Shamadan Respec

So, I bought a shamadan.

This really wouldn't have been my first pick for a shamadan. It is incredibly heavy and the center post is crooked. It did have 2 very important things going for it. It was only $50 and it is the same shamadan used at my wedding. Double score.

By the way, this shamadan is a beast! Sixteen candle holders total making it very top heavy. No matter how much I adjusted the padding or tightened the skull cap I could not keep it balanced. So I removed the entire top row of candle holders. Not because it made it lighter, (most of the weight comes from the rod in the center,) but to change the shamadan's center of gravity. It is easier to balance now with the shamadan's widest part closer to my head instead of 3 or so feet above it. Once I was able to walk around the room without incident I got to work on giving it a little bling.

 Blowing out the shamadan candles like a big bellydance cake after Amira's zeffa at my wedding. Props to Amira for rocking a 16 candle shamadan.

Metal rings and beads get salvaged from 2 different necklaces.

I attached beaded swags from the holes left by the removed arms.

Bead swag bottom view. This disguises the space gap left after removing the 5 top holders really well.

This piece of beaded fringe is attached using the metal rings from the other salvaged necklace.

Multiple layers of foam added and/or removed. I'm still working to get the right amount of padding in the right places.

My next challenge was the shamadan was stored in a green Christmas tree/decoration bag stuffed with pillows and foam for protection. I liked the bag idea but I wanted something more solid but still light enough to carry. Unfortunately, the shamadan is bigger than any solid container I can find to transport it in that isn't super heavy or super expensive. 

I decided to have a go at creating a case that will allow the shamadan to sit upright and stay protected using cardboard, duct tape, and my left over poly tubing from hoop making. If it works, Yay! If not I'm not out any money.

 I made a circle big enough for the shamadan to slip through. This will be the bottom support of the case. Boober, the needle eater, is on supervising duty.

I crafted a base from a cardboard box and some duct tape to fit the size of the hoop.

Three tube side supports added to the base with duct tape. You can see the green bag in this photo.

A matching hoop taped on top.

Doing a quick test to see if the shamadan will fit.

Getting a feel for how the cardboard sides will be attached.

Supervisor Boober patiently waits in his executive office for the finished product. Watching. Always watching.

More cardboard and duct tape. It's starting to come together!

With the new case inside of the bag it will not zip shut. I'm ok with that. The case keeps my shamadan safe and the bag provides carrying handles and additional space for transporting candles, lighter, and accessories. It won't win a beauty contest but it will get the job done. Best of all, it cost no additional money to make. I intend on adding more shiny bead swags to the shamadan when time allows.

Here is a link to a great shamadan info source by UK dancer, Candi.

~N


BONUS PIC: An interior view of the Supervisor's executive office.

DIY: Repurpose Damaged Hip Wrap Into Jewelry

You are shimming away in class and the next thing you know beads and coins are shooting from your hips in every direction. At first you aren't quite sure where they are coming from. For a split second you even think, "Neat, a sparkling shimmy shower." Then, with great disappointment, it hits you. Your hip wrap is starting to unravel.

You do what you can to make it last as long as possible. You gather up the coins and beads that fall off. You tie or glue loose threads together. You may even try trimming and sewing the raw edges in the hope that it will stop the offending fray from taking over the entire wrap. It is about this time you decide to donate the wrap to the "community basket". There is one at every studio. A basket full of old raggedy hip wraps for new students to share and wear during class. But alas, eventually it becomes almost impossible to wear, beads and coins raining everywhere. Your beloved hip wrap becomes an under foot nuisance that, slowly over time, gets swept up and dumped into the trash.

Before throwing your hip scarf away, (or into the back of your closet because you are too sad let it go,) see if you can repurpose it into jewelry. Use this jewelry for yourself, as gifts for dancers, or donate as door prizes or other fundraising cause.

Supplies

• Old hip wrap with damaged, frayed, or missing coins
• Barrettes and/or earring hooks
• Fabric glue
• Glue gun (and glue)
• Thread
• Needle
• Scissors

• Use the clear drying fabric glue on the cut threads to prevent fraying. See instructions here.
• Hand stitch the chiffon fabric in a "rolled hem." I type "rolled" because I just squished, tucked and folded the fabric under holding it in place with wide sloppy stitches. The chiffon area will be hidden by glue and coins so no need to make a true, fancy rolled hem.

• Cover the barrette with hot glue.

 

• Glue the coin fringe to the barrette.

• Hot glue some loose coins on top. All done!
• Wear and enjoy.

An alternative to the barrette is hip wrap fringe earrings as seen in the bottom picture of this post. For earrings, make a cleaner prettier rolled hem and then hook an earring hoop through the fringe. You can make them hang long like in the photo or loop them multiple times to create a jumble of fringe for each earring.

