Confession: Sometimes I’m Handy

 I’m not usually a handy type of gal. Power tools and I don’t really get along. In fact, I struggle to cut wood in a straight line and never find a stud to drill into the first time. Or the third or fourth time, for that matter  

Hand me some fabric and thread and I can do amazing things!! …not so much in the world of power tools and mechanical thingys. 

So those times I do attempt to be handy and I actually succeed, I own it!! It’s like a natural high I ride as long as I can!

Recently, I fixed the dryer at work. 

The DRYER. 

AT WORK. 

Not my own dryer at home, where if I ended up ruining it, I would only have to admit defeat to myself.  And probably my husband (who isn’t handy either, so he’d understand).

No. 

The dryer at work, where if I ruined it, I would have to explain to my boss what in the world I was thinking in attempting to fix an appliance with absolutely no experience whatsoever. 

But guess what??

I FIXED IT!!!

And I made a video of the Marco Polos I sent to my boss and my best friend during my handyman adventure. 

I even put it to music. 

You’re welcome. 

So, if you ever think you can’t do hard things, just watch this video. 

If I can do it, so can you!

BAM 💥 

https://youtu.be/dLPeMPvIM84

Confession: Dress Rehearsal is my FAVORITE!

 Granted, it is stressful and chaotic and sometimes I just need to step out into the hall and take some deep, cleansing breaths—but it really is my favorite part of being a costume designer.

It just thrills me to see all my designs and creations on stage with the lights, set and music!

My most recent project was costuming Aladdin, Jr and Aladdin, Kids. 

Yes, you read that right.

TWO shows.

At the same time. 

You might think it would be easy since they’re basically the same story.

You might also think it would be easy since it was one class that was split, so theoretically the same costumes could be used for both productions.

And if I told you that I costumed Aladdin, Jr a few years ago, you might think that I could use the same costumes for this production, thus reducing my workload.

You would be wrong on all three counts.

Aladdin, Jr was the 4^th show I ever costumed.  It was during the very first season at On Pitch Performing Arts in Layton.  We had practically no resources and even less budget.  If I remember correctly, there were around 16 kids in the class, and I constructed part or all of each of their costumes.  And the only kid who had a costume change was Aladdin when he changed into Prince Ali.

Fast forward 5 years and I am costuming the same show (plus a shortened version) with around 35 kids—

In.  Each.  Cast.

Roughly 70 kids.

That’s 70 Agrabahns.

So.  Many.  Harem pants.

But I digress…

It turned out that the average size of the younger class (8-10 year olds) was youth 8/10, while the average size of the older class (11-18 year olds) was adult medium. 

Oof.

So basically, every kid needed a costume.

70 costumes.

Well, 70 base costumes, and then the costume changes…

Here’s the long and the short of it:

After 350 hours

Constructing 94 costumes

For 65 kids

Sewing 60 harem pants

Making 18 turbans

Working for 5 months

Costuming 2 casts

                                                                           I did it!

And I love it!!  This project was such a labor of love, and it was so satisfying to see all my hard work on the stage.  The kids get so excited when they get their costumes and their characters really come to life on the stage during the dress rehearsals.

So, even though I have spent many late nights sewing—

My family hasn’t seen me in weeks—

Sometimes the kids aren’t as careful with their costumes as I would like—

And I leave the first dress rehearsal with a long list of things to be tweaked, adjusted, pulled, or fitted—

 Dress rehearsal is my FAVORITE!!

Collars for Lion King, Jr. - A Tutorial of Sorts

Pinterest is a Godsend.

Literally.

I feel that Pinterest is INSPIRED.

Hallelujah!!!

I find 98% of my costume inspiration on Pinterest.

PINSPIRATION.

God bless Pinterest.

Anywho...

Have you ever found an amazingly fantastic tutorial on Pinterest, only to find that when you click on the link, the author has decided to detail their entire life story on the same post, and you have to scroll for like five minutes just to find the instructions on how to make whatever it was that you were trying to make??

Ugh.  

Just get to the tutorial already!!

I will never do that.

Just sayin'.

So, without further ado, here's how I made some pretty cool collars for the lioness kids in our Lion King, Jr. class:

**Disclaimer:  I had to piece this collar together because I ran out of big pieces of fur... so disregard the patched-together seams...

Step 1:  MAKE A PATTERN

I used some fur fabric for the top and an old sheet for the bottom.  

I traced a large circle on  the outside and a smaller circle on the inside, and then cut through from the outside to the middle, to make a flap I could put snaps on.

Step 2:  SEW ON THE LINE

Because I really didn't think ahead when I made the "pattern", I didn't account for seam allowance... so I just sewed on the line.  

Step 3:  TRIM

Remember that missing seam allowance from my "pattern"?  Look!  I found it!!

