Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Frugal Costuming, Part I

Most of my sewing revolves around creating costumes for a community theater.  As a non-profit theater in a small town, we work on a tight budget.  I've come up with lots of techniques to minimize the cost of creating costumes without the costumes looking "cheap".   This will be the first in a series of articles about frugal costuming.  I hope some of these ideas will help other community theaters or schools.

  • Always check your costume inventory.  You may have something that can be adapted or reused.  For example, I made a jacket for the Grasshopper in James and the Giant Peach by adapting a ladies green blazer I had by adding long green tails in the back made with matching fabric.
  • Thrift stores are your best friends!  I spend a lot of time in Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other local thrift stores.  I always go armed with a list of what I need (including sizes).  Some of the thrift stores that I shop frequently will even sometimes send an employee to search the racks to see if they have a particular item I'm looking for.  They will also call me if they get in vintage items (which I always snap up if the price is right).
  • Develop an inventory of sewing patterns.  I wait for the sales and then buy up dozens of patterns that I think might be useful.  Joann Fabrics frequently puts one brand of pattern or another on sale for 99 cents or $1.99.  I rarely pay list price for a pattern.  Especially look for costume patterns that are frequently used.  Sometimes I get them in several sizes.  If I'm only going to buy one size I get the larger one.  It's easier to make a pattern smaller than larger (in my opinion).
  • Keep a stash of basic fabrics that you find on sale.  We have several area Wal-Mart stores that sell fabrics for $1 or $2 a yard.  If you find a nice men's suiting fabric or a crushed velvet or a nice satin in a good color, buy it!  Muslin can be used for lots of things (including costumes that you paint) so buy it up when you find it super-cheap.  When I'm buying fabric that I don't have a particular use for at the time, if it is really cheap, I buy a lot--at least 5 yards.  I've been known to buy a whole bolt of particularly nice fabric if it particularly cheap.  Of course, always check your stash to see if you have something that will work before you go out and buy fabric for a particular costume.
  • E-bay is also your friend!  There is an amazing amount of clothing available on E-bay.  Search for what you are looking for and you are likely to find it.  I only buy things that are cheap.  I only deal with reputable dealers who have tons of positive ratings.  Don't forget about the E-bay stores.  A search for auction items might not find things that are available in E-bay stores, so search them separately.  
  • Enlist the help of your actors and their families.  Especially for our children's productions, I request that the actors provide certain basic items (e.g., black tights, black or white t-shirts, black shoes, etc.).  I always give them written instructions on exactly what they need to bring with suggestions of where they might acquire the items if they don't already have them.  Ask if anyone knows how to sew and might be able to help.  You might be surprised at how much help you can get.
  • When using costume web sites, be sure to comparison shop.  There are dozens of web sites that sell cheap costumes and most of them have very similar, if not identical, items.  Bookmark several different sites and search for your item on each of them.  You will find prices vary quite a bit.  Don't forget to factor in the shipping costs--those can make a big difference as well.  I don't buy much from the costume websites because the quality is usually quite poor and the costumes look cheap and don't stand up to the repeated wearing that is required when your show runs two or three weekends.
  • Garage sales and church rummage sales are another good source for inventory.  Usually what I look for there are accessories like hats, purses, scarves, belts, ties, gloves, jewelry, and the like.  Look for things that are vintage or look vintage.  You will get a lot of use from them.
I hope you find these suggestions helpful.  I plan to start posting photos of productions we have done at our theater so you can see how our costumes look on stage.  I will also be posting detailed tutorials on how to make certain costumes.

Happy sewing! 

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