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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

WWRY Costumes Part 2 - I want to break free

A misfit and a dreamer. Scaramouche and Galileo. Our heroes of the story.



(Photo by Peter Cook)
Scaramouche doesn't conform to the Ga Ga kids look and doesn't want to be a Teen Queen. "I make my own fashion statement" she snarls.

Black. On black. A bit goth-like. Great said Emily Langford who played an amazing Scaramouche -I'm up for it.

Scaramouche with Teen Queens (Photos by Peter Cook)









As usual the quick changes dictate the costumes - I layered a couple of  black jersey tops to cover up the corset Emily's wearing underneath and added a dipped hem circular skirt I made out of lycra.

Emily added black tights and biker boots, with a studded collar. And strange plaits in her hair - with a bus ticket woven in too. Told you she makes her own fashion statement.


Scaramouche undergoes a bit of a transformation later in the story when she meets up with the Bohemians and they dress her in clothes they have scavenged and customised. Off go the black goth rags and out comes a sexy rock chick in black and red.

This was a fun costume to do - corset, leather skirt, lace and lots of accessories. I had a bit of a false start, when the black halterneck corset I ordered from China just didn't work (and don't mention the matching g-string).

Emily Langford as Scaramouche (Photo by Peter Cook)
I bought a simple black bustier and added some red trim. I found some great red eyelet ribbon which I used to create "boning" and I threaded red leather cord through the eyelets so it hung in soft loops. I added a black lace bra which I tore and put red fabric underneath. Under it all, Emily wore a black lace shrug. I found that adding lots of layers to a costume really gives it depth - it looks "real".

And she wore lots of accessories too - lace gloves, torn net sleeves, studded wrist bands. Even though she was wearing the corset, bra and shrug under her goth t-shirts, there was still quite a lot to put on side of stage for her quick change.

And let's not forget the skirt. Red leather - real red leather. I found a really cheap long red leather skirt on eBay and cut it up to create a tiered wrap around skirt that Emily could quickly put on. Using the bottom half of the skirt, I managed to get two slightly arc shaped pieces of fabric from the fabric - one slightly longer than the other - that were mid thigh length on Emily. 

I cut the bottom of each piece into gentle curves and put the shorter layer on top of the longer one so that the curves overlapped each other in an irregular way. A narrow waistband held the two together. The leather was really soft and although I worried my sewing machine wouldn't sew it, it actually coped really well. I just had to go slowly over the thicker seams. And as leather doesn't fray I didn't need to do hems or turn the waist band edges under. Sewing on velcro and hook and eye fasteners was actually the hardest part!

It looked amazing and I customised it with some studs and metal chains. You can buy cheap metal chain by the metre and bags of different studs on eBay as well as specialist goth supply shops.



Brandon Gale as Galileo (Photo by Peter Cook)
In contrast, poor old Galileo gets a raw deal on the costume front. Denim jeans. White t-shirt. And a leather jacket. All of which he provided himself.

Galileo was brilliantly played by Brandon Gale - who looked perfect.  And I have to admit to sneaking downstairs to see the amazing Bohemian Rhapsody song every night when I was supposed to be packing away the costumes. You were amazing.

This is the last year Emily and Brandon will be at LRVS - Emily is off to Mountview and Brandon has been offered a place at Arts Educational.

Scaramouche and Galileo (Photo by Peter Cook)









Congratulations! We will miss you both - but I'm sure we'll see you treading the boards on the West End one day soon.

Ok, enough for today. Next time we'll be joined by the Killer Queen and her minions. 








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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