You can really run with the idea turning larger chunks of fringe into necklaces or use smaller pieces to decorate bras, belts, armbands, headbands, you name it.

 

 PS. Try to look more excited about saving your old hip wrap from the trash.

Have fun and Good Luck!

~N

DIY Emergency Costume Sewing Kit

Every dancer should have an Emergency Costume Sewing Kit in their bag. Even if you can't sew well, chances are you will be at a performance with other dancers who can help you out in an emergency as long as you have the supplies on hand. This kit uses a few items from around the house and is easy to assemble.

Supplies

• Empty pill bottle
• Thread
• 2 needles
• Safety pins
• Hooks and Bars
• Seam ripper
• Paper clips or bread wrapper clip
• Scrap of paper

Wrap about a yard of thread around the paper clip or bread wrapper clip. Most of my sewing emergencies involve hooks coming loose so I use upholstery thread.

Fold the scrap of paper into a long rectangle. Fold the paper in half and poke holes through it with the needles.

 Flatten out the paper. This will keep your needles organized and easy to find.

Fill the pill bottle with the needles, thread, hooks and bars, safety pins, and seam ripper. DIY Emergency Costume Sewing Kit done! Toss it in your bag and you're good to go.

I had to remove the cap of the seam ripper so it would fit in the bottle. I stored it face down so I don't get stabbed in the finger when I remove it. I chose the seam ripper over a pair of mini scissors because it serves double duty of cutting thread and ripping out those loose and broken hooks and bars for repairs.

Times to use your sewing kit

• The obvious - repairing loose and broken hooks on bras and belts
• Cutting off broken fringe or stray threads
• Use the thread to tie together broken necklaces and bracelets as a last minute fix to get you through a performance.
• Store beads, sequins, and jewelry that break during a performance for later repairs.
• Safety pins - enough said
• Make a fish hook and line with the paper clip and thread to pull rings, keys, etc. out of sinks, vents, and other tight spots. (Hey, you never know.)

 Good Luck and have fun!
~N

Naimaland State of the Union October 2012

I really wanted to name this post, "How a Can of Oil Paint Almost Ruined My Marriage." But that would be an exaggeration. But only slightly.

I started repainting the sewing/dance/guest room at the beginning of September during some vacation days. My vacation was interrupted when I was selected and served for jury duty. (Not guilty in case you're curious.) That whole experience set me back, at least mentally, and work on the room slowed to almost a halt. Costuming and practice also slowed down. Time spent painting was time not used for dance stuff. Time spent working on dance stuff was time not spent getting the room painted.

One month and three colors of paint later (beige, white, and blue/gray,) I finally finished painting. Never mind the "oil paint fiasco." I'll just say oil paint is the devil and should be avoided at all cost. And, despite my best efforts to remove light switch plates and tape all of the base boards and windows there are paint marks (pink, purple, and some sort of aqua,) left by previous tenants. Which makes me think maybe the walls are possessed, kind of like the "blood wall" in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, and it demands repeated sacrifices of time and paint.

Meanwhile, I figured why not slap some paint on other things. I re-purposed an old pair of teaching sandals that I never wear and combined them with a bottle of nail polish that I also never wear. Followed by an empty coffee can that I spray painted silver and decorated with a sharpie marker.

I also took on the task of organizing my dance files. Workshop and class notes are easy. The hard part is my own personal notes, everything from costume doodles to driving directions to choreo notes scribbled on post-it notes. That will remain a work in progress.

Then, less then a week after getting the room painted, we took care of an intoxicated groom on the night of his bachelor party and he peed on my serger. More like he peed at my serger as it was on the floor next to my sewing table waiting to be set back up. Luckily it had the cover on it so most of the pee was in the carpet and under the serger instead of in it. Unfortunately, the whole room smelled like urine for about a week while we patiently cleaned the carpet.

By the way, use hydrogen peroxide to properly clean and disinfect human urine. Here is a links for a homemade cleaning recipe.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8765725_use-peroxide-old-urine-stains.html

I personally used a 1 part peroxide to 5 parts water mix, (after testing on a small patch,) as to not bleach or discolor my carpet. I completely saturated the area, waited about 20 minutes, and blotted up the access liquid with a towel. Then allowed the carpet to completely dry. I also sprinkled on some baking soda and vinegar for the odor. I have finally gotten back use of the room but it still is not completely back in order. I have changed my goal for having this room ready for business to sometime around 2015. That way I can be presently surprised when I finish ahead of schedule.

~N

Did I mention the wall is textured?

This is where I usually practice.

Beware nail polish fumes.

Nail polish plus old shoes equals awesome shoes.

Shiny!

