Costume Making Foundations - 6 session course
Learn to confidently create your own custom performance costume
Have you always wanted to make a performance costume but had no idea where to start? Maybe you've made one before but felt like you were guessing your way through stretch fabrics, fit, or construction.
Costume Making Foundations is a personalised 1:1 course designed for complete beginners and improvers who want to confidently learn the fundamentals of performance costume making.
Across six live sessions, you’ll learn the process of creating a custom performance costume from start to finish while making your own fully wearable piece. Whether you're sewing for yourself, your child, your students, or simply want to learn a new skill, this course will guide you through every step in a supportive, beginner-friendly way.
Classes are taught primarily online (with an in-person option available for local students) and are tailored to your pace and experience level. Because this is a 1:1 course, sessions are arranged at a mutually convenient time. Sessions can be scheduled weekly, or if you’d prefer to progress more quickly, they can be booked closer together - even daily if desired.
Between sessions, you’ll complete guided tasks to prepare for the next stage of construction, with access to messaging support betwene sessions.
During the course, you will learn:
✦ How to design a simple but effective performance costume
✦ How to choose suitable stretch fabrics and understand stretch direction
✦ How to take accurate measurements and select the correct pattern size
✦ How to adjust a pattern for fit and customise design details
✦ How to cut and prepare stretch fabrics for construction
✦ How to sew stretch fabrics using a sewing machine and/or overlocker
✦ How to sew elastic, finish openings, and attach skirts or sleeves
✦ Beginner embellishment techniques including appliqué placement and crystal application
✦ How to troubleshoot common fit and sewing issues
By the end of the course, you will have:
✓ A finished custom performance costume
✓ Confidence using a sewing machine (and overlocker if available)
✓ A practical understanding of stretch fabrics and costume construction
✓ Confidence reading and adjusting patterns
✓ Beginner embellishment skills
✓ A better understanding of fit, finishing, and troubleshooting
Who is this course for?
This course is ideal for dancers, gymnasts, circus performers, skating parents, dance/gym parents, hobby sewists, and anyone wanting to learn how performance costumes are made.
No prior costume-making experience is required.
Please note: Students must have access to a sewing machine at home. An overlocker/serger is recommended but not essential. A full supplies and reccomended sellers list will be provided before the course begins.
Already have the basics covered?
If you don’t need a beginner course but would like support with a specific technique, project, or skill, you can also book 1:1 hourly sewing tuition tailored entirely to your needs. Whether you want help perfecting fit, learning embellishment techniques, troubleshooting stretch fabrics, or working through a current project, bespoke sessions are available in my shop.
Images provided are examples of outcomes that could be achieved on the course. By purchasing this product, you are purchasing 6x2 hour sessions of tuition, no physical product will be sent.