SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR ZE HOLIDAZE!!!!!!!!!!

Good through December 8th !!!!!
KathleenCrowley.Etsy.com

Lace Cuffs

Check em out!
Etsy!

The Power Of Positive Thinking

I had foot surgery exactly 14 days ago. Bunions, 4 toes straightened. Owowowowowow! I had this done about 10 years ago, but wasn't able to get it done on the other foot until now. And the first thing that came flying out of my mouth when I woke up after surgery was, "Where's my cast?????????"

Yeah. They don't do that anymore. And 14 days later, I found myself walking with only one crutch as opposed to being off my feet and in casts for weeks and weeks. It might have been almost 8 weeks. And that is what my doctor insisted on.

But can I say how happy I am about this? It wasn't any less painful, but I'm walking already. It feels miraculous! Dr. Chan was beaming when I went in last week for my 1st check up. This was a difficult surgery because it had gone too long - he wasn't sure it was going to go as well as I was hoping. But it looks like I am a very lucky lady and everything looks great! So I was not working all this time, and today I got up and cut out some fabric and started photographing fun little things to post in my Etsy store. Ive been meditating on healing quickly. I know people have been praying for me. And soon I will be able to start wearing cute shoes again. (staying away from heels for a while).

It wasn't all about the shoes by any means..........but shoes make an outfit. We all know that. Onwards and Upwards!

SKIRT SALE!!

Hi All! I have put my Rattie Tattie Skirts on sale until Friday October 11th! All that I have is what is currently in stock in my Etsy store. Im not sure when I'll be making more - so if you like one of these babies and it is in your size, grab it now! They are perfect for this Halloween season, but are fun all year long! There are three channels with ties for ruching and scrunching up and down in a variety of ways for a variety of looks. Most of my Rattie Tatties are sheer or have parts to them that are at least semi-sheer. They are fabulous for layering or wearing with leggings!
I hope you are enjoying this Halloween Season!

All Stocked Up.............And Ready To Go!

It was not by design, because Im not one to create merchandise specifically for the holidays, but in my sewing quest to fill some racks for a Pre-Playa sale (which was a lot of fun - thank you 5&Diamond!) and finish up some items that have been languishing on a to-do shelf, I have been able to stock my Etsy store with lots of fun and pretty garments that will be a great cross-over for the Halloween season! This little green lace skirt would be wonderful for a Christmas party as well. (It'll be here before we know it!)

These are fun to wear and very versatile - three channels to scrunch and ruch up for a variety of different looks - but I don't see me making too many more of these Rattie Tattie Skirts in the future. Maybe once in a great while, but this is all there is for now. Grab em while Ive got em!

Sparkly Fluff

So what do you do when you find a few yards of sparkly silver micro dot in one of your bins of fabric and you have a Burning Man Pre-Playa trunk show to vend at? Well, you make a bit of fluff to accessorize a leg with, thats what. Fusion Belly Dancers, Hoop dancers, Poi dancers.........these are great for something fun to wear with garters.......

                                                                                                                                                                                         

You can get yours here

My Bloody Valentine

I started refurbishing some cholis that were not moving. I had a red dye pot and this is what happened. And thats how I like things to happen...........spur of the moment..........just like falling in love............it just happens............maybe Im watching too many Jane Austen movies........................

You can get the love here

Pattern Whores Of The World, Unite!

This recent Fluffie Rufflie Pattern Pre-Sale was hugely successful and Ive got reams of these patterns being printed up again! My next step is to actually go and do more homework to package and print them up in a more professional way. I really should say that I would like them to look a certain way, and they do not look that way yet. But they are perfect for what you need them to do at this point in time. And I must put my nose to the grindstone and  learn that whole PDF file pattern thing. I don't want to mess with it for larger garments, but for smaller things like hats, vests, corsets.............that learning curve I can handle for now.

