Studio Davina

This is part two of a multi-part series where I share the design and construction process for a glamorous show-girl style costume I’m calling the “Golden Goddess.”  If you haven’t checked out part 1, you might want to go here to start this series from the beginning.  To start at the beginning of this series click here.

The Design Process

Let’s get real.  Planning, budgeting, sourcing, and organization aren’t the most glamorous parts of costume creation.  So before we can get to the second fitting stage where we have a lovely garment, I need to step through the dull, yet essential planning and prep steps.

Set up Project Boxes

The project boxes are where I stash all the materials and supplies as I source them.  Every project gets at least one box. However, due to the complexity of the design, this project has two boxes.  One holds the fabrics including the cotton lining, micro-sequin, passementerie lace for the bedlah set.  The materials box also contains the skirt’s accent fabric, a polyester mesh with gold polka dots.

This project also requires smaller embellishment box that holds all of the surface embellishments.  For this costume, there’s sew-on rhinestones, sequin-on-string, and rhinestone chain in various sizes. At the end of each project, I sort the leftover materials into their proper storage locations leaving this box free for the next costume.  I think I’ve had this flip-top shoebox for more than 20 years and have used it for hundreds of projects.

Revise the Design

While it’s good to have a preliminary design when you are planning the costume, it’s just the first drawing. While you might have a great concept for the style, cut, and embellishment of your costume, you might find it difficult to source the materials needed to fully realize your design.

For this costume, we selected materials and supplies from various places both locally and via mail order from a variety of websites.  Once the materials have been gathered, it’s time to spread them out and see if the initial design will work.  In this case, I needed to do a redesign, as the large square rhinestones were proportionally too big for my initial design.

In the picture at right, you can see my preliminary costume sketch on the top right of the page.  But once all of the materials were in my hands, I realized that I need to make some adjustments.  The adjusted costume is on the bottom left. We also looked at the budget and our materials and decided to simplify the design.  This is a page from my studio log book that I use to record my project notes.

Communicating with Clients

I use my studio log book to hold all my project notes, measurements, and rough sketches. This is often quite raw and not very visually appealing. So when I’m working with a client, I use a Project Planner form. This document is used for costume planning.

On this document, I include notes about my dancer’s needs, a sketch of the garment, a list of materials and supplies, and preliminary dates for the first, second, and final fittings.   It’s important at this stage of the game to communicate openly and transparently with your client and establish a timeline for the project. You might look at this form and wonder where the financial information is located.  I use a good old fashioned two-part receipt book for financial info.  The customer will get one half, and I will keep the other.   I always date the Project Planner sheet, scan it, and give my client a copy, and put the original in a client binder. If you like this form, I sell it as part of my Studio Log & Planner printable on Etsy.com.

Create the Build List

Each and every costume I build is unique, so I always make sure to make a build list or order of construction for the project. The build list steps through the process and workflow of costume creation. From the abstract tasks of designing a costume with a sketch and flat illustration to the more concrete tasks like making the pattern or sewing a seam, the build list helps me keep track of what still needs to be done and where I am in the project.

I refer to the build list before each work session so that I keep on track. Checking off the steps is very satisfying and keeps me on track. Sometimes I realize that I’ve missed something because it’s on the build list and not checked off.  If you look carefully at this list, you will see that I completely disregarded constructing the straps. As I took a photo for this blog post, I realized I had missed them.  I went into the fitting with the client missing straps, so we did the fitting with plain grosgrain ribbon. While this isn’t a great tragedy, it did impact how the costume looked at the time of the fitting!

Although I picked up my current to do notebook in the UK, I have in the past used a similar one like this.  However, any notebook will work for this organization method.

Make a “Realistic” schedule

How fast do you sew?  After working on for clients, friends, family, and on my own projects for more than 25 years, I’ve got a good idea of how fast I can sew.  But I’m limited in how many hours a day I can physically maintain my peak performance sewing.

For this ensemble, I’m spending 16 hours on the bra and belt, and 5 hours on the skirt.  However, though you might look at those numbers and think, “Wow, that can be done in a week!” I have to consider my limited “per-day” requirement.  So I’m allowing a full month to finish this entire ensemble.

Another component of scheduling is planning client meetings. When I’m working with clients, we schedule three meetings. There’s an initial consultation, a first fitting, and a second fitting. We have already had our initial meeting where we decided on a budget and style.  The First fitting will happen next week.  Before the first fitting, I need to have all of the components of the bra and belt finished for this try-on.  If there are any design changes or adjustments necessary, this is the time we make those choices and adjust the production schedule.

