Agent Costume, Costume Hire, Custom Made Costumes, Fancy dress, Sydney, Australia » Sewing Lessons

Super hero costumes

Elisa — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:15:28 +0000

Who wants to wear a Super hero costume?
Up Up and AwaaaaaaaAAAAYY!
Who doesn’t dream of using super hero powers everyday, levitating objects up and off those unreachable top shelves, melting the cheese in your sandwich with lazier beam eyes, flying ahead to catch the bus on time, or to impress the girl at the bus stop more like, after all who needs a bus with those powers?

The next super hero party you go to, you need people to know to take you seriously. Forget those wimpy little online cheaply bought costumes that don’t do up at the back, or ladder before you get to wear it again.
The problem is, where do you find one? They’re all too small for your big muscles, the sleeves are too small, or they don’t hug in the right places.

This Super Little Lady is made for a busty super girl, in size 12 to 16.
Need a smaller one? Let me know, we’ll have it ready for your party if there is time.
For custom made or costume hire, contact Agent costume below to find out what’s available.

super hero costume

Tinkerbelle or Absinthe Fairy

Elisa — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:58:20 +0000

Question: Who likes to fly away in Fairy Tale Fancy Dress Costume?

Answer: Me!

Next Question: How?

Answer: Ask Agent Costume.

But seriously, how cute is this outfit? And No one else has one.
And it was thrown together from various bits and pieces here.
What else can we do?

How big is your imagination?

Agent Costume can create any vision you dare to dream, provided you have the budget for it. No vision is too big or too small, it’s all about timing and budget.

Do you need a costume? Smaller budgets can hire accessories, medium budgets can hire a full costume with accessories, and larger budgets can get the whole thing custom made with an original design to suit and fit you perfectly. Contact Agent Costume below.

I cut the wings.
And sewed each one of those yellow lines on those magical green organza frills… It’s very meditational.
You should try it sometime.

I can show you if you like.
After the first week of January.
If you’re interested in lessons let me know.
It there’s enough interest we can create a night for it.

If you’re interested in learning to sew, or working on a project of your own, talk to your friends and let me know, perhaps we can create a night for it, or a series of nights, and you can get to know how to use your own machine!

Imagine, a bunch of creative people creating their own fairy dresses together! Or whatever your project.

Meanwhile, I can hire it to you!

Contact Agent Costume to find out how we can best service your costuming needs

Elisa
Agent Costume

Super Beginner Sewing Tips

Elisa — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:00:50 +0000

Lets look at the basics of the thread on your machine, before you even try to navigate a clothing pattern. The first thing you need is a machine that sews properly and evenly.

What if your thread wont pick up?
What if the thread is unevenly sewing, or snapping before you even get half a seam sewn?

Here are all the things I look to when this happens to me.

Check the thread.
Is the top thread and the bobbin thread from the same spool? Is it the same weight? If you use a thick thread in the bobbin and a thin one in the top, or vice versa, then tension problems can occur. Even if you’ve used different colours, that’s fine, as long as the weight of the thread is the same.

Check the machine threading.
Consult your manual to make sure your machine has been threaded properly. The thread tension is so important, that if you’ve missed a loop, or a tension gauge, then it can make all the difference. Make sure the thread is sitting in the tension plates as it ought to, sometimes it looks like it is, but it is just resting on it, or resting behind them.
Sometimes I will pull all the thread out and rethread it from start to finish just to be sure.

Check the bobbin.
Remove the bobbin from the bobbin case and make sure the thread has been spun evenly on it. Sometimes people set their machines up to wind the bobbin, and just trust that the machine will spin it evenly for them. The truth is, some machines need to be guided and spun slowly, otherwise you end up with what i call “bubbles” in the tension. You can see it clearly.
If that’s the case and there are bubbles in your bobbin, then you need to unwind it. Just pull all the thread off it, and start again.
Make sure it’s winding so that there are no “bubbles”
The uneven tension affects the flow of the machine, it’s rhythm stalls and starts and stalls and starts, and the thread gets caught, and sometimes knotted, and can snap, causing immense frustration.

