest post by fellow costumer Russ.  Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge - they have an amazing amount of detail! This method will definitely bring your shorts to the next level whether you are making them from scratch or simply trying to modify something off the rack.

It is my belief that in looking closely at the Mick Rock photos, the method used for edging Columbia’s ribbons reveals itself: overlocking/serging. This conclusion was drawn by several factors: First, the edging cannot be a 100% solid in color, since in practically all reference photos, even the far edges of the ribbon shimmer at times. This lends the idea that the edges are stitched in some way; with windows between the stitches allowing the base of the lamé to shine through. A rolled hem doesn’t create the right shape or thickness. Folded edges using a ribbon folder or overlaying a satin-edged organza ribbon creates too solid of a line for my preference and again this method does not let the lamé shine through on the edges. Upon further examination, the Mick Rock photos indicate an edging that in my view can only be achieved through overlocking. Note how the edging looks sort of rough and slightly uneven (Fig.1).
The material used appears to be a woven/satin lamé/sometimes called ͞lurex͟. The same type of lamé was used on several costumes for the Transylvanians as well (in particular, some of their lapels), which lends to the idea that there was plenty of this material to use during the construction of the costumes for the film. To test this theory, I cut a 5/8͟ wide strip of satin lamé, backed with a black fusible interfacing for durability, and fed it twice through my overlocker (knife setting should be off). It was a perfect match to the Mick Rock pics: creating a two-toned look with little flecks of the lamé peeking through the edging. Here is an image of some sample gold ribbon compared to a photo in the Mick Rock book. The golds are an exact match. My ribbon looks out of proportion, since it is closer to the camera but it is 5/8͟ wide, which I believe to be an accurate width (Fig.2). Furthermore, with the interfacing fused and stitched in, no amount of tugging in any direction was budging the ribbon’s shape or integrity; which means these are going to
last for many years.

Covering A Columbia Hat (Alternate Method)

This is a guest post by RM - I was so impressed with her results! I think there's a little more work involved in this method, but the results speak for themselves. I have no doubt that this is the way Little Nell's was probably made because the sequin pattern on the bottom of the brim go straight back.  Also, Larry now has screen accurate gold sequin fabric for top hats and tail coats.

I started out with a plain black top hat and glued on layers of felt to make it flare out at the top, just like in Mina’s tutorial. Since I wasn’t happy with any of the gold sequin fabrics I found locally and there wasn’t time to order any, I decided to create my own wavy-line sequin fabric by tracing lines onto fabric with a cardboard template and gluing strings of sequin trim onto the fabric. (NOTE: Once I was finished, I decided the sequins weren’t close together enough so I added more sequin strings in the spaces between them.) I’m not sure how many yards of sequin trim it took—I just bought a spool of 100 meters and still have plenty left over. I chose a lightweight, semi-sheer cotton/silk lining fabric layered over a yellowish gold poly-cotton broadcloth, since that was the only way I could achieve the color and texture I wanted with the fabrics available.  I used my very most favorite glue, Gem-Tac. I made three large ovals (one for the flat top part of the hat, one for the underside of the brim, and one for the top side of the brim) and one long rectangle (for the stovepipe part of the hat). Be careful to make sure the nap of the sequins are all going in the same direction!

I glued the sequin fabric oval onto the top of the hat first, pinning it in place while the glue dried. You can see I made cuts through the center of the brim fabric pieces like a pizza—this is because on the top side of the brim, you need to wiggle that piece of fabric from the top of the hat (which is wider) down to the part where it meets the brim (which is narrower).

Frank's Shoes (Tutorial)

Finding the right shoe

The chunk heel and platform are the most important features when searching for a suitable shoe.  The rest can be modified.  Color doesn't matter; focus on shape. Pleaser has a lot of shoes and frequently runs in large sizes, check out Snaz75.com for a huge selection.  Several versions of their "Dolly" shoe can be modified quite easily.

Cutting the toe open (if needed)
Neither leather nor pleather will fray.  Carefully cut out the toe area with a blade.  Straps can also be moved if needed, but it might be better to have a shoe repair shop stitch that down for you.  Since women's feet are typically narrower than men's, you may also need to install an elastic gusset on the vamp like Tim's.

Painting the shoe
The sole should be black; paint if necessary or your finished shoe will look weird.  Paint the outside heel area white (use tape to protect the shoe upper, sole and the heel tip).  Spray paint is easiest.  The lining of the shoe is silver.

