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Blanket stitch - great for applique and decorative impact

The Old Button Play On The Go © Play Scenes - Safai Zoo What is blanket stitch Blanket stitch is an edging stitch, traditionally used to finish the edges of woollen blankets (or other woven items) to stop them unravelling.  Sewn in a connected row, the stitch forms neat 3 sides boxes, with the effect of "down" side stitches connected by "top" stitches, but they are formed by looping the thread in a continuous stitch.      When used as an edging stitch, it wraps itself around the edge, with down stitches showing at the front and the back, and the top showing across the outside edge.      The Old Button felt flower brooch Securing applique As it can be eased around curves and used on angles of any shape, including internal ones, blanket stitch is also great for securing applique patches.  I use it a lot with felt, but it also works well on cotton or wool fabrics too as where it has the added benefit of catching in any fraying threads.  The Old Button heart an
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WWRY Costumes Part 1 - Radio Ga Ga


Dynamite with a laser beam. Guaranteed to blow your mind. We Will Rock You (WWRY) is the most amazing musical - I just love it. And if you haven't seen it, here's the plot in a nutshell.  

Set in the future, the mega corporation, Globalsoft, sends computer generated music to everyone on the planet and has banned singing, musical instruments, and any expression of creativity. But a group of rebels (the Bohemians) are looking for music from years gone by that is spoken about in the Lost Texts. The two heroes, Galileo and Scaramouche, discover musical instruments buried in rock, which they use to vanquish the head of the corporation (The Killer Queen), sending the Power Of Rock around the world to free the people, letting real music live again. 
Celebrating 25 years of teaching for Louise Ryan  
Celebrating 25 years of teaching, the Louise Ryan Vocal School 2013 Showcase included a number of the great solo and group numbers from WWRY.

I had such a great time with these costumes - it was quite liberating to leave the history books behind and go futuristic - lots of sexy, sharp, shiny, metallic fabrics - and that was just for the lads. OK, joking apart, these costumes were fun, fun, fun. 



Ga-Ga kids in white t-shirts and shorts
Ga Ga Kids (Photographs by Peter Cook)

Our WWRY showcase started with the Ga Ga kids. Dressed identically. Moving identically. Listening to Radio Ga Ga...

Set just as school breaks up for the summer - the Ga Ga kids are all "perfect" sporty looking clones. Dead easy to re-create, with logo tops, an assortment of shorts, skirts and leggings, and white trainers. 

Given the age of our chorus ranged from 7 to 18, I decided simple t-shirts would be more appropriate than my original idea of skimpy cropped tops. I varied the look with different sleeve lengths and necks, but allocated them out to the kids in a pattern to create a sense of order on the stage. The logo was easy to create - I set out the letters G A G A onto red and yellow squares and reverse printed them onto t-shirt transfer paper. Ironing them onto the t-shirts was a doddle - but I did have to hang them all up to cool and set - 36 in total - they took a while! 
We Will Rock You chorus in Radio Ga Ga costumes
Radio Ga Ga (Photographs by Peter Cook)

I picked up most of the shorts and skirts off eBay and ran them through the washing machine with GloWhite to brighten them up. It was really hard matching sizes to styles for each cast member so in the end I bought a few more than I needed in various styles and sizes and just let the kids loose to rummage through and choose their own. It worked, thank goodness. 

So a chorus of 36? Wow. 




Teen Queens (Photographs by Peter Cook)
The Old Button is more than happy for you to use these costume ideas as inspiration for your own production.
Pinning through Pinterest is fine as long as you credit The Old Button but please respect the copyright of the photos, and do not reproduce in other forms without permission.


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