Some Considerations!
So I have decided to try and provide a little further information. Please try to understand that the information I provide is not the be all and end all. Certainly my experience in making these dresses is very limited, but as I discovered when I started to make my own daughter’s dress, available information is very limited. The information you find here will be helpful before you start making your dress. For help in actually sewing your dress you might find the Glitterbugs website helpful. Tess has gone right out of her way to take pictures of dresses being put together at various stages. I'm sure you will find it helpful. You can find a link to Glitterbugs at the bottom of this page. Aylwen's site at http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/Irish.html is also very helpful.
Open or top level Irish dance dresses are an expensive business, whether you want to make your own dress or have a professional dressmaker make one for you. You should not lose a great deal of money when you resell an open dress, however, if you have chosen inappropriate (by Irish dance standards) colours/fabrics or design you may find it very difficult to sell. So please ask for advice, whether it be your teacher or another dressmaker.
I’m pretty sure nearly every ID teacher would want you to make the time to speak to them before setting out on this big adventure. The benefits of speaking to your teacher are enormous and far more valuable than many people consider. We must remember that our teachers are professional people who have been involved in Irish dancing for a very long time. So find the time to seek their opinion and then listen to what they have to say. I cannot impress this upon you enough.
A lot is involved in making an Irish dance dress, but it is possible to make yourself. The most important tip is to research before you begin and to make use of the knowledge of people around you. Before you begin each new stage of your dress, research again and discuss your options with knowledgeable people before progressing. Please do not make the mistake of thinking a dress is going to be easy, just when you think it could not possibly get any harder, just around the corner it does!
When making an Irish dance dress you will need a reasonably good sewing machine and it is helpful to have sewing skills, especially appliqué and dress making experience. When I first set out it is true that I had neither, but I did have a very good friend who had both experience and a wonderful machine. Consider whether you want to place considerable stress on your friendship!!!! My friend Jane is a saint and I consider myself to be extremely lucky!
Who can help you? I’m sure your teacher will always be willing to give advice and would rather you ask a thousand questions than end up with a dress that is entirely unsuitable (which can and does happen). I’m sure other mums who have made dresses will also be willing to offer advice and give a hand.
If you don’t know what sort of dress you like, grab some copies of the latest issues of the Irish Dance magazine and decide what format you would like your dress to take eg, two toned, shaped panels, colours, shaped hemlines etc. If you have no magazines I’m sure your teacher will have some you can borrow. This will give you ideas about what is popular and what looks good. Instead of leaving competitions when your child has finished, stay a bit longer and look at the dresses, especially if you can stay to see the open dresses. Also have a look at the dresses for sale. It is a good opportunity to see how things are put together and to notice the colours used. People won’t mind you looking at their dresses if they think you are a potential buyer – and quite possibly you could see a dress and decide to buy it second hand rather than making a new one. Making dresses is not for everyone!
In Canberra, Australia Shirley Capon, a renown ID dressmaker runs an Irish Dance Dress course through the Canberra TAFE. There are two courses, a beginners dress and an advanced dress.
The first step is to obtain a pattern. In my humble opinion, the best pattern available (unless you are wanting to draft up your own pattern) is the Irish Threads pattern. You can buy it direct from Irish Threads (www.irishthreads.com). I have also had some success using the Moores of Derry pattern too. Sadly Moore's of Derry have now closed, there are possibly more patterns available. You may find companies on the Internet and also advertising in the Irish dance magazines.
The design of the intermediate or open dress is one of the main differences from beginner or primary dresses. The design is much more intricate and offers absolute full coverage of the dress. You have a choice with the design. Do you want an exclusive design or one that other girls will also have on their dresses? This will be one of the first decisions you make - even if you decide to have your dress made. While these questions may not be an issue for you now, you should seriously consider them as they can have a bearing on the price if later you want to sell your dress.
