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Messages - Alangus

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1
The Show Must Go On / Re: stretch collars
« on: April 30, 2019, 19:22:44 PM »
Wow @Alangus that is beautiful  :loveit:
Thanks, I not entirely happy with the design. My daughter drew a rough design and then I did one on the computer, it looked good but sometimes you make something and once it is 3d and in the light it just doesn't work the way you expected!! I think it is probably because I didn't put it on a mannequin, and I was rushing a bit at the end :-)

2
The Show Must Go On / Re: Removing rhinestones and the residual glue
« on: April 30, 2019, 19:19:13 PM »
Has anyone had any success removing stones stuck on with white glue such as GemTac? I've read that nail varnish remover or acetone (where does one buy that?) is the way to go but I thought some of you may have advice from personal experience.

I've been unwell again today (yet another reappearance of the wretched bug) so I've been mostly sleeping and surfing the internet. I found several YouTube channels of Russian makers of rhythmic gymnastic makers which I found fascinating, even the ones without English subtitles, and saw how they used an iron to set hotfix stones and the same to remove them without any apparent damage to the fabric.

I only just saw this so might be to late to help but I've taken them off to do alterations in two ways - both leave residue so only suitable if you are hiding in a seam or putting them back on:-

I have soaked in water till the glue goes white and picked off with my nails - not the nicest job but it works. I was careful for colour run.

I have also used an iron with steam to loosen the glue - the heat and steam seem to work quite well - and pick off. Again I had to be careful with heat around lycra.

I always end up with horrible nails and hands after removing crystals.

Al

3
The Show Must Go On / Re: stretch collars
« on: April 13, 2019, 19:05:10 PM »
Wow! That's stunning. And thanks for sharing what you've done. How does the back do up?
Its a zip up the back to the nape and studs in the collar.  I was originally going to take the zip to the top but decided that might not be secure enough, would be a problem with hair and also at the thick collar seam, so I had to fold in the collar raw edges and attach studs. That has made it a bit bulky. I will probably unpick at the back of the collar and neaten this. The lovley people on the Spandex Dosent Scare me facebook forum suggested to use a stronger type of hooks and bars, or sew on transparent press studs.

4
The Show Must Go On / Re: stretch collars
« on: April 13, 2019, 11:47:50 AM »
This looks really distinctive @Alangus , I bet it looks bold on the floor. What have you used below the black mesh to get all those gold reflections?

Hi,

Thanks, its a gold holographic microdot lycra, like a mystique. I got it from Trim It. It looks nice, think it would make a cool bomber jacket for me!!
Here is the costume so far, I think we are going to change it to skirted and add some fringe.

5
The Show Must Go On / stretch collars
« on: April 12, 2019, 21:14:55 PM »
This is really an update since a couple of people helped me with advice on this collar. I made a leotard with a stand up mandarin collar, in case anyone is interested this is what I did:

I drafted a mandarin collar as you would for woven fabric and split it at the CB and added a bit extra at the CB for seams etc. I made it with the same fabrics for lining the inside as the outside, though next time, because it is a bit bulky, I think I'd just use a stiff power net inside. The collar pieces are sewn RS to RS and under stitched along the top seam to the inside. All stitching was in ZZ.
I put the collar on to the main leotard applying a little stretch but not as much as I usually would for a full leotard collar. The I topstitched the collar seam allowance to the leotard, to help it stand up. It works nicely.

 

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The Show Must Go On / Re: Dyeing embroidered appliqués
« on: April 02, 2019, 06:47:17 AM »
Hi Marniesews,

As you probably know - dye makes a kind of molecular bond with the fibre and usually needs a chemical and or heat catalyst. Paint sits on top of the fibre, kind of glued to it.

For painting I think Jacquard Dye-na-flow would be good, its a very thin paint. If used with their Air Fix product you dont have to heat fix it.

If you want to dye it, Idye poly is for polyester and I think it dyes other synthetics too. You have to use heat and dye in a pot on the stove - you cant paint it.

I havent used dye-na-flow on very much and only tested it on lace. It makes it a bit stiff and the lace looses some of its lustre. But, because its paint its easy to use and mixcolours.

