Costuming Tidbits for Your Tits and Bits!

By Margeaux Le Gogo

Photo by KTB Designs. MUAH & Styling by the Bombshell Burlesque Academy

Margeaux Le Gogo is a newly debuted burlesque dancer and costume enthusiast. Starting burlesque at the Bombshell Burlesque Academy fronted by the fabulous Lila Luxx, she has developed her skills in costuming and is sharing what she’s learnt through her blog “Bobbins, Blush, and Bettie Bangs” (www.margeauxlegogo.squarespace.com/blog).

Today’s tibdits are all of the foot variety. There are so many sewing machine feet available that knowing which one to use or even knowing that there is a foot out there that will solve all your problems can be a bit difficult. So here is a list of essential feet and what they can do for you!

The universal/standard/zigzig foot – duh

This foot is the standard foot that comes with your machine and the foot you can use for most everything you sew. I use a Janome zigzag foot that is partially made from clear plastic which can make things slightly easier because you can see the fabric under the foot before it is stitched.

The walking foot – the best thing for stretch fabrics

This really is the foot of your dreams! In fact I have developed quite the foot fetish for this little contraption. It works with any of those hard to sew fabrics and does wonders for your sanity. I talked about this foot in the previous post I wrote for the Burly Q as well as in 3 other posts. That is the extent of my love for this foot.

The walking foot or even feed foot works by having feed dogs that help to feed the upper layer of fabric at the same rate as the feed dogs on the sewing machine feed the lower layer of fabric. This reduces slipping of layers which means better pattern matching. It also means that stretch fabrics are feed through evenly and don’t stretch or warp or skip stitches. It’s great for sewing thick layers that can be difficult to feed as well as fine fabrics that want to get stuck and cause all kinds of issues. In short, you need this foot.

The rolled hem foot – make pretty hems on bump skirts

The rolled hem foot is also known as the narrow hem foot is great for creating beautiful hems on bump skirts and other chiffon pieces. There is also the rolled hem option on overlockers (or sergers) which is much easier to use but requires that you buy 3 spools of thread in the matching colour. The rolled hem foot works by having a little curved guide on the foot that helps you form the narrow double folded hem. It can also create a scalloped ‘lettuce’ hem if you cut your fabric on the bias, which is what you will be doing for bump skirts.

The best way to approach a rolled hem is slowly and with some preplanning. For chiffon or similar fabrics it is a good idea to stabilise the first 5cm or so (1-2”) with some light weight fusible interfacing. Just cut a little strip the width of your hem and iron on. Then fold and pin this section ready for sewing. You can also use a small piece of baking paper or similar under this section to further stabilise the fabric and prevent it from getting stuck in the machine. Feed the folded edge into the foot then slowly stitch while pulling the 2 loose threads at the back. Continue to hold the folded edge of the fabric and slowly stitch. The rounded edge of a bump skirt requires even more concentration as it will not fold as easily as a straight edge.

The zipper foot – great for corset making

The zipper foot is an extremely versatile foot. You can use it for sewing in zippers obviously, but the reason it is good for this is because it allows the needle to get close to the edge of the zipper. You can apply this to other thick or hard elements in a costume piece. For instance, the zipper foot is great for sewing busks and boning in corsets because you can get nice and close to the edge. You can also use it for topstitching bulky seams or for inserting piping or cording.

The gathering foot – the name says it all

Hand gathering can be tedious and infuriating when your thread snaps, so if you need to gather a lot of fabric then this is the foot for you. It can be tricky to get the hang of, but is so worth it when you do. You can either gather the fabric alone or gather and sew onto another piece of fabric. The amount the fabric is gathered is controlled by the tension – the higher the tension the closer the gather and you want to use a basting stitch, or high stitch length, when gathering. If you are gathering tulle or another fine fabric, you should start with you fabric placed beyond the presser foot instead of under the needle. This will help you to avoid the fabric getting stuck in the machine. You can also try sewing with a piece of baking paper under the first couple of inches of fabric to get things going. Using this gathering foot will save you so much time and stress.

The blind hem foot – perfect finishing on dresses and skirts

There is nothing worse than a beautiful dress or skirt finished with a straight stitched hem across the bottom. It looks so homemade and not at all in the good way. If you are making a gown or skirt worthy of the stage or an event please finish it with a blind hem. The blind hem foot works with the blind hem stitch on your machine to create a hem discreetly secured buy one stitch every few stitches. To do this you need to fold and pin you hem with the pin placed in perpendicular to the edge and the pinhead on the fabric side (1). You then fold this over so that the pinhead are now off the fabric but leave a few mm (or ⅛”) of the folded hem showing at the bottom (2). Now stitch using the blind hem stitch (the one that looks like this –^–^–) (3). When you fold the fabric back over you will only be able to just see the stitches securing you beautiful and professional hem (4).

I hope you found a new foot fetish in the above list and it improves your sewing. And if you’re interested in reading more about burlesque costuming as well as other burlesque topics, head over to my blog at www.margeauxlegogo.squarespace.com.

xo Margeaux