HERE'S A TIP:  When you sew curves and then want to turn your item right side out, you will need to get rid of bulk on inside curves and add some stretch to outside curves.  How do you do that??  CLIP YOUR CURVES.  Notches for inside curves and clip outside curves.

Step 4:  TURN

Not like in a circle.  Turn the collar right side out.  See how nicely it came out?  Aren't you so glad that you NOTCHED the inside curves and CLIPPED the outside curves??

Step 5:  PIN

Finger press the seams along the edges (that means pinch them between your finger and thumb), then pin them.

Turn the raw edges in and pin them closed

Step 6:  TOP STITCH

Top stitch along all of the edges, including the raw edges you pinned.

Yay!!  You did it!  

And now to add embellishments...

You can sew them on or glue them on.  

Sewing lasts longer, gluing is easier.

 

Here's my finished product

Confession: I may or may not dread Picture Day

I survived Picture Day.

BARELY.

My current project is The Lion King, Jr. 

The show is double cast, with about 25 kids per cast.  Thankfully, double casting means that I don’t have to make a costume for every single child because the kids can share with their doubles!  Hallelujah!! 

Still, there are about 40 costumes to construct… whew!

Aside from opening night, this is perhaps the MOST anticipated (and dreaded) day during the entire run of the show.

The costumes, the makeup, the hats and accessories.

The chaos, the confusion, the questions and critiques.

I love to see my costume creations come alive on stage!  

But it’s a long and bumpy road from concept to completion.

Back to Picture Day…

The buildup to picture day this time included long days and late nights of last-minute costume sewing, as well as farming out projects to family and friends with a looming deadline.

After working well past midnight the night before, I woke up knowing that I wasn’t going to make it. 

There just wasn’t enough time!!

There had been too many unforeseen circumstances that put me behind.

The panic set in, my heart pounding and my stomach in knots.

If a child didn’t have a costume, would they feel left out and be scarred for the rest of their lives?

Would I get nasty grams from upset parents who paid good money to get a picture of their kid in costume??

Would my own children forever resent me for choosing this insane career that required long hours and time away from home???

I got the big kids off to school, tossed some fishy crackers to the little kids, turned on a movie to entertain them, and picked up where I had left off the night before.

I ran out of bobbin thread.  (Why don’t these things hold more thread??)

I cut my finger with the scissors.  (What the…?  I haven’t done that in forever!)

I changed a poopy diaper.  (Is there ever a convenient time to do that??)

I put in a new movie and threw more crackers at the kids.  (They saw through this charade and demanded more attention than I could give them)

Thankfully, my mom came over to help.  (Bless that woman!!)

Lunchtime already?? How did that happen??

After feeding the kids and getting them down for naps, I left the kids with my mom and sped over to the theater.

2 hours until pictures.

Fueled by some sugary junk food and the three hours of sleep I had gotten the night before, I persevered.

With the help of the Producer and the Theater Admin, we feverishly worked to ensure that each child had something to wear in the pictures. 

One hour left.

We hot glued, spray painted, duct taped, and sewed with chaotic intensity.

30 minutes until go time.

THE MANES!!!  I HADN’T FINISHED THE MANES!!  This is LION KING for goodness sake!  THEY NEED MANES!!!

Wiping away the sweat and tears, I pressed the pedal to the metal.  

Ten minutes.

People coming into my sewing room asking me questions I didn’t have answers for.

People running errands for me.

People wondering why I looked like a woman possessed.  (Really though, this isn’t something new)

Two minutes.

“I ONLY NEED TEN MORE MINUTES!!!” I shout hysterically, then look up to see it’s the Producer I just yelled at.  Oops.  Sorry about that.

And then the real insanity begins.

The questions start to pelt me like annoying little nerf darts. You know the ones.  Soft and squishy?  Sure, unless they come in a tidal wave and consume you!

“How do you want this makeup done?” “Does this lion need ears?” “Does this hyena have a headpiece?” “How does this costume go together?” “These pants are too big…” “There’s a tag scratching my neck…” “If I rub my nose like this, will my makeup smear?” “I forgot to wear underclothes, can I change in the bathroom?” “How does this cape attach?” “Do we have any safety pins?” “Do you have any bobby pins?” “Was I supposed to bring shoes?” “Is it my turn yet??”

Faces blur past me as I supervise the cacophony of kids, parent volunteers, and costumes.

Finally, FINALLY, everyone has a costume and all of the kids are happily lined up for pictures.

The dressing room is quiet.

The adults are left looking around in stunned silence at the carnage of clothing and hangers strewn about the room.

We made it. 

We did not fail.

We stayed the course and fought a good fight.

OH, SWEET MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY—WE DID IT!

SUCCESS!!

I collapse into the nearest chair.

…and then the second cast comes bounding into the dressing room like a pack of wild animals.