Tracking for Business

I use a vertical planner as a time tracker and business log.  As you can see in the image above, when I am working on one or more sewing projects, I assign that project a color.  Then when I’m working on the costume, I log it in my book.  I use a waterproof pen so I can go over the words with a highlighter. Using this system, I can see at a glance how many hours I’ve worked on sewing projects.  If I have more than one project under construction, I will choose a different color highlighter.  Since I charge by the hour, keeping accurate track of my billable hours is essential for me to accurately bill my color.  I’ve been using the Passion Planner for the past several years, but you can find loads of vertical planners and if I were to switch to another brand, I might consider this planner or this one.

If you have any questions about how I track and log my sewing projects, come join the conversation.  I have an active FaceBook group where you can ask questions, share sewing and costuming project, and commiserate over sewing projects.

Happy Costuming,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
February 25, 2019

First Post in this series – https://www.davina.us/blog/2019/01/golden-part-1/
Next Post in this series – Coming Soon

After taking a month off in December of 2018, I’m now diving back into a project that I began last summer.  I sometimes am asked why I need so much “lead time” to make a costume, and the answer is simple.  Everything takes time.  From designing the initial concept to meetings, fittings, patternmaking, and sewing, there’s simply a lot to do for each garment.  In this blog post, I’m going to map out the steps that I take when working with a client to design a custom costume.

Last year, I completed this lovely ensemble for Bay Area professional dancer, Shalimar. I was thrilled that she was happy with the performance and audience response to this costume.  She commissioned a new costume that we are calling “The Golden Goddess.”

Shalimar’s Idea: A head to toe gold and rhinestone costume suitable for close-up performances in dark restaurants. 

Design Brief

When I’m working on a project with a customer, it’s a good idea to create a design brief and project contract.  This can be a formal negotiation with a contract or an informal goals list.  Every designer is different, but at a bare minimum, you want your contract to include budget, timeline, and costume summary. For more detail about the design brief, check out this blog post.

Initial Sketch

Once you have hammered out the fine points of your contract, it’s time to design. For the Golden Goddess costume, I did these initial design sketches.

I generally have some ideas on the types of materials we are considering for use in this costume.  For the Golden Goddess, we choose a micro-sequin base with individual rhinestones, rhinestone chain, and sequin on string.

This type of sketch is called a flat, and I like to draw in pencil on gridded paper to help maintain the proportions of the costume.  These initial sketches are a point of discussion and development when working with the customer.  Often these designs will be refined and adjusted as the project progresses.

Budget

Agreeing on a budget is always an important part of the contract between designer and client. In my business, the budget is broken into two parts.

Cost of Materials

When calculating the total cost of a project, I always begin with materials.  The materials, fabrics, and trims that you choose to use in your costuming project play the biggest role in determining how lush or sparse a costume will appear.  Often, more expensive fabrics are so spectacular, they require less work to craft into a show-stopping costume.  As a designer, I always have estimates of what each element in the costume will cost when budget planning.

Cost of Labour and Time

The second part of the budget is my labor and time. My time falls into three categories.  The first is design services, and that’s the time it takes to sketch the designs, source materials, project planning and set up. The second category of the budget is time. This includes meeting times, fitting, and shopping and sourcing time. The third section is sewing and construction. This is simply the time I spend during the build of the costume.  With experience, I’ve learned how much time it takes to design, source materials, and construction, so my estimates are accurate, barring design changes.

Sourcing Materials

Once my client and I have decided on a design, set a budget, and tentatively chosen the materials and supplies needed for a design, we begin sourcing materials. Sometimes my clients arrive with fabric and all we need to buy are the things we need to complete a garment. Often my customers like to buy their materials on their own.  For this Golden Goddess costume, my client authorized me to make all the purchases necessary to complete the costume.

For the Golden Goddess ensemble, we are using gold micro-sequin cloth, individual rhinestones, and rhinestones on chain.  For speed and convenience, I wound up purchasing most of the materials and supplies from Amazon.  I do not have a great selection of fabric stores in my area so I will frequently resort to internet shopping to get the price and quantities I need to craft my ensembles.  We had to allow time for all the materials and supplies to arrive before beginning the costume.  Sourcing took about three months last summer.

Create a Project Box

As we gather the materials and supplies, I create a project box that will contain all of the design elements in one convenient location.  I will label it with the customer’s name and place it on a shelf in my sewing studio.  When it’s time to work on a costume, I can easily pull down their box and dive into the project with a minimum of hassle and running around.

All of these steps are part of my design flow that helps me move from a rough concept to finished costume.  Every designer, costumer, or seamstress will have a different process.  I hope that this process break down inspires you!

Happy Costuming and Dance,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
January 9, 2019