17/06/2024
“Measure twice, cut once, and then blame the pattern for being wrong.”
No matter how many times you measure the pattern pieces, if they aren't right, they aren't right. Always make a mockup of a new (to you) pattern.
Detroit Opera Costumers
- Home
- Detroit Opera Costumers
We are the costumers for Michigan Opera Theatre. We are sharing our processes and tricks to create beautiful costumes for the opera stage.
14/06/2024
This is our most popular "Costume" in the shop. This is a display made of individual feathers, feather boas, crinoline and trim all pinned directly into the fashion dress form. It was created as part of a set that stood guard at the main doors during the "DiChiera Grand Salute". Now we have it pointing to our fitting area inside the Costume Shop. It is also a reminder of the beloved founder of the Michigan Opera Theatre which is now Detroit Opera, Dr. David DiChiera.
13/06/2024
Perfect is never finished. Done is BEAUTIFUL.
Sometimes we have to stop trying to make something just right, because most people won't notice the thing. It's better to have someone go out in a costume that is slightly off, than to go out without a costume!
12/06/2024
Catherine of Aragon's symbol was the crowned pomegranate, a symbol of her native land of Aragon and also a symbol of fertility. We have her roman numeral here crossed out with a quill symbolizing the divorce from Henry that began her decline in health.
Catherine was originally the wife of Henry the VII's eldest son, prince Arthur, but he died soon after their wedding. When The younger son, Henry VIII, took his father's throne, one of the first tings he did was to send for a papal dispensation to marry his brothers' widow and they were soon wed. While they had only one daughter to live to adulthood (Mary I), the only son they had that survived birth was a boy who died within 1 month. While this is listed as the reason Henry was unfaithful to his wife, at the time it was not uncommon for kings to have a succession of mistresses and illegitimate children.
10/06/2024
Michaela Tanksley
She started sewing when she was 9 when she got her first sewing machine for Christmas. She started working in Theatre in college. Since then she’s designed costumes, dressed shows, and been a stitcher. She stepped in on short notice, working with Detroit Opera as our Wardrobe Supervisor starting with our performance of Europeras 3&4. Since then Michaela has been a vital and awesome part of our team. We are SO excited to get to work with her again next season!
06/06/2024
Thanks , we feel this.
04/06/2024
We received this nice compliment from Ian Mercer, Production Manager of The Cleveland Orchestra.
"I had my dressers go through and catalogue the returned V***n costumes today – please pass along from me and my whole team that this is the most immaculate packing job we’ve ever seen. Gorgeous work, thank you so much – made the morning a breeze."
When the show ends, it's still not quite over for the production team. We still need to clean, organize, repack all the costumes (and everything else) and then ship them back to their home. But then the originating company also has to check in everything to make sure nothing is missing or damaged.
So shout-out to our team Dylan, Rachel, Lupe, Mary Ellen & Michaela for the beautiful pack-out.
31/05/2024
Here are some more detail photos of our submission to the King of Codpieces contest by
They all fit together over the base with the one with the symbol of Katherine Parr inner-mist with Catherine of Aragon's pomegranate symbol outer-most. All together you can pull off each layer in order, to mirror the way Henry VIII shed wives. In the end without his wives Henry's codpiece is plain, not very interesting and small.
30/05/2024
We were working on a little display piece. Just wanted to share some in progress photos with you.
25/05/2024
This week we closed out our 2023-24 Opera season. We just want to thank the team that made it possible. Our Detroit Opera Costumers, Suzanne .m.hanna , Mary Ellen Shuffett, Maureen Abele, Paul Moran, Dylan McBride, Lupe , Rachael , and Trish , plus (not pictured, our Wardrobe Supervisors) Amelia and Michaela .
23/05/2024
shout-out!! These are the fabulous ladies that work behind the scenes during the show dressing the performers and keeping the costumes changes on track. Thanks to Wardrobe Supervisor Michaela Tanksley, and Dressers Nancy Janosi, Mary Ellen Shuffett, Mila Posey and Michelle Poertner from IATSE Theatrical Wardrobe Union Local 786.
21/05/2024
Here are the fox headbands that we made in 6 hours for in Cunning Little V***n. These young folks are amazing!👏👏👏
11/05/2024
some set up, and a few pics from today's dress rehearsal with audience before tomorrow's opening night of Cunning Little V***n.
***n
09/05/2024
When you alter garments that were custom painted, sometimes you need to channel your inner Bob Ross to make sure that the audience doesn't realize that the garments weren't created specifically for these performers.
07/05/2024
Trim combination idea.
I asked Suzanne to use a little of her magic to create a new piece of trim using a bin of scraps, and this is what she came up with. Base of red satin ribbon with a openwork home decor trim that has a satin and organza ribbon in the center and rattail on the edges, all interwoven. Then there is a narrow red rope on either edge with another home decor trim in cream and brown on the outside edges. I think it's amazing that she puts trims of different colors and weights together like this, and how well it comes together.
I'd love to see this down the center pane of some Renaissance breeches or doublet. Tell us in the comments below where YOU would use a trim like this in a costume.
06/05/2024
We're almost done with this season and we still haven't opened on ***n yet, but already we're looking forward to next season and the new costume designs we'll get to work on.
01/05/2024
This is a look back at how we set up the shop during COVID-19. Luckily we have windows that open, so by turning the sewing stations towards the windows and separating the stations the recommend amount we donned our masks and were able to get back to work.
25/04/2024
This week we are in-between shows which means pack out for one and load in for another. And actually we are packing up Europeras to go back to the warehouse, plus packing out both sets of productions of Odyssey that we used for ours. We are making our lists and checking them...way more times than we care to count.
