I know I haven't posted in a while. Life has been a bit strange lately, in both good and bad ways.
I'll do a proper update later. Lots has happened -- I've been banned from Zuckerland for 30 days for supporting a fundraiser for black sex workers, I'm contemplating changing my burly name because apparently my good sis Brigitte Bardot is out here calling indigenous people "degenerate" "savages", I've got my third ever virtual gig coming up soon (Fat Bottom Cabaret, from my home state of Texas! July 25th), BIG shake dancing book writing updates, interviewing Leslie Cunningham, author of Brown Skin Showgirls, on August 5th with the New York School of Burlesque, and a lot more to be excited about. Even though we're all bored-in-the-house-and-we're-in-the-house-bored, I think it's beautiful that burlesquers are finding a way to stay creative.
But that's not what I wanna talk about right now. Right now, I wanna talk about SEWING.
I'm OBSESSED.
I've had my sewing machine since 2018. Took it out the box, promptly got confused, put it back in the box and didn't open it again until two months ago. I signed up for a course with a local sewing shop called Sew Creative Lounge and haven't really looked back since! Lately, I've been into lingerie, tote bags, pajama pants, shimmy belts. I'm learning to get comfortable with patterns, and the photo above is from one I'm working on. I've got patterns for a peasant blouse, vintage skirts, shorts, etc. It's really fun and challenging.
When I first "discovered" how awesome sewing was, most of my burly buddies who have been sewing or costuming for years were like "Yeah girl, duh." The ingenuity and creativity of stripteasers will never stop impressing me. Some even learned how to sew as kids, and still quietly sew all their own costumes to little or no fanfare. But I, for one, am amazed and inspired -- outside of the dance community, I only know one or two people who can sew and none of them are close friends or family. I'm only just now learning about sewing feet (teehee), bobbins, selvages and needle sizes at 34 years old, so it amazes me that I have at my fingertips a whole entire community of bad-ass people who are pretty much experts at this stuff.
Since it's after midnight right now and I'm getting super tired, I'll just share some of my favorite resources so far. If there are any other obsessed sewing newbies out there reading, I hope this list helps you out. Jump down the rabbit hole with me:
General Sewing Tips
http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/, plus Gertie's fave books Fit for Real People and How to Design Your Own Dress Patterns
https://blog.treasurie.com/learning-to-sew/ - I started with this article, but I've bookmarked so many others on this site as well.
YOUTUBE. It's really amazing and there are too many great tutorials to list just a few. I started with a playlist dedicated to getting to know my Brother cs6000i machine, and I've snowballed from there.
Belly Dance Costuming (panel skirts and shimmy belts)
Hardcore Burlesque Costuming
https://www.facebook.com/groups/270027843120189 -- (The FB Ecdysiast Costumer group is f GOLD. My favorite searches so far: "panel skirt", "shimmy belt", "serger", and "sewing beginner". Two examples of helpful threads: everyone's inexpensive costumes and the costuming things-I-wish-I-knew-when-I-started list.)
Aria Delanoche's Get Behind Burlesque - https://www.instagram.com/getbehindburlesque/
Christina Manuge's Tips on Tap Patreon -- https://patreon.com/manugeettoi/
Miss Mina Murray's blog -- https://missminamurray.wordpress.com/ and her books -- https://minamurray.com/shop
If you have any other resources, please feel free to share. Happy sewing!
Until next time,
Bebe
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