Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! I think spring may actually be trying to break through. I saw the first crocus popping up in my back yard! Are you seeing signs of spring where you are?

Since the weather is improving, here’s your tip:

Hang your costumes outside to freshen them.

If you’ve taken my class on caring for your costumes, you know it can be tricky to wash burlesque costumes, so often we just don’t unless it’s a serious situation. After a winter of being stuck inside, garments can be a bit fusty. An hour or so outside in a gentle breeze and sunlight can help improve the way your costumes smell and sometimes even look (that may be a future tip).

Turn them inside out so the parts closest to your body are most exposed to the fresh air. This also protects the exterior from the sun. Extended sun exposure can fade colors. This is why we’re only hanging things out for a little while.

I know I said “hang”, but I know a lot of us don’t have clotheslines, so use a drying rack or a chair to support the costumes. Drape a towel over your support to protect your costume, just in case.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 20 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday!Here’s your tip!

When drafting or redrawing patterns, date the final pattern and add any notes necessary, as clearly as possible.

You don’t want to assume that future you is going to remember whether to cut something on the straight-grain or bias or that you want two layers of interfacing.

This tip comes to you from the sleeve pattern on which I helpfully wrote  “+1/2″ sa”. Did I mean the pattern includes half an inch of seam allowance or that I need to add half an inch for seam allowance?

I make these mistakes so you don’t have to!

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 20 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday again and in Boston it’s snowing again. I hope you have a cozy place to watch the snow or weather the chill. Here’s your tip!

Sharpen your scissors.

You already know to have fabric scissors that only cut cloth, but eventually they will get dull. You want them nice and sharp to slice right through your fabric instead of chewing it up.

Having them professionally sharpened is the best method and will guarantee good sharp blades. However, you can also buy a sharpener. You can get one just for scissors or one that also sharpens knives. They’re easy to use and inexpensive.

If you’ve just noticed your blades are getting a little dull, you can cut fine sandpaper into strips and it will sharpen the blades. Really. It’s not going to fix really dull scissors or nicked blades — those need a real sharpening — but it will keep you going for a bit longer.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! Here’s your tip:

Before taking costumes to the dry cleaner, test a swatch.

Sometimes the dry cleaner seems like the best option to get a costume clean. However, the chemicals they use sometimes interact badly with the trimmings we use. I have heard stories of AB coating coming off rhinestones, glue loosened, and feathers left limp. I personally had some silvery trim that came back permanently dulled (it’s okay, it was only a little and I replaced it with something better).

So, test it first. Take a scrap of fabric from your costume (or something similar if you don’t have leftovers) and attach samples off all your decorations to it. Then take that to the dry cleaner and have them clean it. If everything remained intact and beautiful, you can take the real thing in. If not, you might want to try again elsewhere or figure out another method to clean your costume.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! If you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, I hope it was warm and peaceful with people you care about. Here’s your tip (no pun intended… you’ll see)

If you’re wearing a bullet bra, pad the points of the cups.

This is how you get that iconic look. And without something to fill out the tips, they just look kind of sad and squishy. Look at the difference:

Unpadded points

Padded points
Bras modeled by Phyllis, our patient mannequin.

I believe wadded-up tissues are a time-honored tradition, but that’s not exactly the best way to get the right look. You can buy little pads or, for a perfect fit, make your own. Christina Manuge has a good tutorial on her Patreon.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! After several miserably hot and humid days, I’m enjoying today’s very pleasant summer weather. I hope it’s nice where you are too.

Here’s your tip:

Use beading thread for beadwork.

I know that sounds obvious, but you would be surprised. 

No matter how smooth beads look, they’re still made of glass and a tiny nick or chip can cut right through regular sewing thread. Beading thread is made to resist that. In a pinch you can use dental floss. However, if you’re going to go through all the painstaking work of hand beading, I recommend using the right equipment.

My Patrons can learn more about beadwork by watching this tutorial.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! It’s starting to feel like spring out there.

When working with glittery fabric, store the fabric and any resulting garments away from, well, everything else.

It will shed glitter, but by keeping it separated, with a storage box or bag, you can minimize the mess.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 19 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.