I will admit that I had qualms at first about selling my patterns because I'm kind of a control freak about my work and these Fluffie Rufflies were my babies. But the fact is that unless you have garments made in some kind of quantity and at a price-point that is "affordable", you are going to have to make the same garment over and over again as long as the market wants it - if you are DIY like me. You will burn out. And I want people to be sewing and making things. So this makes me feel good about selling patterns. I WANT to continue to be making things that I like to make, and I WANT you all to do the same thing! Pattern Whores of the world Unite!

This is Laurie Lulu Martin wearing a pair of the Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloons that she made from my pattern. You can make them as long or as short as you prefer. You can make them in any fabrics that work for you. You can wear them to dance in or to travel in, as Laurie here is doing. They are romantic and comfortable and feminine. Adorable and functional. Win!

As soon as Ive got my pre-sale pattern orders all packed up and mailed out, I'll be listing both available styles on Etsy. See you there!!

Join Us at the 5 & Diamond Pre-Playa Loft Sale!!

I'll have a couple racks of Playa Wear at the 5&Diamond loft sale this year!! A bit of this and a bit of that - sequins, glitter, and cute, sexy stuff all geared toward adorning yourselves in comfort and style out there in the desert! Come by and say hi! Come get your Playa on!!

FLUFFIE RUFFLIE PATTERN PRE-SALE!!!!

FLUFFIE RUFFLIE PATTERN PRE-SALE!!!!
It is getting to be time to focus on getting more Fluffie Rufflie patterns printed up! Ive had requests for them, and I have a Want List. Consider this a Pre-Sale - and you get your patterns first before I start selling them on Etsy! As soon as I have enough names and email addresses, I'll invoice you via Paypal and get these printed up again. Please send me your name, email address and which style you prefer: A) the Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloons (wide leg) or B) the Form fitting Fluffie Rufflie Dance Pants.
  Send your info here: kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

They are both $20.00 plus flat rate postage. I send them to you very old school - in a plain envelope - nothing fancy. These are a very basic pattern - no pretty, fancy illustrations or pictures, and you have to understand how to use a pattern without a lot of explanations and details (although I have a link to a tutorial and Ive written out instructions, yardage, etc.) They are not hard to make, just require patience and a lot of fabric! The Dance Pant style requires cotton lycra or spandex/stretchy fabric for the upper body. The Pantaloon should be made out of wovens.

Thanks! X

This is Dance Tribe in South Africa! Tarah Van Wyk made the Fluffie Rufflie pants for their costumes using my pattern!! She made their belts and bras, Her mother made their Gawahzee coats!!
This style is the form-fitting Fluffie Rufflie Dance Pant - stretchy fabric upper body!

Channeling Rita

Sherri Wheatley channeled Rita Hayworth's Gilda for the Belly Fusion Las Angeles Cinema Classics Show a while back. Vintage cars, Shiny black costume, long black gloves, lights, cameras.........I think she succeeded in capturing Gilda's wild glamor quite well, as you can see.

We needed to convey Rita in her black evening gown and still have a belly dance costume that allowed Sherri to perform without worrying about costuming mishaps. (Because we all know how dangerous a strapless bra can be!)
I draped a little wrap skirt out of black stretch charmeous and then covered a bra that we already knew fit her well and would hold up. I made damned sure that nothing was going to allow for that bra slipping down! The show was a success - and so was "Rita"!

Altering A Beaded Wedding Bodice

This bride needed some gapping closed up in the front of her gown. It was sized as a 14, which she is not - and I cant help but believe that the wedding dress industry does this on purpose in order to procure more money through expensive alterations. And I could even maybe justify their reasoning in this market if they would do quality alterations, but I rarely see that as the case. Many of these places will just chop off your dress and give it a cheap looking  hem. It always looks awful and they get away with it. I have a hard time believing that someone would think these hems look good, but maybe the brides just don't know better.

I do everything by hand or as nicely done with a machine as possible. I want it to hang right and that usually means giving it an ample hem.

