So, I have been talking a lot about skating, what with the dance video posts, and the new updates about regionals and nationals, but I never actually got around to posting the skating costumes I made for this year. My original pattern review was located in
this post, so you can see some of my previous costumes. I made two new costumes for competition, one for the figure (tracing the circles) and one for dance skating. I am also going to post more pictures of my blue lace test dress, since I now have shots of it in action. I So, without further ado, pictures!
First, my figure dress:
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| The front of my dress! |
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| A closer view from the side. |
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| The back. |
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| Another view of the back. |
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| A close up of the fabric and rhinestones. |
This dress was the result of pain, frustration, and a few tears. This is the second version of my figure dress. On the first version, the lace did not have enough stretch, and so the arms are far too tight, and it is impossible to move in the dress. Not that one does a lot of movement in a figure event, but even rotations of the upper body are difficult. So I made a second version using a different (much stretchier) lace. The under fabric is the "mystique" lycra with hologram dots. I used hematite and siam AB rhinestones, and sewed on hematite squares to the black velvet trim at the collar and back opening (you can see these best in the second picture). Originally, I had wanted to have the sleeves be just the sheer lace, without the red underneath, but this gave a rather ashen affect to the skin tone of my face, so I decided the red underlining would be better. I didn't rhinestone the sleeves to try to give them a more shear look and keep my original design more intact.
Next, my dance dress:
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| My dance dress - the front. |
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| Another frontal shot. |
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| The back! |
This dress also caused its fair share of headaches. Although the dress itself went together swimmingly, this fabric does strange things to rhinestones. Rhinestones are shiny, sparkly little buggers. And yet, next to this fabric, they die. They don't sparkle, they don't shine, they just look like little dots. This defeats the purpose of rhinestones. So, I had to totally change my design after I had already sewn the dress. Usually, I like to have a plan for the entire costume first - from the cut of the dress down to the types of rhinestones I want to use - so this sort of messed with my process a bit. Overall though, I am quite pleased with my results. The dress is made from a teal lycra, with Bermuda (blue) rhinestones, and aurum (gold) rhinestones. The large gold stones are actually... wait for it... plastic "buttons" from Joann! Heresy I know! I sewed over 100 of them onto the dress, and I think they look really good, especially from a distance.
The last dress I wanted to post some pictures of is my blue lace test dress. I made this to experiment with using an all-over stretch lace, and to use for my skating tests because many of my other nice costumes are now a bit big. I passed 7 tests in this dress this year (#10-12 circle figure, and #1-4 international solo dance) so it has been quite lucky! I did post before (right after I had made it) but now I have some action shots:
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| The front. |
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| The back. |
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| The front again. |
This is actually a very light blue "mystique" holographic lycra with a black stretch lace overlay, which gives it a darker blue color. I used jet AB and jet blue flare rhinestones. Despite the simple style, I think it is one of my favorite skating costumes I have made so far.
Anyway, those were my costumes! I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed wearing them and making them.
Very very pretty dresses.
ReplyDeleteI noticed there is a girl in the background of one of the photos who has a similar cut dress- do roller dresses require high cut hips? The triangle down the center hemline is pretty unusual in ice skating.
When you trace figures- is it required that the wheels are centered on the line?
There aren't any real requirements for skating costumes, other than that they provide sufficient covering so as not to be indecent/cause embarrassment to skater or to spectators but still free enough to allow for movement. There are a few more technical rules about exactly how high a woman's skirt or how low a man's shirt can be, but mostly the rules are pretty open ended. The rest is pretty much dictated by fashion.
ReplyDeleteThe style in recent years has gone to more of these flat style skirts because (1) they use much less fabric than the older more fluffy style skirts used (2) in many cases they are more flattering and slimming and (3) I think the Europeans started it. I would say that this style is much more prevalent in roller skating (especially dance and figures) than in ice. The freestyle costumes in roller can range between those I have made and the ones you see for ice skating competitions. I know a lot of the old school skaters (who have long since retired) do not like the new style of skirts, but I think it gives a longer leaner look to the leg, which creates a better picture, especially on a dance skater. Using more of a blunt shape can look ok on the little ones, but it gives many adults the appearance of a square on two tree stumps on wheels, which isn't exactly the look we enjoy having.
I have noticed a few of the world class dance skaters moving to the shortened ballroom style gowns (as the ice dancers use) but mainly for waltzes or foxtrots. They are also allowed a costume change between dances for world class, and many use more modern styles for tangos, paso, etc. The same skaters use the more modern style for domestic events (where they must skate multiple tempos in the same costume).
I have been wanting to play with having a slightly fuller skirt so that it might have a bit more flow and movement while skating, but that is something to toy with next year.
As for the figures - the main goal/priority is to have a pure consistent curve or edge. The line is a guide. However, if you can have the line splitting directly between the wheels without deviation, this is the most correct edge because it can show the consistency and correctness of the curve. Thus, once a skater is proficient enough to maintain this correct curve, they worry about tracing the line because that will show deviations in their edge. In ice they carve the circle into the ice with the blade, so they do not have the circles painted for them. In roller, this is impossible, so we use painted lines. It is more difficult to judge than ice, because we do not have a record of what happened after the skater leaves the judging area - you have to pay close attention at all times! On the other hand, it goes much faster in competition because we do not have to resurface after only a few skaters and we can run multiple events at one time.
In addition, there are two types of circles - the long 6m (diameter) circles like I am using in the blue lace dress, and the short (2.4m diameter) circles with the loop part (in the first and last picture). Tracing on the loop part is very important so that you can display the symmetry and correct shape of the loops. The large circle events are very popular with children and adults (teaches control and balance), but the loops events are more popular with the younger skaters (because it takes much more control, coordination, and a few nasty falls to get it right).
Sorry for the ramble... I hope to do more posts about skating fashion and figures and freestyle in the future, but I wanted to give a complete answer to your questions!
Hi there, Did you make all these leotards from a modified versions of 2601? They are absolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteYup, Kwik Sew 2601 is my TNT go-to pattern and I make pretty much all of my costumes as a modification from that one pattern. I have been playing with some other patterns to try and get a raglan sleeve, but they just don't seem to look good on me, so I went back to 2601 this year too!
DeleteWow, you do a fantastic job! I love your dance leotard and the latin one I saw perhpas on the review page of this leotard? Judging you reviews on Senior Dance, does that mean you skate that grade (assumably equal to the internation grade, I don't know how grades in other countries work) ?
DeleteThanks for the compliment!
DeleteAnd, no, I don't actually skate the Senior International/World Class style - I am skating at a lower level in the American style. I am, however, training to be a judge, and it was suggested that I need to study the International versions of dance a bit more. So my posts are more for me to get all the versions/styles/pattern differences sorted out, without getting too technical for the general audience. That, and it is more fun to watch good skating and complex dances than it is to watch beginners doing easy steps. Eventually I hope to do some posts on strictly American dances (like the Silhouette Foxtrot, Carroll Tango, and others), and maybe some posts on introductory dances as well. I would also like to do some posts on figures, though I know not everyone enjoys watching them as much as I do!
Yeah, I find watching figures boring unless I'm watching international level people. I forgot that Americans have two different styles depending on whether or not you were international... my coach mentioned that to me sometime ago. It's interesting seeing which dances the Americans do, I'm pretty sure most New Zealand solo dances revolve around older styles/ aren't very current. I only skate on the national side of our country too.
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