Detail of the right ceenter of Assiut Bra. You can really see how many little darts I pinned into place to get those radiating lines.
Hello Friends in Dance and Costuming,
At the end of day three of this assiut challenge, and what have I got done? Well, most of the bra and a pinned together skirt. Today, I spent quite a bit of time fiddling with the numerous darts. Usually, when I’m covering a bra, I use one or two darts. But in this case, I was attempting to divide the darts, spreading out excess fabric, so that under each strip is a mini dart. I started with the top three strips at the tops of each cup and adjusted and fiddled with each subsequent stripe, trying to make the right side match. Moving from one side to the other ensures that the stripes are as symmetrical as I can get them. I invested quite a bit of time positioning each stripe and dart, nearly three hours! And boy, did I used a LOT of those whimsical (yet dull) pins!
Each stripe had to be carefully pinned into place one at a time to create good symmetry.
I always pin and look Pin and look. Pin and Look. At one point, I actually made sure all the little tips were buried and tried it on! When I was satisfied with the position of the stripes, I then and made sure that the darts were all carefully folded and tucked.
Here you can see me slipping a finger into one of these numerous small darts.
And then I sewed like mad!
Hours later, several cups of coffee and a lot of TV. (Yeah Project Runway, Chopped, and Engineering an Empire to name a few who kept me company while my head was down and my needle was up!)
Assiut Bra Cups – Nearly done!
Sadly, I did all this stitching in black thread, so it’s difficult to see the details, but here’s the best shot I could get.
Detail of the right ceenter of Assiut Bra. You can really see how many little darts I pinned into place to get those radiating lines.
And I’m done for day three. What’s left to do? First, I need to come up with a solution to make the center front of the bra beautiful and finished. In the photo above, you can see the thickness of the pleated fabric. I’m going to the show tomorrow, and I will search the dealer’s room tables for a piece of jewelry. Alternately, I can place a fabric applique over the exposed triangle of bra.
Tonight, I’m packing my sewing kit up, the scraps of assiut, my books, patterns and heading over to the show tomorrow morning. If you’re in San Diego, stop by Bedouin Bazaar, drop by my booth and say “HI,”
I’ll work on that center front panel tomorrow! ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Bra Base for Quickie Assiut Costume - Frederick's of Hollywood Exxtreme Cleavage Bra
Hello Friends in Dance and Costuming,
It’s day two, and boy, am I worried about not getting this all done! But you know, I only really need to get it “done enough” because my motto of the moment is “Done is GOOD!” Actually, that’s sort of the motto for my whole life. With the skirt taken care of, with two cuts and 20 safety pins, it’s time to tackle project two, the bra. There really is no way to fake this bra. I’m just going to have to put my nose to the grindstone and stitch like mad!
First, I grabbed out my black bra. This is an Exxtreme Cleavage bra from Frederick’s of Hollywood. (Find it here) I’ve been wearing this style of bra for quite some time and have made dozens of belly dance costumes from this make. Although it’s a bit pricy, it really does create a gorgeous plunging cleavage line.
Bra Base for Quickie Assiut Costume – Frederick’s of Hollywood Exxtreme Cleavage Bra
I love this palm-tree motif with alternating short and tall palms. Before I started cutting, I played with the layout of these stripes on paper. Once I sketched out my possible designs, I wrote down my order of procedure, so I wouldn’t leave out any important steps. And in the spirit of full disclosure, here are my sketches. Thus proving, you don’t need to be a great artist to be a good costume designer.
Notes on assiut layout over cups. Man, I need to work on my penmanship before I share more prelimenary sketches! ! 😉
Okay – So now that I determined that I am insane for picking the hardest design I could come up with for this piece of assiut, it’s time to start applying the fabric to the bra. I start by laying out one cup first, measuring the cloth to make sure that if I cut the cloth, I still have enough fabric to make the other side. Thankfully, I do!
