craftgrrl | Dress to bellydance bedlah (bra and belt costume)

I posted this a while back in my private journal, but figured there might be interest here...and, heck, as a mod I should post occasionally.

How these poppies came to be;

When I was back in America I hit many thrift stores. My mother and I would set off to see some art, or get a fine meal, and be lured in by the siren song of Goodwill. We bonded there. I taught her how to figure out if a pair of pants or skirt would fit her waist by grabbing it, folding it double around her neck. Try it. Your neck is usually half the circumference of your waist. It saves time when you're a thrift ho.

I was on the hunt for a few things. More nice hippy shawls, some dance cover-up options, and gaudy prom/bridesmaid dresses. Japan has very little in the way of cheap used clothing., If I find a sequined bedazzled granny top here I might be shelling out 25$ or more! Over the last few years I've become more jealous of folk who post their "from crappy dress to beaded bedlah" creations. I just don't have the raw materials.

I found what I needed. An understated black silk dress with black beadings on black with green accents for 8$ USD. It was pretty minimalist in comparison to the other options, but giant purple and pink diamonds don't fit into my general design sense.

I started my creation.

Inspiration:
I've wanted a poppy set for a while and I saw one for sale on Bhuz, an international bellydance forum, like this. It is too cartoony for me and too "1,000$ range". I can't justify even thinking about buying a Sahar because with my skills I think they are too simple for the price. if you don't sew you'll feel different. If I am paying insane prices it is going to be for insane detail work OR someone tailoring something to me in person.

And my tattoo;

Day one:
In the evening I made a belt form out of felt that I had left over from another project. I fused interfacing onto one side of it. I whip-stitched the black silk from the dress skirt over the form. I then cut part of the sleeve and back and stitched it onto belt form in three separate pieces. I used some iron-on fusing to secure loose strings and such on the inside of the belt. I melted some plastic beads and the stench was nasty.

Felt, fused on the other side.

Sleeve.

Inside, this will all be lined later.

Detail.

I figure my running total is something like;
1500 yen
Which breaks down to:
Dress 900yen
Felt and interfacing (If I'd had to buy it) would be maybe 600yen.
I don't have a good bra to cover, that will come later.

Day two;
I drew poppies on felt, fused interfacing to the back of them. On the one that will go on the belt I stitched florist wire to the back to help it keep shape.

I raided my leftover bead stash and came up with black sequins and iridescent burgundy ones for the center of the poppies. I stitched the centers for three poppies while watching an episode of The Wire.

I went to the fabric store on the way to having my hair-color retouched. I bought red sequins and orange and red beads in two sizes. I bought beads that are smaller than I should have. I always make this mistake. I think about the up-up close details.

I write the label info and description of each bead into my costume notebook. This will save me from buying the wrong color or size if I need to re-up my supply. If I don't write it down I end up buying sequins and beads that are too small.

In the evening I finished one large poppy and one tiny one. I dipped into my bead stash to use up some yellow beads from my emerald costume project. Eventually I ran out of red sequins.

This whole making my own sequined appliqué is probably where people start saying'" Hell, I can't do that!" so for budget minded dancers who don't want to do this insanity, search out a second tacky sequined dress with good appliques you can harvest, appliqués on , or good costume jewelry in thriftstores that you can use for accents,

Can I give good tips about beading? Not really. Somehow beads just make sense to me now that I've spent a few years dabbling. I look at lots of things that have been beaded. I draw with beads.

Day three;
I bought a bra on sale (1,300 yen) and another baggy of sequins (100yen)
I finished beading another poppy while watching episodes from the second season of Lost.
I spent time picking tiny beads out from under the keys of my computer after knocking a tiny container of beads over.

2,900 yen is now my running cost.

Then I got food poisioning and stopped keeping a journal of what I was doing.

So in a nutshell, over two weeks;

Re-enforced and shaped the main part of the bra with grosgrain ribbon.

Pretty sexy, eh? All I need is a girdle, granny-panties and large orthopedic shoes and I am SET!

Covering the bra with the black silk of the skirt.

Layered more beaded fabric over the silk. I used a lot of "fray check" and occasionally re-enforced stitches. Floor was covered in tiny plastic beads.

Fabricated the chest band (then covered with silk and the beads)

Poppies, my love, poppies!
I lined and padded the bra and put in hooks, not shown.

I went to the craft store for some more beads and stuff for the belt
3,700 yen is now my running cost.

Beaded some minimal bead strands for the belt and stitched them to my last large poppy which I then stitched to the belt.