Acid dye is great with nylon but I dont think much lace is nylon.

so thats my 10 pence worth, Im
no expert, ive just played around and experimented alot. There are some good books out there in dyeing if u go down that route.

Ive also tested procion type dyes on viscose and cotton lace - they can also be painted on but there is a bit of prep & some other chemicals to use - try googling procion dyes + lace

7
Thank you for the tip @Alangus . That sounds like a must-see for my list. Do you have any great value sources for lycra fabrics in London including prints?

I've still not found my way to Goldhawk Rd but am not sure if I can expect to find much of it there although I'm thinking they may have lots of fancy stuff & lace for ballroom skirts.

Hi Marniesews

Goldhawk Road would be good for ballroom skirts and embellishments. It has all sorts of shops that sell many types of fabrics - its great for silks (satin, habotae, sandwashed, chiffon, crepe, twill, taffeta - all kinds) embellished silks, sequins, laces, polyester satins, chiffons, crepes etc, cottons and printed cottons, African prints. There is a shop that sells a lot of end of line liberty print fabrics. In terms of stretch fabrics there are a few places that sell lycra, stretch net and power mesh, metallics, stretch sequins and velours. There are many places that sell nice laces and shiny things. The places I would try for Lycra and mesh are Classic Textiles, A One Fabrics, A to Z fabrics and Tonis Textiles (all at the Goldhawk Road tube end). Id walk towards Shepherds bush end for laces, silks etc - Goldbrick Fabrics has some beautiful things - laces and embellished and UK fabrics has amazing Italian silks in his basement area.

I like Rolls and Rems - there are two branches I think, they have lycra as well as dressmaking fabrics, cottons, sparkly things and various others - the prices are good - probably about the same as Goldhawk Road. Dalston Mill Fabrics in Ridley Road market sells some lycra, some metallics, lots of sequins -  and a wide variety of fabrics that look like they would be suitable for dance wear and theatre. I have not bought much there though, just browsed. Like Goldhawk Road - both of those are about what is there at the time.

There is also a Fabricland in Kingston - not too far - they do sell lycra and stretch, though I have not bought them. You can check out their website and ring in advance to see if it is in stock - sometimes the website has vouchers for money off if you buy in store. I buy from them online sometimes and just bought about 10m of poly habotae and chiffon for a school production - the prices were excellent for that quantity.

I think the lycra in all the above places was cheaper than Chrisanne or Trim and either the same as or more expensive than Tia Knight. The thing is that they are all different weights, feels, quality. I like the consistency and quality and fibre content of Chrisannes lycra, stretch net and mesh - but it all depends on what you are doing.

If I had to choose between the three places I'd go to Goldhawk Road because there are so many shops.

Berwick Street also has some very nice fabric shops - more expensive though and more woven than stretch and dance wear as far as I know. Several of them supply the film and tv costume industry with lovely fabrics - especially Borovicks, and The Berwick Street Cloth Shop, but there are loads more. I wouldn't go to Berwick street if I was on a tight budget though.

For non lycra fabrics I like to check out Woollcrest, its a big warehouse in Hackney that has lots of rolls of end of line fabrics. The are great for wool and also have  t-shirt fabrics, poly chiffons, crepes, satins, masses of crystal organza, printed cottons and viscose, and lots of linen and calicos. They also usually have a section with sequinned and lace fabrics, they sometimes have crochet lace and giuypure lace, and some basic tulle/net, there is sometimes stretch lace but not of the best quality. The quality is not high end, though occasionally you will find something amazing, but the prices are very good - poly organza and poly chiffon is £1.50/£2 a metre, Ive bought silk chiffon for £4 per m but they don't always have silk. However you can never rely on anything being in stock as it changes all the time. The wool selection is, however, always amazing and seems to be mostly £5-£7 a metre for some really lovely fabric. Oh and fake fur too, and upholstery fabric at great prices for very nice cloth. Its more a go and see what you can find kind of place. I bought lots of fabric there for a school production, when you buy a whole new roll the prices are even better - it is good for that kind of thing. Don't expect too much customer service though, its not like a shop, you just go and rummage and find what you need. Nothing is marked with a price you have to ask.