 I store hair flowers and beads in re-purposed (plastic) coffee cans.

 All my hair flowers smell like fresh coffee, especially the ones with feathers.

 Beware spray paint AND permanent marker fumes.

Do you have a map of Egypt in your dance files?...also, "got hips?"

BONUS PIC:

The Husband person, a.k.a. prop master at our most recent photo shoot.

Coin Wrap to Bedlah Sew Along Task 8: Making a Belt Base

Supplies:

• Base Fabric
• Interfacing, felt, denim, or equivalent
• Paper, pencil, tape
• Measuring tape
• All-purpose sewing thread and needle (or sewing machine)
• Scissors 
• Pins

Hey, Hey! I am getting back into the swing of things Well, a little at least. I've actually had this part of the sew along done for a few weeks now but have not been able to put it all together. So far the belt is going much smoother and faster than the bra, working with a fairly flat surface and all. All the base construction can be done with a sewing machine. That speeds things up a lot.

My original plan was to make a V-shaped belt because (for me anyway) the shape seems to fit around curves easier, with less darting and altering than other shapes. But as you will see, it changed into a heart-shaped belt part way through the process.

The pattern I made based off of the Sage Applique belt only with a much deeper V and higher, narrower sides. I just realized the pattern says 4.5" instead of the 5" that is clearly marked on the graph paper.

I took my hip measurement, divided it in half (for front and back), added 2 inches of overlap, and then drew a V to the depth I wanted. I recommend not going  over 5-6" at the thickest part of the belt. I have noticed that plus sized dancers that have a wider hip measurement tend to also add inches to the height of the belt and throw the visual proportions off. Just because you may be fuller figured doesn't mean you are also taller, and vice versa.

I've been altering another of Sa'dia's costumes and really liked the front of this belt. I also liked that the front and back of the belt are completely separate and finished pieces. It is sewn together on one side with hooks on the other side. The front piece overlaps the back piece like a giant belt buckle. I have read that this type of belt is easier to take apart and re-size than a belt that is a continuous piece but never really understood how it was sewn together. After studying it's construction, I decided to toss my belt pattern and make a belt similar to this.

This side of the belt is sewn together and looks just like the other side with hooks. It isn't as bulky as I thought it would be. To alter it, you only need rip out the stitches, move, and restitch. This way there is no need to add or remove sequins, cut length off, add length, or redo the lining when resizing.

 The inside of the sewn edge.

I used the same hip measurement from the first pattern and traced Sa'dia's heart-shaped belt onto an old pair of khaki denim jeans for the front and back of my new belt. I added 2 inches to each side of the back piece for overlap. I intend on overlapping both sides (one stitched in place, the other with hooks) just like Sa'dia's belt. I then measured the base fabric with 1inch of overlap. I also wrote myself a note for posterity.

I had already covered the front of the belt with fabric when I realized it was only one layer of denim thick. Oops. I cut a 2nd layer and carefully stitched it on as close to the edge as possible, (it looks kinda pretty.) Then I covered 2 layers properly for the back of the belt making shallow cuts along the edge to allow the fabric to curve smoothly. No darts where needed. The belt base is now ready for decoration.

Next Task 9: Decorating!

Supplies:

• Remaining crocheted coin fringe from hip wraps used on bra
• Beading needle
• Sequins
• Rocaille beads
• Seed beads
• Acrylic sew-on jewels
• Upholstery thread/Beading thread
• Scissors 
• Pins 
• Fabric glue  

Want to see ALL of the pictures from my bra build? Join the Flickr Sew Along group and add your own at http://www.flickr.com/groups/bellydancesewalong/.

Good luck and have fun!
~N

Another Alteration

 For Sa'dia this time. This lovely bra is too small in the cup department. She had previously tacked some blue fabric across the top of each cup to cover the goods. It was finally time to put a proper extension in.

 I ripped the fabric out Sa'dia had added, washed, and dried it. I had just cut up an old sweater to make a mat to go under the cats' food dish. The left over collar was just the right width to stuff the extensions.

 Perfect fit! It was meant to be.

 Behind the curtain. The original lining peeled back to reveal the bead work stitching.

 I wanted to use as much of the fabric Sa'dia used because I didn't have anything to match. I added jewelry wire to the collar before covering it.

 The newly stuffed extension stitched into place. 

I had a hard time trying to match sequins and beads I from my stash. I decided to steal them from the side strap where they wouldn't be missed.

The blue and holographic sequins are from the bra strap. The trim around each leaf and extension is from my stash, as well as the "tea cups" near the center of the bra to mirror the star "tea cups" on the bra cups.

The lining stitched back down covering the raw edge of the extension. (I love the little butterfly beads on the fringe.)

From the top.

And, you're welcome.

~N