Costuming Info
Cholis
Coin Bras
Putting It Together
Skirts
Streetwear
Veils
Bloomers
Belts

This costuming information is the result of much thought and many pleasant conversations with dancers over the years. I love to talk and play dress-up, but only with garments that fly, shimmy, flow, and mesmerize!
Most of the helpful tips included in these pages are from customers. Anything fanciful or inaccurate probably comes from me!

General Costume and Care Info:

A Note on Hand Dyed Costuming:
Many of my costume pieces are hand dyed using blended dyes ( I have created many of the colors I love by mixing different dyes). The swatches on the website give you a good idea of the color you will receive, just be aware that moniters differ and color varies from dye lot to dye lot.

C O L O R
Talking about color is always subjective, I'll learned over time that one color can be called many different names and in-between colors are especially confusing, so I hesitate to add more words to the mix. But from time to time dancers have asked for clarification to help with monitors that skew colors and say this dye combo information helps.

Wine uses strait wine dye, Magenta blends purple and fuchsia dye, Purple is purple dye with a touch of blue, Blue uses a blue dye, with just a touch of purple. Teal is a blend of teal green and blue dye, Turquoise uses a strait turquoise dye, although the results vary in shade along the blue- green spectrum just like in nature- even in the same dye batch. it seems to be a result of the PH in the various fabric finishes. Green is strait green with a touch of teal green to keep it from being too kelly, Olive is a combination of green, yellow, and brown. Apple is a combination of green and yellow dye. Rust is a blend of yellow, orange and brown. Chocolate uses a cocoa brown dye. Brick combines red, orange, yellow and brown. Golden Yellow is yellow dye with a touch of orange. Tangerine is orange dye with a touch of yellow. Red is strait red dye. Deep Crimson is a combination of red and wine dye. Fuchsia is strait fuchsia dye. Pink is a small dose of pink dye. Peach is small dose of peach. Periwinkle Blue is little blue mixed with a touch of purple. Pastel Green is touch of green with a touch of blue. and Lilac is a small dose of purple.

Sometimes dancers ask me to dye a custom color, but I cannot. Hand dyeing is always an adventure and arriving at a wished for color is a matter of perseverance and repetition! The colors above resulted from multiple testings and tweakings! If you want garments to match closely, bunch them in the same order and they will be dyed in the same dye lot! Silks and cottons will never be as close a match as the different fibers use different dyes- but if you order them together I will do my best to make sure they blend nicely!

A Note on General Costume Care:
Hand dyed garments need special care to preserve their color. Store out of direct sunlight to prevent fading. Keep all washing as infrequent as practical, skirts in particular do not need to be washed if they are not soiled, and will last much longer if not stressed with repeated washings. Factory dyed cholis can be thrown into the washer with your regular delicate wash, Hand dyed garments are not color fast so Hand wash or machine wash using delicate cycle colors seperate. Use cool water and keep soaking to a minimum. Most shades will lose a little color over time, the exceptions are red and wine, they are the least color fast dyes and can bleed color, especially during the first few washings. Silks can be handwashed, but dry cleaning will help preserve bright colors over the long haul ( Flying Skirts costumes have been known to wear 10 years and counting- so we are talking very long haul here).