Phew! writing that allowed me to procrastinate about a load of other things :- - Hope is helps - I'd be happy to do a fabric meet up with you sometime if you like.

Al

8
I know Fan trimmings - they have some nice things and its really packed. I also like Barnet Lawson  which is quite near to FAN - its a bit different - less sparkly embellishments and lots of fringes, elastics, beads, appliqués at good prices. It is in a basement and you have to ring the bell but its very friendly.

9
The Show Must Go On / stand up collars
« on: January 08, 2019, 15:20:14 PM »
I'm in the middle of creating stand up collars for a couple of leotards and am just wondering what you all think of my construction plan - and if anyone has any better way to do it. 

These collars will be open, rather than the type that encircle the neck. Ive attached two photos of Polina Schmatko and Ksenya Moustafaeva in leotards with collars that are a little bit similar to what I am aiming for in terms of the open front but mine will be simpler!. (These amazing leotards were made by the Russian designer/maker Svetlana Gerasimova).

One will be a bit like a mandarin collar that is open at the front - very simple. The other leotard is to have applique like petals and giuypure lace that stand up against the sides and back of the neck but open at the front. I dont want to applique onto full mesh collar as the gymnast wants it open at the front.  I know how to pattern cut colllars, how to pattern cut and sew for stretch and how to work with appliques and some 3d elements but Ive not made a collar like that on a leotard before and just wanted a second opinion.

My plan is just to create a base 3/4 width collar in two layers of lycra and some powermesh and to use that as the base. I will draft it with some -ve ease - maybe 5 - 10 % but not too much since it will be open. However I think it needs some -ve ease so that it will stand up against the neck. I was thinking to attach it in the normal way for a stretch collar - giving it a bit of stretch when sewing it on and topstitching the seam to the leotard to help the collar stand up.  What do you think?

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The Show Must Go On / Re: glass sew on stones
« on: November 29, 2018, 16:47:34 PM »
Just wanted to follow up to say thank you for the tip - rhinestones HQ were very helpful and sent out a chart and I bought a few single stones to see them. Ive just bought some smaller ss sizes just now that I like. Great tip- thanks so much.

I can't suggest strong purple sew-on stones, Alangus but I can suggest one very good UK source of excellent budget rhinestones in general.

I've been loathe to mention them unless requested simply because there's so much "anything that isn't Swarovski/Preciosa isn't good enough" attitude around and as their price is only a tiny fraction of the others, I'm not prepared to face the dismissive judgmental comments based on big brand blindness.  This is based on my FB experience rather than here, I hasten to add, but it makes me reticent nevertheless.

The ones I've used since Sept 2016 always get compliments and at their price we can actually afford the level of stones often used in the ballroom and to encrust her shoes too. I've made her bangles with them to match her various dresses too - the 2 row ones are about 150 stones and the 3 about 225 so she'd be lucky to have one pair in Swarovski! She wears some bought Swarovski accessories such as choker and earrings (Christmas presents) and they are certainly not overpowered by them. In fact she's not asked for Swarovski since she realised just how good ours looked next to them. I tried to video one leotard just now but even though they're blinding under my table lamp, it just isn't picked up the same by my camera.

Do try a free sample and judge for yourself. They have big sew-on stones (crystal ab only) although imo their cut isn't proportionally as detailed as the Preciosa ones I have and imperfections in the ab coating can be seen closeup but still look very good in performance. Their other stones (generally ss16-30 in colours, ss10-40 in crystal ab) are very good indeed both in hotfix and non-hotfix. I use the latter generally but have used hot-fix with glue with just one occasion when a few came off and they replaced them all foc without question and without me even asking - great service and a very reliable and trustworthy supplier. They also have half pearls at very low prices, perfect for a one-wear outfit and even some ready-stoned lace appliqués. I can recommend Rhinestone HQ without reservation. They are on Facebook and online, even their basic delivery almost always arrives the next day and the owner Zeynep Jennings has rushed off an urgent order to me within minutes of my message enquiry to her.

They are currently in the process of moving over to a replica 2088 cut stone in crystal ab so their previous stock (that I'm still using) is currently being sold off at a really low price.

