In this article, I will tell and show you how to sew a stage costume with studs and spikes in a biker style, which I designed and sewed for the artist Ludvik Dzung from the Czech Republic, step by step. And I will also tell you where to buy high-quality genuine leather, a variety of biker paraphernalia and where you can install huge metal eyelets.
Content
- Required materials
- Sketch
- Construction and patterns
- Cut out the main fabric and leather
- Sewing a vest
- Decor on the back of the vest
- Installation of holniten, grommet and spikes
- Decorating the vest with sewn-on rhinestones
- Tailoring
- Decorating the vest with hot-fix rhinestones
- Sewing and decorating trousers
Necessary materials
- Black costume stretch (bought in the store “Maki and K”)
- Genuine black leather (bought in the company “Tavro”)
- Genuine red leather (bought in the company “Tavro”)
- Black lining fabric
- Spikes 2.8 cm high (bought at the RockBunker store)
- Spikes 2 cm high (bought at the RockBunker store)
- Holnitens of two colors (bought in the company “Protos and K”)
- Metal eyelets (bought and installed in the company “TEKSPROF”)
- Lightning trouser black
- Metal lightning (bought in the store “Luck”)
- Sew-on Rhinestones Drop Crystal 28 x 16 mm
- Sew-on Rhinestones Drop Jet size 18 x 11 mm and 28 x 16 mm
- Sew-on rhinestones Drop black diamond 18 x 11 mm
- Sew-on Rhinestones Drop Jet Hematite 18 x 11 mm
- Sew-on rhinestones Triangle Crystal 18 mm
- Sew-on rhinestones Triangle Jet Hematite18 mm
- Sew-on rhinestones Rivoli Crystal 16 mm
- Sew-on rhinestones Rivoli Jet Hematite 10 mm
- Sew-on rhinestones Quadra Crystal 16 mm
- Hot Fix Rhinestones Jet 20ss
- Hotfix Rhinestones Crystal 20ss
- Hot Fix Rhinestones Lt. Peach 20ss
- Hot Fix Rhinestones Peridot 20ss
- Nickel color ring with a diameter of 3.5 cm
Sketch
As always, I started working on the costume by drawing a sketch. I drew on my favorite iPad Pro 2018 in Adobe Sketch.
Construction and patterns
I built the trousers according to the German method “Müller and Son”, and I created the patterns of the vest using the dummy method (tattoo on a mannequin).
Cut out the main fabric and leather
The main fabric I had was 3 meters. I always take materials at least 50 cm more than I need for sewing, but since the fabric turned out to be narrow: only 134 cm wide, the width of the fabric was enough for me. Therefore, if the fabric is narrow, then you need to take more footage.
I bought the leather from the Tavro company. In the costume, I used fine dressing cattle leather “Bronze”. The costume took about 50 sq. dm, and such leather is sold only in large pieces, about 200 - 300 sq. dm. I also used red sheepskin for the fringe.
I cut out the trousers and vest from the main fabric.
Then I cut out 1 part of the stand collar from leather (the inner part from the main fabric) and the decorative parts of the shoulders.
Sewing a vest
I glued the details of the front with doubler, then stitched the details of the front and back along the reliefs.
After I connected the details of the front with the selection, and then I sewed a detachable zipper.
Since my zipper was longer than I needed, so I shortened it before stitching.
Then she stitched the shoulder seams and processed the side seams of the shelves and back with facings. I sew the side parts that connect the front to the back at the end of the vest, so that it is convenient to sew the leather parts on the shoulders and back.
Next, I sewed triangular leather elements for decorating the shoulders on a Juki industrial sewing machine, and also sewed the details of decorative wings. To grind the details, I used a Teflon foot, a needle and thread for the skin.
After that, I broke the seams in different directions with a special hammer (when you do this with an iron, this operation is called “iron the seam”) and glued the seams with Crystal glue. When sewing leather, I prefer to use the Kristall glue, when I use adhesives for leather from another company, the leather loses its softness, which I don’t like at all. You can also use special double-sided tape, but unlike glue, tape is not as durable.
After the glue had dried, I finished the shoulder seam and the edges of the shoulder wings with a finishing stitch on the sewing machine. And then she connected them together.