Adding glitter
I prefer Super-77 spray glue by 3m, but if you're going to spray you need to conceal the other areas really well with tape, etc.   I also recommend covering your work area with a paper grocery bag to catch the excess glitter.  When you sprinkle the glitter on the glued area, press the glitter in firmly.  Tap the shoe on the table/counter to get the excess off.  I did the black areas first, then very carefully did the white heels.  The straps do not have glitter on them.

Shellac
Cover the shoes with multiple thin layers of a clear coat.  This will minimize any further glitter shedding.  The key word here is thin.  If you spray too many layers too quickly, or too thickly, it will turn yellow and dull and pretty much ruin everything you've done.

Adding rhinestones
Use e6000 or any jewel-tack glue to apply the clear rhinestones to the heel.

Buckle
If you're lucky to find one on other shoes you've got it made.  I haven't even had much luck on eBay or Etsy.  You can at least paint the existing buckles silver (if they aren't already) and glue some tiny rhinestones on the top bar until something better comes along.

Heel covers
I've never experimented with heel covers (to consolidate the shoe change between Sweet T and the Lab Scene), but I've heard of some pretty clever solutions that seem to work well - and please feel free to add any tips in the comment section!

DIY Motorcycle Badges

Inspired by Patti who made me some awesome jewelry, I just had to play with the stuff.  This is not the Shrinky Dinks your parents played with!  You can print your own designs off an ink-jet printer - and here's the best part; this shit is hard to break.  It shrinks to 1/3 it's size, but becomes 9 times thicker.

So here's my first go - the 1971 Motorcycle Shows 59 Club badge.  I've never come across it on eBay so I'm gonna say it's kinda rare.  I couldn't get a great photo of one, so I downloaded a photo off the internet and cleaned it up in Photoshop.  The font isn't a perfect match, but you can be pickier if you want.  My image is 2.25" across - and you need to lighten the image about 50% before printing.  It gets darker when it shrinks.  A lot darker.  Just follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

I had the best results with the printed side down, between two sheets of brown-bag paper.  Less curling and it didn't affect the image.  It took about 3 minutes in a toaster oven (yeah, I bought one just for this).

Here's what makes the biggest difference:  embossing powder.  It adds another layer of clear, shiny plastic.  Once your Shrinky Dink is done shrinking, it's done.  While it's still warm you can manipulate it a little - flatten it more if you need.  But if you put it back in the oven it's not going to shrink any further.

So once it's cooled off sprinkle the embossing powder (actually, it's tiny little plastic beads) all over it.  Stick it back in the oven and just keep an eye on it.  The beads will melt into one solid clear coat - maybe 30 seconds?

You can apply any pin-back style you like with some e-6000.  I know you're thinking "but it's plastic, it's going to break" - but I wasn't able to break it, and it took my friend's husband some considerable effort.  It'll look great from stage - and it's a great place-holder if you want to keep looking for an original.

Frank's Dinner Corset

It's easier to tackle if you break it down into 3 main elements; the corset, the chiffon blouse, and the overlay.

The corset:

Using the method described in my duct-tape pattern tutorial you can easily draft your own, custom corset pattern.  Once the torso is wrapped simply draw on your corset lines with the appropriate dip in the center front and the rounded off bottom.  Draw your intended seams and if you like, where the boning channels are.  When you prepare your pattern from these pieces don't forget to add a seam allowance on all of your pieces.  At some point I will try to post my actual pattern, but only in limited  sizes.

Velvets are flimsy and slippery to work with.  I recommend flat-lining your fabric  with cotton (or whatever you prefer) to stiffen the fabric.  I literally just spray-glue the back side of the fabric and lay it down on the lining fabric, thereafter treating the fabrics as one.

My seam allowances are stitched down to form channels for the boning, and the rest of the channels are created with single-fold bias tape.  The top and bottom edges are also finished with single-fold bias tape, hand stitched to the inside.  I opted for a side zipper - which won't change your seam allowance, but just be sure not to close up both side seams.  Also, you won't want to put boning against the zipper, but I do have boning on both sides of the eyelets in back.

The blouse:
You might get lucky on eBay or a thrift store, otherwise you can use any simple tunic pattern.  Simply adjust the neck hole to be an oval and have the blouse open in back.  I bind off my neck opening with narrow double-fold bias tape for  a clean edge.   Chiffon is another flimsy, pain-in-the-ass fabrics to work with.  For the back opening I just wrapped a 1" strip of the embroidered tulle around the edges.  I stitched down the soutache loops about 1" apart, catching them twice with the edge stitching on the tulle.

If you have a hard time finding black shoulder pads, just cover white ones with black fabric.

The hardest part is attaching the blouse to the corset - you'll definitely need a person or a dress form to get it lined up all the way around.  I pinned mine together about every 3" inches, then I hand-sewed it together from the inside along the top edge of the corset - right into the bias tape.

