Gown Construction Manual CD

    Everyone who tries to sew a costume learns very quickly that it's unlike making ordinary clothing.

    Dresses that look lovely enough at parties can appear heavy and baggy on the ballroom floor. How do you get that body-hugging fit while still allowing plenty of room for movement? How do you match the dress to the inner bodysuit? What fabrics work best? How do you get those rhinestones to stay put?

    Commercial patterns don't help, and they don't teach these things in school. And professional gown makers are notoriously secretive about their methods. So how is anyone supposed to learn?

    Over the years we've picked up a lot of tricks of the trade, and also developed some of our own techniques. Since we're dancers ourselves, we know what works and what doesn't, not just what looks good.

    We've put all this accumulated knowledge on a CD-Rom, which you can view on your computer and print on your own printer.

    The manual takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a gown, and includes such tidbits as:

    • How to choose the right style for your body
    • How to pick the right fabric for your style
    • How to turn your dress form into your own body double that you can even stick pins into
    • What equipment and supplies you'll need, plus substitutions for things you don't have
    • How to customize our Basic Gown Pattern by changing the neckline, sleeves and skirt
    • How to incorporate elements from commercial patterns into our Basic Gown Pattern
    • How to use dyes, paints, lace motifs, rhinestones, fringe and other ornaments
    • Where to order fabrics and supplies

    And much, much more, complete with lots of color images.

    The disc can be viewed on both Macintosh and Windows computers. You'll just need a current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, which we'll help you download for free.

    Price: $45

    We've been deluged with requests for this Manual, so please allow up to 21 days for delivery.

    Please note that Manuals and Patterns are not returnable.

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    1. Phone us at (702) 869-3618 (Leave a message, and we'll call you right back)
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