Then I connected the details of the collar, turned it right side out and processed it with a finishing stitch.
Then she connected decorative leather shoulders with a vest and stitched in a collar.
Vest back decor
The decor on the back is slightly different from the sketch due to the fact that my tiger appliqué is slightly larger than in the sketch. Therefore, a diamond with a fringe on which there will be a tiger’s head will be slightly different.
I cut a rhombus out of the leather and stitched it and the tiger appliqué on the back of the vest.
Then she cut out fringes from red and black leather and stitched them on the edges of the rhombus. I closed the edges with another strip of leather, after gluing it on the Crystal glue so that the strip would not move when sewing.
Then I connected the side parts of the vest with the back. I did not connect the side parts to the shelf so that they do not interfere with my installation of holnitens.
Installation of holniten, grommet and spikes
I bought holnitens in two colors: nickel and black nickel, size 0.9 mm from Protos and K. I marked with chalk the location of the holnitens, and then with the help of a special press I punched holes where I put the holnitens.
Then I decided to install huge eyelets, and then continue installing the holniten.
I do not have a press to install huge eyelets, so I install them at Texprof. Once I was looking for a very long time where in Moscow you can buy huge metal eyelets and where to install them. For some reason, only plastic eyelets are sold everywhere. Before going to this company, I marked with chalk where I need to place the eyelets.
I completely forgot that in this company the smallest eyelet diameter is 2.5 cm, and I noted on the suit the diameter of the entire eyelet, and not just its hole of 2.3 cm. So, when I arrived at their office, I had to steam the two side parts that I sewed to the back due to the fact that the eyelets are too big and they did not fit.
I installed 16 silver eyelets. Installation took place immediately after payment very quickly and everything happened with me, I even helped 😀 install them and controlled the process.
Then I continued to install holnitens and spikes already in my workshop.
I bought 20 large spikes 2.8 cm and 30 small spikes 2 cm, but in the end I sewed only 10 large and 20 small ones due to the fact that they added a lot of weight to the costume, but this is still a circus costume and the artist still needs to work in it , and excess weight will only interfere with the artist.
Decoration with sewn-on rhinestones
On the shoulders I sewed a lot of rhinestones of different sizes, shapes and colors.
The skin in some places is difficult to pierce with a needle, so I used small pliers.
Tailoring
Now you can sew the side parts connecting the front and back. I had to widen the side parts a little because I installed larger eyelets than I planned.
Then I threaded black cotton ribbons 3 cm wide and 115 cm long into the eyelets.
I connected the vest with the lining, on which I previously embroidered my logo, as well as the name and surname of the artist.
Decorating the vest with hot fixation stashes
On the embroidered tiger appliqué on the back, I glued 20ss hot fix rhinestones.
Sewing and decorating trousers
After I cut out the trousers, I carried out the WTO of the front and back halves of the trousers. Then I stitched the front of the trousers with the back, and then connected the two legs along the middle seam. Processed the fastener of trousers with a zipper.
Further, from the main fabric, I made a strip in finished form should be 25 cm and sewed a nickel-colored ring at the end (hole diameter 3.5 cm) and basted the strip with the ring to the upper cut of the right leg. After I processed the upper cut of the trousers with a belt.
The last detail remains - this is a strip of leather, the inner part, which was from the main costume fabric. The length of the strip in finished form is 66 cm. This part will wrap around the right leg and be attached to the ring. Then I decorated the decorative detail with holnitens of two colors: nickel and black nickel.
My suit for Ludvik Dzhung is sewn and ready to ship to the Czech Republic.
It is always very difficult to come up with an image for an artist whom you have never seen live. Yes, they send me a video of the artist’s work or the music the artist works to, but it’s always important for me to see the artist in ordinary life in order to understand his character and try on the artist the image that I have drawn in my thoughts, and to understand whether he is comfortable in the image that I came up with for him.
Thank you for reading my article. I hope she will help you in creating your own costume, in which you will be comfortable 😀. Do not be afraid to fantasize and experiment so that you get something new and unusual. If you have any questions, ask them below under the article and I will answer you all. I would be glad if you share your opinion about the article in the comments below.
