Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

What if you want to "standardize" your patterns and sell them? It's not as complicated as you might think... Jennie shows how.

In Part 2, Lynn shows how to make several more hairstyles, add the finishing touches, and make the wigs removable.

Lynn shows how to display your hats like a museum would, by making paper wigs for headforms.

"The Other Stash?" you ask.  "I thought we already dealt with The Stash."  And indeed we did last month, at some length. 

However, there is more to the finished look than just a beautifully made dress.  Shoes and hats, coats and wraps, parasols, stockings, handbags, gloves, handkerchiefs, fans, a host of small incidentals, not to mention corsets and other undergarments... all of those items, Dear Reader, comprise The Other Stash.

Can any of us pinpoint the precise moment when our modest collection of fabric, trim, patterns, buttons, and other costuming materials turned into a bona fide, oh-my-gosh-it's-taking-over-the-house Stash?

Probably not.

Like Carl Sandburg's "Fog," it crept in on little cat feet, and now we find ourselves in possession of more Stuff than we can possibly recall... as we stand at the sales counter buying even more of what we might already have tucked into closets and drawers, stacked in boxes, and hidden under the bed.

Cathy's article on dealing with difficult customers was so well received a few months ago that we thought we ought to ask the other experts whether they had any additional words of wisdom to add!

We've all had jobs that have gone bad and customers (or family members!) that have ended up being far more trouble than the job was worth.

What are the warning signs of a problem customer or project? How do you tactfully say "no" or mitigate the issues before they happen?

Jema Hewitt and Alexis Black respond with their hard-earned words of wisdom.

If you work as a professional seamstress, sooner or later you will come across a difficult customer.

This doesn’t mean that you’re a terrible seamstress or businessperson. It does undoubtedly mean that you’re learning and growing – you will learn more from this client than any other.

In this article I’ll share what I’ve learnt in difficult situations over the years, and show you how to avoid these distressing times in the first place.

Considering that you have subscribed to Your Wardrobe Unlock'dTM, my guess is that you are not a weekend-warrior seamstress. If you are anything like me, you probably require a separate room just for your sewing sanctuary and storage of your many beautiful fabrics. You may even be contemplating quitting your day job so you can start your own business making and selling costumes.

Turning your “hobby” into your career can be a very frightening endeavor. Before you give your boss and your spouse the big speech, take the quiz to find out if you are ready to make a living as a costume-maker!

So you've finally completed your new gown – and you want to show it to the world.

But somehow, every time you try to take a picture, it just doesn't quite seem to capture the full glory of the thing itself.

Photography is an art, and teaching you to be a master is far beyond the scope of this article (not to mention my talent), but I hope to give you some tips and advice that will help make your costume photos as good as they can be.

Costuming people you have never met can be a very frustrating project. Usually these are customers from abroad who want something very specific, such as a copy of something that is on your web site, or wedding clothes. However, with experience in this type of work and some forward planning, many of the biggest pitfalls can be avoided.

Suzi takes you through what she's learned over the years and shares her secrets to sucess!

Costuming nonprofessional actors or dancers, or a person doing living history, is a very different situation to working in a professional environment such as theatre or film. For a start, in most circumstances, the customer is paying, and choosing what to wear, whereas in professional work for the media there is a budget, to which you have to work, and usually a designer and a director to make the design decisions.

With amateurs, and by amateurs I mean those who mostly do not make a living wearing costume, you are the designer, the director and the maker all rolled into one.

Suzi Clarke reminisces about her years at the RSC and dressing actors, and then shares some helpful tips on fitting.

"The most important thing I learned is that the well being of the actor/actress is of prime importance. You may think they look like a dog's dinner, but heaven forbid you say so..."

This month one of our themes at YWU is about being in business as a seamster or seamstress, but you may have noticed that you can learn from advice for businesspeople even if you're not taking money for your sewing.

Well, here's another thing to consider, whether or not you're in it for the money. Have you thought about labelling your creations?

If you run your own business as a bespoke costume maker, seamstress, bridal designer or tailor, you'll know how fragile a process this business involves. People are not used to buying a product they can't yet see for a price that isn't fixed, and they tend to be nervous about it. Will they be ripped off? Will the result be what they wanted, and what if it isn't?

From your side of the equation, there are worries too. How do I know that this person will only make reasonable requests? How do I know they'll pay? How do I know that they won't ruin and try to return what I've made them?

The answer to all of these concerns is to have a good contract. (And it works especially well if you're not in business, but making something for a friend or family member.)

If you're anything like me, you'll be familiar with the experience of sitting in an office wishing you were sewing instead. In fact, wouldn't it be great to sew for a living? Be your own boss?

With twelve years in the business of playing with fabric for money, and having done so in an alarming variety of contexts, I can point out a few of the pitfalls peculiar to dressmaking businesses and offer you a few tips on how to make it work, too.