Think about how you would like the dress to look when finished. The magazines and other people’s dresses can be a great source of inspiration. For example do you want the embroidery/applique to go right up to the neck or only half way so that you can use sequined fabrics across the top to give that extra sparkly effect? You must be careful though not to copy designs. Most dresses are covered by copyright and you will not be popular if you are caught copying a design. Copying designs is illegal and unlawful, you are stealing. It is not worth the risk. There are many dress designers around the world who can draw you original designs as well as sell you a design which may have been used a multiple of times. A one off design will be considerably more though and start somewhere around the AUD$150-$200. Designs that are multiples can start at about AUD$50.00. You can contact designers from around the world through the designers page on this website. You can also see samples of their work. Please feel free to copy and use the designs they have submitted to this site. They are there to help people with the making of their own dresses. You can choose to use the design as it is or you may wish to alter the design. Sometimes though it may be a bit tricky altering/enlarging the design.
Often colours that you would not normally put together look fantastic when a dancer is on stage. Be careful not to choose colours that are too similar, as they will blend together eg black and midnight blue. What's trendy in colours changes frequently but lots of sparkles are always very fashionable and most girls love the sequins and diamantes. Bright colours are often popular for the lining of the skirt, this is because people think bright colours and fluorescents attract the adjudicators eye when a dancer performs a high jump, click or kick. At the moment polka dots, checks or anything eye catching is in. Funnily enough, white is one of the most outstanding colours to use in the appliqué. It tends to lift all the colours around and provides definition. When you have chosen your design, photocopy it a couple of times and colour it in to give you an idea of the overall effect. Don’t skimp on the textas or coloured markers you use and try to find and exact colours you are considering. Do your best colouring in and you will be amazed the difference. You are only limited by your imagination.
Consider the use of a colour wheel to help find colours that compliment each other. Here is a link to a colour wheel that also has a free trial period. Try before you buy.
Gone are the days of velvet. Feel free to choose velvet, however, most dresses are now made from fabrics like silk dupion, Thai silk, metallic silk or even gabardine. These fabrics are much lighter for the dancers and not as thick or difficult to sew. This choice is an important consideration when it comes to resale value.
Choose whatever colours you like. But remember before you buy to just run it by your teacher to make sure it is okay. Most fabric shops are happy to provide you with a sample. There are a lot of fabrics unsuitable for many reasons eg, many fabrics fray very easily and your hard spent money on a beautiful dress could be wasted after the dress is worn only a few times. Your teacher will have a good idea which fabrics to stay clear of.
Some people like to buy fabrics from overseas in places like Ireland and London. This is done mostly over the Internet or if they know someone traveling. Please don’t feel this is necessary. There are probably many fabrics available in the city in which you live. You really just need to search for them. However, if you really want to, feel free to explore fabrics available from overseas. Most overseas stores are happy to provide samples if you send a stamped, self addressed envelope. Some mums have been able to obtain samples over the Internet without providing envelopes. You will need to give them some idea of what your after eg, Thai silks, fabrics with sequins, fluorescent fabrics etc. Many of these shops advertise in the Irish Dance magazines.
This is the other main difference that sets apart open dresses from beginner dresses. An open dress needs stiffener in all parts of the skirt. In the past I would have said most professional dressmakers put two or three layers of stiffening in the front box, side pleats, back of the skirt and shawl, but things are changing. Different types of stiffeners are becoming available and lots of dressmakers are doing different things. I myself like to use two layers in the front of the dress and 1.5 in the back. In the flash I only use one layer.
There are many different types of stiffener. In the past Buckram has been popular but this is not used as widely any more as it is very heavy. A brand called Vilene is often used. This comes in various strengths. I use the Freudenberg 1085. The stiffener can be fusible or non-fusible. My own preference is for fusible but in future when using metallic silk as the main dress fabric would probably consider a non-fusible as the metallic silk bubbles terribly!!!
Many but not all dressmakers also use boning in the skirt, placing it across the front box and side panels in two or three places.
Besides the fabric and appliqué there is also those sparkling extras, sequins and diamantes.
Sequins are available through nearly all fabric stores. Although generally, the bigger the store the bigger the variety.
There are two types of diamantes, rainbow and crystal and both are available through various stores. My preferred supplier in Australia is Photios Brothers in Sydney (only because that is the only one I know about!). Their contact number is (02) 9267 1428. Surprisingly, diamantes are not as expensive as you may imagine. The smaller diamantees are about AUD$7.00/gross and my favourites are AUD$16.00/gross.