But I digress. This bride needed her bodice taken in and I was able to do it by taking it in at the back zipper, adding satin cookies inside at the bra line, and taking in the front gap by folding over the fabric. I then carefully hand stitched the fold down, and strategically tacked down the beading so that it wasnt an obvious fix.

All in a day's work! :)

Aprons For One Of The 70 Best Restaurants In The World!

Last October, I was commissioned to find materials and create some oldie worldie looking aprons for a new Restaurant that was opening up in my favorite town in the whole wide world: Port Costa!

The aprons turned out really cute. The old time look and fee of the Hickory fabric that we found suited the time travel image that the owners of the Bull Valley Roadhouse were trying to convey. We made about 8 of these aprons for opening night and a few months later, they had become so busy that they needed more. But on returning to the source of the fabric purchase, I found out that someone had come along and bought up the rest of the roll! This is not unusual and kind of the story of my life, but I couldn't believe it. That bolt of fabric had been lying around the warehouse for years! After we got our 15 yards, the rest sold immediately. This happens to be how things work, I guess. I somehow , often manage to arrive at the scene of a burgeoning trend.

So I spent hours finding a source for more of this Hickory. This is the old workhorse fabric that the early train engineer's overalls were made of. This was a very utilitarian fabric that is still being made in the U.S.A but is mainly used now for designer jeans. It isn't found in most retail outlets, so a bit of finagling had to be done. But we got our fabric.

And now my favorite town in the WHOLE WORLD is now home to one of the 70 best new restaurants in the WHOLE WORLD according to Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. Now how cool is that????????
I knew good things were in store for that town. And I'm here too, in the cute little town next door! So make an appointment to come out and see me and we'll make an appointment to go do brunch if you come out on a Saturday or Sunday. I fear it might be hard to get in sometimes, but we'll figure something out!

I'm so happy for Sam and Earl - the owners of this fine establishment! Not only are they extremely creative, but they are two of the nicest people that Ive ever met.

See you soon!

Embellishing

                             Sometimes there isn't anything more fun than watching a good movie and sewing buttons on pretty things.

Check out my Etsy store and see what lovely things I have listed for your perusal!

Stripes Glorious Stripes

 My Ivy pant design was described the other day as a capri pant with flowing petals - a "petal pusher" if you will. And I keep thinking that this is what I should be calling them. This run of Petal Pushers has two bias flounces - one of striped jersey knit. Ive got two left - a Small and a Medium.

So come get em! I more than likely wont have that stripe again!

Etsy Shop Here!

Tribal Fest 2013 - Halfway To Halloween

 "Halfway To Halloween" was this this year's Tribal Fest theme which wasn't difficult to dress for  as I kind of live in that state of mind anyway! So I just wore a lot of black - my new long black skirt design, to be exact. And I didnt have to think about it anymore. We'll discuss that new skirt later on. (What a lifesaver it has been!)

But here are some photos to recap the event and to give you the feel of what its like to be there at my booth - once again shared with Medina Maitreya! It was a great success for us both this year. I felt more love and support than ever and I'm so glad I was able to hang in there while we all suffered through this economic crunch over the last few years! Could it be easing  up? It sure feels that way!

 I'm not being allowed to edit like I want to right now - not sure if its Blogger or my computer - but if you want to be credited for photos, let me know and I'll go back in soon and see whats going wrong!!
Just wanted to share my fun week! Its always crazy and always the chill out spot - as you can see!

Its The Curve In The Back...........

Its the curve in the back that makes this  little "underbust" vest stand out from the rest. That and the materials I use - the fabrics and embellishments make each vest a work of art!
Its such a flattering little number on everyone!
The buttons have a fair amount of room to be moved for fit and comfort. 
These run from XS to 2X and I make them in limited runs. I sold most of them this May while vending at Tribal Fest and I'll be posting what Ive got left up in my Etsy shop, starting with the smalls.
So keep checking in!