I like to begin at the main focal point, which for this bra is the center front.From the center front, I work outward along the upper edge of the cup. I decided to put in three tight bands of the palm-tree trunk pattern at the edge to make a very dense and eye-catching strip of silver.Once the upper edge is pinned into place, I return to the center front to make a series of little pleats, folding in the plain black under the palm-tree trunk stripes.Once the center front seemed densely silvered and lovely, I figured out which stripe I could use for the bottom edge. Here you can see the excess cloth is still attached. ALWAYS ALWAYS measure twice and cut once. (because fabric won’t grow back – darn!)Take a deep breath and cut. I know what you are thinking. I cannot cut assiut! But fear not – it’s just fabric. I’m using new assiut from Egypt. And while expensive, it’s not THAT expensive or difficult to get. Now – if you’ve got a VINTAGE piece, that’s a different story. Think long and hard before cutting into vintage assiut.Gently mold the cloth around the cup. Here, I’m making box pleats to bring the cloth into the arm hole side of the cup. My goal is to sport as much of the silver embroidery as possible. So I pleat carefully, making sure not to squash the cup down and loose the bra shape. Never pull, just smooth the cloth over the bra.After pinning the whole way around, I take a look at it now. Is there anything that looks off or jarring to my design eye? If so, now is the time to make any adjustments. Actually, I think this doesn’t look half bad, if I do say so myself!
JUST FOR THE RECORD – I HATE THESE PINS!!! I am traveling and some of my tools have gone missing. I ran out to the nearest pharmacy and got their only style of sewing pins. They remind me of Lucky Charms cereal. Blue Stars, Red Hearts, Yellow Butterflies. They are wimpy, dull, and are not coming home with me! I long for my lovely yellow-headed quilting pins and my sleek extra long silk pins. *sigh* Next week!
And now, it’s time to replicate this design on the other cup. Just a few words on this process. Follow the same steps in order, and you will get closer results. Don’t be shocked if you need to do more pinning and futzing with it to make it match. What ever you do, don’t sew down the first cup! You might find it easier to adjust both to match rather than trying to make one look just like the one you just sewed. Once you’ve sewn it, you’re not going to want to rip it out!
Now – it’s time to cover another cup. (This time I don’t have to stop to take pictures, Yeah!) and then the sewing like mad portion of the project begins. Check out the next post to see how it turns out. ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Sewing Assistant – Sammy waiting for me to drop something.. anything… There is nothing in the world as energetic and potentially dangerous than a 5mo old kitten!
PS – Special Thanks to Jamie Hanrahan for letting me use his dining room table, light and most importantly, the use of his sewing assistant Sammy. This beast is diabolically cute, but I miss my well-trained old-lady cat Sassy who is most expert at finding “the middle” of every piece of cloth. Just an FIY – Assiut is very very attractive to cats. It’s shiny metallic bits and open network are perfect for kitty claws. Protect your expensive fabric! And that was my public service announcement for the day! ~ DD~D
Inventory of existing pieces and materials on hand.
Hello Friends in Dance And Costuming,
OMG – I’m performing this weekend and I don’t have a thing to wear! This is a classic case of the cobbler’s kids have no shoes! How can I, a costume guru of sorts, appear at a show wearing.. well.. off the rack stuff? I’m going to put all my projects for the next three days on hold, changing my plans, and making a costume NOW. I frequently tell friends, clients and students that planning and executing a costume doesn’t have to cost a fortune or take a lot of time. SO – I’m going demonstrate in a quick series of blog posts which will document this quickie “made in a minute” costume.
Clock Starts NOW!
First Thing: Take Inventory and Make a Plan
My Motto: When time is tight, work with as many materials as you have on hand. I start out by making notes on what pieces I have to work with. Since I knew I was dancing, I brought along some basic costume pieces. I’m also working on a Costumes of the Maghreb, and doing some research on Assiut. (Which is spinning off into it’s own book because THAT chapter grew to epic proportions! More on that project to comes soon!) I do a lot of doodling while I’m making notes. Here’s my inventory on paper, complete with slopping short-hand notes and rough sketches.
Inventory of existing pieces and materials on hand.
Costume Goal: Put together an outfit that features MORE assiut.