There are two grades of diamantes, A and AA. AA is the higher grade and provides lots of beautiful sparkles and is only slightly more expensive than A grade. Diamantes are available as either stick on or sew on. The stick ons weigh less than the sew ons which come in a metal casing. Diamantes are sold per gross and there are 144 diamantes in a gross. You can also buy them by the metre. When buying a 10 metre length card you receive quite a discount.
There are a variety of sizes including 2mls, 2.5mls, 3mls, 3.5mls, 4.5mls, 6mls and 8mls. Please note that not all sizes come in both varieties. It may be useful to conact Photios Bros who have been very helpful to me in the past by sending a few samples.
You will also need to purchase glue. There are two types of glue. Gemtack Glue is $9.50 or Craft Glue, which is $4.50. I have purchased the Gemtack Glue. I have glued about 800 diamantes on my daughters dress and the glue is still nearly full. It dries clear.
1. Always consult your teacher - at every turn.
2. Once you have purchased your pattern, do not cut it, trace out a new pattern and then adjust your new pattern if necessary. You have paid for your pattern to be used once and only once. If you use it again you will need to pay again - a very reduced price though, currently I think CA$4.00.
3. Wide panels have been out, but I feel that narrow dresses aren't as popular as they were and slightly wider panels are on their way back. If you want to make the panels narrower remember whatever you take off the front you must also take off at the back. Do it straight away so you don't forget! Only take off at the bottom. Never remove from the waist.
4. Always make the dress on the shorter side. You can almost get away with a multitude of mistakes if your dress is short, but the long look is definitely out and a few mistakes will make a long dress even worse!!!
5. Always make sure you steam iron your fabrics before you cut them. This will pre-shrink them and stop bubbling later when you are ironing on appliques and stiffening - how do I know this - DON'T ASK!!!!!!!
6. The most important tip I can give you is to made up a little bodice in polycotton or something similiar first. This way you can check exactly how the bodice will fit on your dancer and you can adjust the pattern if necessary. Your little bodice won't be wasted because then you can use it as a lining later. When you are making your dress always make the bodice first and then when that is finished measure your skirt for a more exact length measurement. I recently made a dress where I wanted the bodice to be longer in length and I cut out the bodice and skirt pieces all at the same time. But when I was sewing it altogether I realised that it was too long in the bodice and had to cut quite a bit off, my problem then was that I had already cut the very expensive skirt fabric and because I had taken lots off the bodice and skirt was now going to be way too short.
7. A firm fitting dress around the waist is important. You may think you want room to grow but to be honest your dancer is more likely to grow taller in the bodice and the dress will be too short in the waist before she grows out of it sideways. Once dresses are too short in the waist they no longer sit nicely and you will have to buy/make a new dress anyway. The trend at the moment is for dresses to be longer in the waist.
8. People have emailed me asking about the skirt length. Their problem has been that they want neither the short or long length as marked on the Irish Threads pattern. That is fine. Just mark the measurement you want on your new pattern and away you go! The official rule of skirt lengths say the skirt should be no more than 4 inches above the knees but the current trend is for dresses to be much shorter than this. Possibly as much as 6-8 inches above the knee. A dress at this length is not likely to fit for any great length of time. I have yet to attend a feis where the length of dresses are checked. I have however attended feis where dresses are checked for arm aids - these are illegal.
Celtic Flame Irish Dance Costumers Message Board.
An international message board where you can ask for advice, or any questions you might have. This messageboard is frequented by well known dressmakers who are very helpful.
http://www.voy.com/14708
Glitterbugs
A website by Tess who has lots of lovely photos and tips to help you.
http://www.glitterbugs.net
Dance-Again
A website run by Lisa. Lisa has lots of interesting items including second hand dresses (from all around the world), message boards, wanted ads etc.
http://www.dance-again.com
Threads of Green
Fabrics
http://www.threadsofgreen.ie/
Irish Threads
Patterns
http://www.irishthreads.com
Borovicks
Located in London. Will send free samples, anywhere in the world
http://www.borovickfabricsltd.co.uk/
Earthly Delights
http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/Irish.html
