Project Diary: Bollywood Dance Costumes Day 2 & 3

Probably the least enjoyable part of creating garments en mass is the tedium of cutting out all the pieces. For each costume, there are 7 separate components. Multiply that by 25 and divide by the several size variations. Brain meltdown is inevitable.

Multi size pattern can be taken in at the centre front to accommodate narrow shoulders and smaller busts.

Bodice fronts and backs all cut out.

Never dismiss the important step of logistics. I did take the time to think about the most efficient way to go about the entire process from start to finish and also stopped to double check that my math was correct somewhere in the middle. In the past I have been impatient which results often in more work  in the long run due to silly human error.

Smaller components cut and organized into bags and bins.

One thing I’m glad I did was to cut all the smaller waist pieces and bodice fronts first. These were parts that could only be cut in a single layer due to the nature of the fabrics. After those, I could cut the rest of the main body segments of the leotard from stacked fabric using my Olfa rotary knife,  creating multiples of each item in one go. The last element will be full circle skirts cut from stretch mesh. And lots of gold trim!

Next it’s on to assembly!

Love Heather