  Foxtrot navy yoke & sleeves - Swarovski choker ss30 with Rhinestone HQ stones ss10/16/20 on dress

The teardrop stones are all sew-on



Set of bangles with SS16 stones

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The Show Must Go On / Re: Dyeing polyester lace motifs for dance costumes
« on: October 06, 2018, 22:45:22 PM »
Hi Marniesews

I think it was you I replied to on the Spandex forum (sorry if im worng) to say I had had success with i dye poly. Ive used it on several bits of 100% guipure lace, some big bits of 100% poly stretch mesh, some 100% poly georgette for skirts and some lengths of poly habotai. It has to be hot and sometimes it takes a while to get a deep colour, I found that the heat really creased the habotai and it took a fair bit of ironing and steaming to get it out - probably should press it damp. It is not as easy as dyeing nylon or silk with acid dye but it worked out ok for my needs - the colours were good. I wasn't doing anything very complicated, just plain or ombre dyes, I didnt need to do any specific colour mixing or matching and the results did not have to be precise. Only thing was that the fabric smelled awfull and needed several washes which made me think that the chemicals must be quite strong. I remember some peple talking about ombre dyeing using idye poly on the old sewing forum - shame that resouce has gone - it was great.
Good luck

Al

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A bit of a 'do' / Re: A purple velvet ball gown, or, what was I thinking?
« on: September 04, 2018, 21:26:17 PM »
Wow what a lot of work. It is lovley and you look really great in it, it suits you. Did you add any boning or bra cups to keep the top in the right place?

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The Show Must Go On / Re: moisture wicking, cooling sports fabric
« on: August 21, 2018, 21:36:29 PM »
I know nothing about technical fabrics, but just want to say Evening Primrose Oil - high dosage.   ;)

Thanks - great idea. I take it sometimes anyway so I'll try more. ((When I was in my late 20s I had a high dose prescribed on the NHS for breast pain. In the early 2000s the NHS removed it as a prescription drug because they said that there was not enough proof that it worked for everyone - though they did agree it worked for some people. What a shame, I think thousands of people did well on it.))

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The Show Must Go On / moisture wicking, cooling sports fabric
« on: August 21, 2018, 19:53:01 PM »
Hi Everyone,

Hope you have had nice summers. Im planing to make some sportswear for myself for a change and am wondering if anyone has any tips on where to buy those 'technical' moisture wicking cooling fabrics that are nice to wear when you are sweaty. I'm also starting to have, what I think, are pre menopausal hut flushes :devil:, some months I have days when I have about 10 - 20 a day for a few days. Im going to try and make some tops from sports fabric to see if that helps me feel more comfortable.
Im thinking I'll try with 'meryl' and 'supplex' - and I'd be grateful for any recomendations on other fabrics and where to get them, or even names of fabric that I can follow up.
Thanks very much in advance.

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Thanks for your nice comments, its always good to talk to other people who know how long things take to make!

@eclectic I didn't time it because it was not a commission but I think it took about 60 hours - for the measuring, pattern making, fittings, dyeing, sewing, painting, embellishing. I had to do various batches of dyeing because some was nylon and some polyester and I wanted various different colours and shades. Acid dyeing nylon is quite fast if its only small quantities of fabric. The thing that took longest was just working out where to put all the bits and sewing them together.

I've only made about 20 competition leotards (so not 100s) but I think that between 25 and 60 hours is a good estimate depending on how elaborate the costume is and whether you need to draft a pattern etc. I'm not including in that estimate the amount of time I spend making sample sections and strips.

@Twan - yes Jacquard paints are lovley, I like the dye-na-flow. I like the dyes from Kemtex as its a good price and they give great advice but Jacquard do have a lovley range. I find that the paint tends to rub off - which I suppose is to be expected with a dance or gym costume - how do you find them?  I try to use acid dyes (on nylon lycra and mesh) when I can because the colour is deep and rich, but the dye can run when the fabric is washed so that can present issues with dyeback onto pale areas. I'd be interested to compare with what other people do.

@Marniesews  - hand cramp - that made me laugh, I got it last week removing crystals and unpicking another costume. Remember getting it at school during exams!

Al

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