The overlay:
I've sometimes found silver on black lace at the store which works well, and I also sell the overlay as a separate piece.  If you're really dedicated you could actually hoop some tulle and sew the flowers yourself with metallic silver thread.

Like the blouse, it will be easier to line it up if it's on a person or dress form.  I apply it with a simple running stitch by hand all around the edge.  You could also secure it with a few discreet dabs of fabric glue - careful not to let the glue bleed through other layers below.

The 9-patch rhinestone buttons are fairly easy to find, but the 6-pointed stars and black-leaf sequins continue to elude me.  The rest of the rhinestones  I just apply with Jewel-glue.

Modifying Patterns

Specifically this post is about altering an existing corset pattern, but you can use the same technique to modify any other commercial patterns that need a little tweaking.

Supplies:
Tru-Grid Graph Material
Colored Markers
Pattern to Modify
Tape (optional)

My workspace already has a gridded cutting mat on it, which makes it really easy to line everything  else up.  Most pattern pieces will mark the natural waistline, which is an excellent place to start.  I laid out all my pattern pieces across the table in the order they are sewn to each other, lining up the natural waistline.  This gives you a sense of the garment's overall shape; how high it comes in the front, how low in the back, etc.  You may want to tape the pattern pieces down so they don't shift.

Next I placed my Tru-Grid Material (which is somewhat transparent) on top of my pattern pieces.  You may also want to tape this down.   I began with a red line all the way across my Tru-Grid to define the waistline. If you want  to lengthen or shorten your pattern this line will be crucial.  Next, I traced out the original pattern in the size I chose.  If you're between sizes, you can even mark those changes now (i.e. size 14 chest, but 12 waist).  You will also want to transfer the supplemental lines for boning and all the pattern notches (triangles) on your new pattern.

All that's left to do is redesign your pieces.  I recommend using a different color marker than you used for the original outline.  For the floorshow corset, I recommend straightening out the top across the bust, and shortening the bottom to get the right  effect (their corsets of course are worn completely backwards and upside down).  I also lengthened the lower back of mine.  For men, I would reduce the severity of the curved seams.

The instructions are generally the same,except you'll want to put eyelets where the corset busk would normally go in front, and a zipper up the back.

Janet's Proposal Suit (Pt. 2)

I have an earlier blog post that discusses the Proposal Suit in general terms, but this one will be more in-depth.  I use a polyester gabardine for the shell (outside fabric) and a thin poly lining.  Gabardine presses well, is easy to spot clean and generally wrinkle-resistant (though I wouldn't put anything past a Rocky performer!)

You can use any jacket pattern with princess seams - you'll probably need to crop the length and perhaps extend the front to overlap more.  And I definitely recommend lining it.  Lining will extend the wear of your garment, in addition to the aesthetic benefits and most importantly; no obvious hem lines.

Prep the sleeves and collar first.  Attach the sleeve shell and lining at the wrist with right sides together, then fold lengthwise and close the length of the arm.  Trim excess at the wrist seam, turn right side out and press.  Marking the front and back of your sleeves at the shoulder will make it easier to line them up.  Be careful that you don't end up with two of the same facing sleeves!   There is a difference - the back is cut to allow the arm to move forward and accommodate the back expansion (like when you hug someone and your shirt pulls tight across your back).

Next, assemble your garment shell (outside fabric) and lining separately, but do not close the side seams.  Attach the collar to shell, then attach the lining. At this point you can attach the lining all the way around - but leaving the side seams open.  That means you'll stitch across the front bottom, up the center front, around the collar, back down the center front and across the second front bottom.  And across the bottom of the back.


Clip and grade the curves in the collar, and clip all your other bulky intersections and corners.  Turn everything right side out and press.


Now you can close up your sides seams.  Treat the shell and lining as one.  If you have access to a serger you can run it along the edges, otherwise a zig-zag stitch would be fine.  Press.  Closing the side seams in this manner will make it easy to alter  if ever you need to.

Then finally set your sleeves in.  Sleeves are designed to be eased in. That means the sleeve itself is larger than the hole it's being fitted into.  Easing a sleeve gives the shoulder a little more room for movement.  However it looks like in this case, all the extra  ease was just pinched into a pleat at the top of the shoulder.   So when you pin your sleeve in place, lining up the underarm and side seams, just work the excess to the top of the sleeve.

You can serge (or zig-zag) the inside of your armscye, but definitely trim it down and remove some of the bulk


My aforementioned blog entry also  details the button placements, and putting snaps under them will make it easy for the quick-change.  I use 1-1/8" covered button kits from the local fabric store.