If the machine is still not sewing properly, there could be other things influencing this.
Look at the thread line in your sewing sample to decide where to look next.

Check your sewing sample
If the bottom thread looks normal, or is a straight line, not even meeting the top thread half way, and the top thread is making loops underneath the fabric, then the top tension is too loose. You may find tightening the top tension makes a difference.
If the top thread looks normal, or is a straight line, and the bottom thread is making loops through to the top, then the top thread is too tight. Loosening the tension at the top may make a difference.

There is another way to regulate the thread tension, and that is to tighten or loosen one of the screws on the bobbin case. However, if you are reading these beginners tips, I don’t recommend you play with that. It should already be set where it needs to be. Take you machine to be professionally tuned rather than start playing with the bobbin case.

I used to go to a place in Bondi Junction. Unfortunately, because less and less people are sewing these days, the store had to close down. Now after a bit of fluffing around, trying this place and that place, I take my domestic machines all the way to Chatswood. They really know what they are doing, and sort out my machines beautifully, which is a relief after the run around I’ve had with other machine centres closer to Bondi. They tell you exactly what needs to be done, and give you a clear choice of options. I was so happy to find them, that I am now recommending them.

Chatswood sewing centre.

If the thread isn’t picking up, then:

Check your needle.
Use appropriate needles for the fabric you sew. Ball point needles for stretch fabric, and sharper needles for other fabric. Sometimes your needle may be bent. If that’s the case, change it. Sometimes the needle may be blunt. You may not even be able to tell, but sometimes simply changing the needle can make a difference.

And if you are still really stuck after all that…take it to a professional!

Now Happy sewing! Go get creative!

Elisa

Sewing lessons in Melbourne

Elisa — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:34:11 +0000

Thread Den

Revisiting Melbourne, I discovered an amazing space called Thread Den. In Errol St, North Melbourne.
It turns out, I studied costuming with one of the founders, Kylie Shepherd, from the year 2000. It’s great to keep in contact and see what other people are achieving with their talents and dedication. Thread Den is a funky and fresh space situated on Errol St in North Melbourne where people from varied backgrounds and levels of experience can learn to sew in a comfortable environment.

There is also a vintage clothing section and well made garments and accessories for sale from local designers.

Thread Den is fully equipped with domestic sewing machines and sewing kits and is available for people like you and me to utilize. If you are interested in learning how to alter clothing, make creative patches look like funky design features or learn sewing tips, register your interest and a class or gathering can be arranged.

It’s a great way to learn a few tips and get some practice without having to dedicate yourself to a full course at a larger institution. They even have an industrial machine, and over locker.

Set classes are usually advertised a month or two beforehand. If you can get together a group of 4 or more people, then a class to suit your purposes can be arranged quite easily and quickly!
Otherwise, why not drop in at lunch time, or after work, or on the weekend, and get to making that skirt, shirt, jacket, cusion etc..that you’ve been putting off for so long.

Find out about their hourly deals, and get sewing!

Sewing at Thread Den

What a great way to get into the art of sewing!

elisa
xx

Sewing Lessons Sydney

Elisa — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:50:42 +0000

Sewing lessons be quick!

The Bronte Sewing Room is offering beginner and intermediate sewing classes.

Bring your own sewing machine and learn how to use it!

Learn tricks of the trade from highly skilled sewing people in a relaxed atmosphere.

Classes are always changing, so get on the mailing list to keep up to date.

Sewing

Knitting

Crochet

Patchwork

–

If you missed out on the last classes, then get on the mailing list to find out about the next ones!

Bronte Sewing Room
22-28 Macpherson Street Bronte NSW 2024
tel: 9386 9977
email: classes@brontesewingroom.com.au

Bronte Sewing Room

go on!
Have a go!

And if you end up starting more projects than you can finish, you can always hire someone like us to finish them off for you!

elisa