Do you have a beaded bra that needs an upgrade?
But not sure where to start?
Altering a heavily decorated bra can be overwhelming and intimidating. But in this post, Chani, our alteration expert, will show you how she approached this refurbishment project on a bra covered with beads and stones. Enjoy 🙂
This, from the start, was the most challenging and time-consuming refurbishment project I have undertaken. It is a 1990s costume made for Nourhan Sharif by a costumer named Shadia, located in Boston. All of the rhinestones are plastic, some faceted, and some smooth. Some had been sewn in place, and some were glued with a hot glue gun. The strands of beads that created a foundation for some sections were also sewn on as ‘fringe.’ They are similar to the type of plastic string beads one finds in mardi gras necklaces but much smaller.
The costume had seen a lot of wear; in some places, the mardi gras beads had worn through their red finish to reveal the black plastic underneath. Many of the glued rhinestones were falling off, and some of the stitched ones had lost their threads and were also half-off.
The first dilemma was simply what to do with it! I wanted to preserve the overall ‘feel’ of the costume. It was handed down from Nourhan to my teacher, Tina Enheduanna, then to me; I am honored by that lineage and did not want to completely change the costume. Yet I felt it was ‘tired’ looking and needed some updating. But where to start. . .!
Tina had done some updates to the costume when she received it from Nourhan and passed on not only the costume but her box of beads and bag of fabric, trims, and notions. Unsure of how or where to start, I purchased some new plastic gems and other trims, hoping for inspiration.
The very first thing to do
The very first step was to remove the lining from the belt and bra. I saved the original designer’s label so I could sew it back in once the costume was done. (While it is a completely different costume now, I still feel it appropriate to credit the costume back to Shadia.) Some repairs and changes that had been made to the costume had been stitched through the lining, and therefore also had to be removed. I made sure to save every little stone and bit that came off for possible future use.
Issues with this bra
Once the lining was removed, I discovered a few issues.
First, the designer had used dark green felt as a stabilizer inside the costume. Where the thin, delicate costume fabric had worn through, the dark green was evident (and jarring). (Tip: keep all your materials as close to your exterior fabric as you can for this very reason; if she had used red felt, it would not be evident where the decorative fabric had been worn through.)
Second, there was simple wear and tear to the fabric along the edges that would need to be repaired somehow. Lining removed, I was still no closer to knowing what to do with the design of the costume.
I decided the place to start was by simply removing the mardi gras strands that hung free. I started with the bra and discovered that the cups were completely covered with gems – including under the hanging bead strands.
Of course, this would be desirable as a performer when the fringe moved, showing gems underneath. The density and glimmer of the stones felt compelling to me as being the primary feature of the bra. It was simply stunning. The bra’s back straps and the belt had lines of the same string beads sewn down flat in a wonderful pattern. By removing the tired, now stiff strings of beads, I was able to see these shapes and start to determine the new look of the costume.
The neck straps were also made of rows of the mardi gras beads stitched flat, but in some places, they were four strands wide, and in some five. I am too OCD for that and knew I would want to replace the straps with new ones. I removed the straps and set them aside for reference.
I preserved all the stuff I removed to reuse where needed. I also ordered one of my favorite tools, a small hand drill, for adding sewing holes to the rhinestones that had been glued on. (I will have a future post about this tool and how to use it; stay tuned!) While hot glue is fine for a quick fix, or a one-time use costume, I am old school when it comes to quality costuming, or something you really want to last (and be able to resell down the road!).
Once the hanging fringe was removed, and loose stones and strands removed, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the nature of the project. I still could not envision the finished costume, something I rely on heavily. When I make something from scratch or restyle or alter a costume, I generally know down to the small details what it will look like. It is all in my head; I don’t even need to sketch it out. However, this costume continued to elude me.
I decided to start with the easy stuff: replacing the gems that had fallen off, and drilling holes into the ones that had been glued but were falling off.
Where glued stones had come all the way off, I pulled the glue off in order to get the gems to lie flat. Using a small drill bit, I drilled holes at each end of the gem, then sewed it in place. In keeping with the original design, I resewed small bead strands between the gems. By starting with a ‘no brainer,’ I was able to make progress while still determining what to do with the overall design, particularly on the belt.
Next Up: The hand drill and how to use it.
Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of the beaded bra refurbishment project by Chani! If you did, please share this post with your dance sisters 🙂
As she mentioned, we’ll have a tutorial on how to drill holes into acrylic stones next week!
If you’re curious about the tutorial and the rest of Chani’s project, make sure to sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter below so you won’t miss them!
Want to make costumes from scratch?
If you’re more interested in making costumes from scratch…
OR if you want to know the construction of belly dance costumes so that you can disassemble old costumes with confidence (like Chani did above)…
Then I have good news!
On Monday, November 15, 2021, the enrollment for my flagship program, Belly Dance Costume Workshop (BDCW) is opening up for 1 week!
In BDCW, you will:
- Make a custom, perfectly fitting bra & belt and a gorgeous, flared “goddess” skirt with confidence – even if you’ve never sewn before.
- Decorate the costume with beautiful beaded fringe and other beading & designing techniques that instantly create that professional look.
- Learn practical tips on handling those strange dance fabrics – less frustration, more creation!
- Get additional shortcuts like advanced sewing & designing tricks and techniques, worksheets, cheatsheets and a special calculator – no more guessing!
…and lots more!
If you’re curious, check out the BDCW teaser on this page! (+ sign up to be invited to the VIP enrollment with special discounts ;))
Let’s make this entire costume to fit YOU!
Click here to check out the BDCW teaser!
Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!
P.S. Pin this image for your future reference 😉
Like what you read? Want to make more costuming bits yourself?
Learn more and sign up for my free email course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101 here!
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