Making a Bedlah v

After a break of a bit longer than I intended, I've started back on this bedlah.
I've now attached the ruched front which will extend into a halter-style strap.  Actually it's not truly ruched, it's more pleated, and this was a bit unintentional - I did originally intend to ruch, but once I started to pleat it I really liked the effect, so it's here to stay. This is one of the joys of sewing - while I might start with an idea, it rarely ends up the way I first envisage! 

To recap, this is a long piece of fabric, attached at the top by turning under a small hem and blind stitching so the stitches don't show.  Then I pleated the fabric into several pleats by pinning it, then ran running stitches through the folded layers working from the back (underside) of the bra and making sure the stitches didn't show through on the front.  I made about four sets of stitching to anchor the pleats in place, making sure the whole piece draped around the shape of the bra.  If you just pin it on without following the curve it will look strange as you bring the gathered/pleated straps up into a halter style.

 

This photo shows the stitching at the bottom of the ruching.  I haven't completed the straps, so this is just held together with a pin.

 

 

A better shot of the under-cup part - if you look closely to the left of the shot, and then again in the middle, you can just spot the rows of stitching that hold the pleats in place.

Completed ruching - I ran about four rows quite close together in the middle, underneath the bling.  BTW the bling thing started life as a ring from one of those costume jewellery stores.  Manly Jack was kind enough to hacksaw the ring part off (and off two other pieces that will end up in a similar way!) so I then stitched it on.  To make it more secure I could put some fabric glue or gem glue on it, but it seems to be OK with two rounds of very tiny stitches looped around the diamante anchors.

I'm now going to add in some more beading and sequins along both the top and the bottom of the ruched area.  This will just define it a bit more and save me from doing too much to the sequinned fabric of the top half of the bra.  I'm not yet sure about adding any dangly bits to the bottom of the bra.  I originally wanted to, but now I'm not so sure.  It always looks great when you shimmy, but I'm just not sure what I want to do.  I have another couple of bling earrings I can hang in the centre which would look quite cool - so stay tuned and see what I end up doing!

Making a Bedlah iv

Well...being slightly adventurous, I decided to bead the neckline to give it more vavoom (if that's the word!) - definitely more sparkle. I knew it would take a while, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how quickly it has taken to get it done. That's what happens when TV is boring!
Only two shots of it so far, but more will get done today.

The beading is one sequin, one 4mm bead, and five seed beads, on a diagonal across the top of the neckline.  Spacing each one has taken a little trial and error, and I even started to mark in little dots as an aid, until I found I was able to judge it by eye.  It's not so much the distance from each other, more how far to go through on the other side.  You can see some detail in this shot.

And in this shot you get a bit of an idea of how the whole neckline will look.

I'm really pleased with the way the sequins sparkle with the small bead on top.  Tell you what though, picking those tiny seed beads up is a task fraught with fear - I am sure I'll upend my wee tray (a child's paint mixing tray) and lose the lot down between the arms of my chair!  You also need fingernails and handcream.  I find the sequins get a lot of static on them, and it's difficult to separate them so you only pick up one, while the nails are good for selecting just one seed bead!

Making a Bedlah

A bedlah is only one of several costumes used in Middle Eastern Dancing, but it's one of the most recognisable. I'm going to show you the steps I've taken to cover a bra and make a belt and skirt.
I've spent some time reviewing some of the designs, but what I start with and what I end up with is a little unknown!

Firstly, I choose a well-fitting bra that has moulded cups (that is, they support themselves and retain their shape when you lie them down). In this case I've used a strapless bra, but if you do use a bra with straps, mostly you'll need to remove the straps and replace them with straps with no stretch.
I've sketched several designs, but as I mentioned, I'm open to what happens as I start to play with the fabric.

There will be two different skirts for this costume. A white velvet slim-fitting trumpet-shaped one (velvet not shown), and a swirl skirt with alternating mauve and silver stretch-dot fabric (the piece on the far left, and the second from right).

I've used dark silver fabric to act as an underlayer for the top half of the bra. This will be overlaid with the silver sequinned mesh fabric (on the right in the picture above).

I've used a rough square of fabric, pinning it to the bra and taking in two darts to help shape the fabric. I've then stitched along the edge, and over the dart, to flatten and secure this layer.


Next I laid the silver sequin mesh over, and stitched it down. Because the mesh is a little stretchy, I've tortured it a little and pulled it into shape, as well as taking tiny tucks along the bottom edge to help it fit the bra shape.

You can see how I've chosen the selvedged edge to reduce the number of sequins I have to remove to make the inside of the bra just a little more comfortable. I'll be lining it, and using silver satin bias binding to ensure there are no irritating scratchy bits.














Here's a final close-up of the stitching on the front of this layer, where you can see the small tucks I've taken.













I'll post more when I've done the next part of this bra. There will be loads of beading, a central detail, and ruching that will be echoed on the belt as well.