First: I will make a quick-and-dirty panel skirt from the shawl. Second: Make a new bra using the plain black bra and left over scraps of assiut. Third: Create a headdress using assiut. Fourth: Make a hip sash from assiut. (I don’t think I’m going to make this one – but lets try!)
Down and Dirty Panel Skirt
So – I can take the shawl and turn it into a skirt. That was not my original plan for this piece of assiut, but it’s a simple matter of cutting it down the middle and putting a waist band onto it. Ooops – I don’t have a sewing machine. SO – I’m going to improvise with a bunch of large safety pins and pin a front and a back panel directly to my harem pants. I’m on the road, and while I have a small sewing kit with me, I just don’t take a sewing machine everywhere I go. When I get home, I’m going to take the time to turn this shawl into a proper panel skirt. For now, this is what I’m going to do:
1 – CUT – Since this shawl has a center panel, I’m going to cut to either side of the panel to preserve those useful motifs. I’m not terribly worried about the panel skirt being too short, as I can always add a yoke to bring it to the proper length when I get home.
Be Brave!
2 – PIN – I used about 20 pins in the process – 10 in the front and 10 in the back. I started by pinning down the sides where I wanted them. I then divided the fabric in half, to find the center, and then pinned the center of the panel to the center of the pants. Then I folded the fabric a bit to make it fit the width, pinning above the motifs so it will hang as straight as possible.
Yoked Harem Pants with Assiut Side Panels – Design by Anaar of Tombo Studios.When viewed from the inside, you can see that I placed a pin about every 4″ accross each panel
I would like to take a moment and thank my ancient Roman ancestors for inventing the Fibula, which evolved into the modern safety pin. Without you, this quick and new-sew skirt would not be possible. Thanks!
This pinned-in-place skirt is not a permanent or final solution. When I get home, this will become a finished skirt or perhaps some other garment, but for this weekend, it will function just fine as a quickie pinned on 2-panel skirt. A little short, but very very sweet.
Skirt Panel Safety Pinned to Pants – I call this project Done (enough for now)
Next Step: Assiut Bra – Check out the next post ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina
First Byzantium Collection Necklace - Cat's Eye by Davina
The Origins of a Jewelry Designer
The Byzantium Collection
As many of you have realized, 2011 marks a year of intensive change for me and my company. I moved into a new studio (just to find out that the building is slated for demolition and my time here is limited) and discovered all kinds of treasures. As I start purging the UFO’s (Un-Finished Objects) and sift through raw materials in preparation for using them or letting them go, I’m finding all sorts of lovely things that had gotten buried.
In one corner of the workroom is a pile of boxes full of beads and jewelry making supplies. I have already sent many of these supplies out into the world in the form of raw materials to fellow jewelry artists, finished pieces for my patrons, and even a few gifts to myself. As I’ve been working through a rather epic pile of tribal jewelry components, I found the very first piece of jewelry I designed and made myself.
I hired my good friend and jewelry mentor Laura Thompson of Beadzilla Jewelry to come and host a “ladies lunch & tea with jewelry” at my home. There were five of us around a table, crafting away, and I made this necklace from a handful of beads and a piece of kuchi jewelry I adored. Needless to say, I was instantly HOOKED on jewelry making and sucked up as much knowledge from Madame Beadzilla as I could. Before I knew it, I was making and selling jewelry as a creative side-line to my costumes. As time passed, I realized that jewelry making is fun, but it’s just one facet of my life as a designer. Now, I make jewelry when called upon to do so. I also make a few pieces and take them to art shows now and again. But the truth is, I’d rather be making a head-to-toe costume than just focusing on the neck. The Byzantium Collection is now created on a piece-by-piece custom for each client, sometimes even including a coordinating necklace. But I’ll always treasure this very first piece.
It’s fun to sometimes peek into the past and see the personal relics and marvel at how things got started. I’ve had a ton of fun as a jewelry artist. Be sure to try your hand at jewelry design at some point! Take a class, buy a book, or just get some materials to experiment with. It’s fun, relatively easy, and you never know where you it will end up. Enjoy! ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina
