Satin, Brocade, or Metallic Jacguard Substitutes

Hi,

I picked up a shiney metallic,poly-cotton blend for my sons "robot costume". It was sitting on a clearance table. I suspect it was from the "prom dress fabric sale" earlier in the summer. Last year I picked up a shiney poly for my daughters witches dress. Again we went several weeks before Halloween and found it in a discount section. I hate spending the money on high quality fabric when I know the costume will only last a few weeks.

Check out the clearance or end of bolt sections in your fabric store. Or how about the "wedding section" of the store. I know the fabrics for the halloween costumes are expensive at my local store. I always try to get the Halloween fabric in late August early September.

Good Luck Sharon

I'd just use acetate satin or cheap poly satin. It's cheaper than cotton sateen, and will work just fine for Halloween costumes. DD's princess dress (poly satin bodice and upper sleeves, acetate satin skirt and lower sleeves) stayed in her 'dress up box' until her best friend outgrew it.

For brocade, use the cheap satin and stamp it with a geometric shape in a color close to the fabric.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

What do you mean by stamping? Embroidery? Or something else? Sounds interesting.

Sheila

I use en el-cheapo satin sheet set from a low-quality discount store. They hold up for a while. I also cruise the flea markets and rummage sales. Old satin and lace curtains make fabulous princess dresses. Sometimes they even have a ruffle or 2! Good luck

Kirsten Sollie

Rubber stamp using fabric paint. You can get large scale stamps for use on fabric, generally in the same aisle as the fabric paints. A fleur-de-lis stamp or a simple diamond shape would look really cool. Use a metallic gold paint, and it can look like metallic brocade. (maybe do a simple diamond 'quilting' pattern on the bodice (use metallic or rayon thread) and rubber stamp in alternate diamonds....)

You might also be able to find a stencil with an appropriate design.

I'm actually doing that (rubber stamping) on my costume for this year. I'm doing a McCall's jester pattern, and it calls for appliqued diamonds in a contrasting color...I'm just going to stamp on my diamond shapes, as I've got three costumes to do before Oct 18, and I've not started yet!

(ok, that's not quite true. I've got the measurements and the patterns and the fabric....)

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

Not sure exactly what you are looking for, but TSWLTH sells something very thin and very metallic -- I'm not sure if it's a faille or what, but it was only a few bucks a yard. I used it to make a royal-type cape for one son for a Christmas play to turn his blah costume into something that made him look like a Wise Man.

That's a great idea. Thanks. I love the fleur-de-lis idea. I can't wait to do this now. :)

Sheila

I love ALL the ideas you have been given, and must remember them when I come to do a play that requires them!

Thanks everyone. They really were good ideas. Lucky me, I found antique satin (whatever that means) at the local fabric shop at 50% off. $2.50/yd! I bought gold acrylic paint to try stenciling fleur-de-lis on the wine-colored fabric. Now I just have to figure out whether to do the print on the whole thing or just the bodice. Any suggestions?

Sheila

Sounds delicious!

Why don't you do the bodice, then see what you think about adding maybe a border at the hem? That might look more "custom" and "princessy" than having the gold all over.

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

I've found yards and yards of good "practice sewing" fabric in the curtain section at my local thrift shop. I strip off the lining to use as muslins for testing out ideas. I wash the lining and the pretty front fabric, and play with whatever comes out of the wash in Ok shape. Sometimes I have found huge slabs of curtain stuff for 99 cents. Definitely worth checking out the tablecloth and shower curtain section, too, and not just for princess dress material. You never know what you'll find. Xena

Oh, right! Last visit to one of my favorite thrift shops all I bought was 2 yards of pattern tracing stuff (54 cents total) but there were several nice damask tablecloths in the bin. Someone else needed them more than I, I have a stack of inherited ones, some never used. I have made blouses of white ones, and summer floppy shorts of the 1930s printed cloths.

Another idea: my mama used to make us costumes that could be worn as nightgowns/PJs afterwards. We got to be a witch (that's a "W"!!), angel, big cat, or whatever for months. You know about growth tucks and wide seam allowances and so forth, right? My nieces have worn costumes for a couple of years after the original holiday. You never know when you might need to be a princess again... HTH

--Karen M. finding $1/yd stuff at Wally World

can you explain "growth tucks"? my daughter is 3 and i would love to get her dress up clothes to last longer...

thanks,

kristen :)

Either you are my twin or I am your clone. naaaa... not quite... got it! let's be cousins! :-) Xena

You can add a couple tucks toward the bottom of the skirt, if measured well-equal distance between them and the hem. They will look like an added decoration. Then when the child grows taller, you just rip out one or more at a time. On cotton/polyester, after ripping, I always sprayed white vinegar on the creases and press well with a press cloth to remove the creases almost entirely. This gives lots of extra wearability. This can be done on tops, skirts, pants and dresses. Emily.

thanks! i'm definitely going to do this on DD's future clothes...she just grows out of them so quickly...and is due for another growth spurt soon :)

kristen

You can add extra length later, too, if your DD has a favourite dress, by drawing a line around, cutting, and inserting another fabric. If you make a collar, or bow, or pockets (you name it) to match the insert it looks deliberate, and you can do as many inserts as you need to get to the right length, and add a frill at the bottom too, if you want.

Another cheat I've done is to take a child's favourite shift dress that she'd outgrown, cut it off under the armscyes and use the fabric as a skirt. In this case, this was sewn to the top of an old jersey 'body' that was too short (I just cut the bottom off that). Excess fabric from the knicker bit of the body went to make a pocket on the skirt, and it is now Scarlet's favourite dress - she's not much wider than she was a year ago, but is a long string-bean four-year old.

:) Trish

Trishty, Speaking of adding strips of fabric in the skirt, I did this exact same thing last night to one of DGD's favorite dresses, she calls her "Geography Dress"(it's a world map of the environment.). Since it is a bright blue background with many bright colors, I inserted a red and an orange strip of fabric about 2inches wide about 2 inches above the hem, then added a red pocket & an orange pocket. I have to mail it to her, she lives some distance away, but I think she will like the additions. Her DM said she had some red & orange ribbons for her hair. She will be five on Dec. 1. Emily