First Fitting

 My bridal client, Autumn, had this beautiful cobalt blue Silk Dupioni sent out to be embroidered by Cloud Nine Stitchery. The embroidery turned out so gorgeous against this fabric that I just have to share. I couldn't wait to cut into it!. We're making Autumn a little late 50's/early 60's inspired wedding frock with poufy skirt. She is searching for a petticoat right now. I always love the Malco Modes brand for a serious pouf. They rock the poufy petticoat, have a wide variety of colors, and you can take out some of the pouf if its just too much. I believe that they used to cater mainly to the square dance set and while they dont sell directly to the public, any good costume shop should have a nice selection.

I dont want to show the whole dress yet because Im supertitious that way - and its not done.  But I had to share how pretty this color scheme is.

So the next step is to have her try this on, make sure everything fits the way it's supposed to, check for any needed changes to the design, check the hemline and then finish construction.

Range Of Motion Dilemmas In The Life Of An Acrobat

At this moment in time, I am working on making a Ring Master's Jacket for an acrobat in 2 Ring Circus.  He has a great looking jacket already, but the arms keep blowing out. And you can see why.

No range of motion in the cut.
Well, my instincts are saying that he needs some kind of grown on gusset for the sleeve. And this is leading me down the path of researching shooter jackets and things that most people don't make or wear anymore. And then it leads me to join forums like the Cutter and Tailor because this just isn't information that you get easily in this modern day and age of boring clothing that doesn't move. So while this is a costume, it also has to have vintage appeal, has to look good, hold up under stress, and he has to be able to lift a person over his head. And it is spurring me on to be better educated in the tailoring process. Technique is sadly lacking in garments these days..


And Tribal Fest - Oh Tribal Fest! I am also making some new merchandise to peddle at Tribal Fest next month. I'll have my cute little vests and Sampants - and a new skirt. We'll see what else I can come up with - the pile of fabric is huge, but time is slipping away.................

I'm also making a sweet little wedding dress. Oh, it is so sweet! I'll be blogging about that soon - and more pictures of the Ring Master's Jacket will be posted.

Tribal Fest 2013 - Halfway To Halloween

Its that time of the year again, folks, and I will be returning to Tribal Fest again to offer a smattering of classics and a few new designs!!! Im so excited! Tribal Fest is always like belly dance reunion time and friends from all over the world and from all walks of life descend upon the adorable little town of Sebastopol and celebrate the art of Tribal Belly Dance! This is where you see the new, the latest, the greatest, and you can shop for days and not see it all. Can I say that this is probably my favorite time of the year???

This year, I'll be vending once again in the Peace Park with Medina Maitreya. Our wonderful and fabulous friend, Fool Proof will be enticing you with her wares as well - right next to our booth - so you will be inspired and drooling, and unable to resist letting us dress you up!! Come by and say hi at the very least!!
SEE YOU THERE!!!!

XX

Tribal Fest
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center
390 Morris Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472
BlackSheepBellyDance.com

The Cotton Lycra Sampant Is Back!

 My beloved heavy weight cotton lycra is back in my studio!

Over the last few months, Ive been sourcing materials and ordering fabrics that have been hard for me to get lately. Ive searched high and low for a source that is reliable and doesn't require me to order hundreds of yards of fabric at a time. I just learned that anything under 100 yards is considered sample yardage. Gone are the days when I can just walk into a discounted fabric store and obtain my precious cotton lycra at a good price. So I was forced into the world of dealing with the big boys.

It was bound to happen eventually, right?

Well that part is over and I'm back in the saddle again! Ive been making the heavy Cotton Lycra ruffled capris that started that whole ruffled capri mania out there in the world a few years back! They are a great addition to your wardrobe - and if your older ones are starting to wear out, these are not out of this world expensive yet. I have listed a few sizes up in my Etsy store! This fabric is a great weight for making pants and skirts. It holds up well to wear and tear, is versatile for dance or day wear, and these sweet little capris are perfect for the upcoming warm weather!

Im so happy to be making these again!

Here's a quick link to my Etsy store! Ive got new ideas to get sewn up as well!! Bur I thought I would start with these!