23/04/2024
Sloper Pattern. We have these sloper patterns in different basic sizes that are made without seam allowance and on clear plastic. This gives us the opportunity to add whatever seam allowance we want, and to precisely place the pattern piece onto patterns in the fabric.
22/04/2024
18/04/2024
Enjoy some old pictures of some of our past Detroit Opera Youth Chorus productions as we get ready to present the latest one Odyssey.
Pictured are HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, and The Secret World of Og.
18/04/2024
Here is a peek at some of the lace edging on the slips we are working on. Also donated by one of our amazing donors.
17/04/2024
In the shop this week we are getting ready for DOYC Odyssey. Friday will be their dress rehearsal which will be open to some select schools to attend, then the main performance is on Saturday.
We are also putting together some custom slips for hard to find sizes in silk charmeuse that was gifted to us by one of our amazing donors.
12/04/2024
Wednesday after a full afternoon of fittings for Odyssey, Suzanne Hanna, our Costume Director did a presentation for our wonderful Donors. Afterwards she gave them a tour of our little costume shop and answered lots of questions. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the talk and walked away with a new appreciation for the work that goes into putting performers into great looking costumes on stage, and balancing performer needs with design choices and budget restrictions.
10/04/2024
Is our of the 2 tickets to Breaking the Waves! We will be contacting them shortly. Congratulations!!!!
06/04/2024
Did you see our ticket giveaway? Go to our original Instagram post on April 3rd!
There you can enter for 2 tickets to Breaking the Waves on Friday April 12th.
04/04/2024
Preparing for another shop tour while finishing up the final touches on Breaking the Waves. Outside of the shop, it's been busy. Everyone is getting ready for opening night and Friday's Detroit Tigers home opener. Spring is an exciting and busy time for us!
03/04/2024
We have 2 tickets to see the Friday April 12th performance of Breaking the Waves at the Detroit Opera House. These 2 tickets will be given to one lucky Instagram follower.
To enter:
1. Like this post in Instagram.
2. Follow on Instagram
3. Comment on this post on Instagram and tell us who you would bring with you to see Breaking the Waves.
We will announce the winner on Wednesday April 10th. Winner will be contacted ONLY by this account or by a detroitopera.org email address. Please do not give away your personal information to anyone else! We will need to hear back from the winner within 24 hours of announcement or another winner will be chosen. This is for tickets to the performance only. Parking and travel not included.
*This production includes explicit language, nudity, and sexual content, some of a violent nature. Recommended for mature audiences only.
02/04/2024
We are getting ready for another dress rehearsal of Breaking The Waves at the Detroit Opera House. There are a lot of very technical quick changes. Here are some of the stations we have set up for them just off set, along with a sneak peek at some of the props.
Address
1526 Broadway Street
Website
Alerts
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Detroit Opera Costumers posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Videos
Have you ever wanted to have a tiny finished edge on a thin or sheer fabric? Many sergers, or over-lock machines, can do a type of rolled-hem edge using only 1 needle, 3 threads and a narrow support plate width. Different types of machines will require different amounts of changes to go from a regular over-lock stitch, to a rolled-hem stitch. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #SergerTrick #RolledHemEdge #OverLockMachine #SewSmarterNotHarder
The “Display Piece” I mentioned in the last post is a Codpiece, or rather, set of Codpieces, inspired by @theTudorTailor and their #KingOfCodpieces competition. We used the pattern provided in the Tudor Tailor book, scaled up. We created a base in felt and canvas, stuffed with small, leftover pieces of netting from an old project. Then we created 6 covers in graduating size so that as Henry VIII shed his wives, the covers could also be shed. Each of these covers is numbered and a symbol used on each number to show what happened to that wife. The covers themselves were then decorated with the badge or arms of that particular wife. We used a variety of painting, embroidery and beading techniques to accentuate the designs. Tomorrow I'll show some detail photos of the finished covers. Do YOU have a favorite wife of Henry VIII? Let us know in the comments. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #codpiece #Tudor #HenryVIII #Henry8 #SixWives #six #6Wives #6wivesofhenryviii #RenaissanceCostume
The Detroit Opera Youth Chorus' production of the Odyssey on Saturday was SPECTACULAR! We are so proud of our DOYC. Please enjoy some of our photos from this weekend. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #doyc #YouthChorus #Odyssey
We are so excited that tomorrow is the big performance of the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus' production of the Odyssey. Here are some behind the scenes sots from set-up.#detroitoperacostumers #detroitopera #Odyssey #DOYC #YouthOpera #Detroit
#FutureProject In-between shows we have been busy working on a future project. You'll just have to keep watching to see if you can spot these fabrics in an upcoming show. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #Mystery
What is it like at the costume shop right now? Here's a little look behind the curtain so to speak. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #Odyssey #BreakingTheWaves
For something a little different, we have a quiz for you. "Can you name the Show? Europeras Costumes Edition." We have 14 costumes from 7 different opera productions worn by 6 amazing performers @kismajmusic @msoperageek @drjennysoprano @rock_n_rolfe @riverguardtenor @rwesmas . These were less than half of the costumes for this show...Pease leave your guesses in the comments, we will the answers for you soon. Photography by Detroit Opera/Austin T. Richey #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #OperaCostumeQuiz #CostumeQuiz
This is a Test Run of one of our quick changes. We had a snag in removing the first bodice where it was realized that you HAVE to pull the stay from the top with the bow to remove it quickly. This one went much more smoothly and we kept getting faster. This was also our first opportunity to lace it onto the performer. That's why we cut out the video of us lacing -into- the bodice. Sleeves also had to be reset into the armscye. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #JohnCageEuroperas3and4 #QuickChange #BodiceLacing
#WorkItWednesday This week we toured the Historic Gem Theatre to get an idea of how we will be able to set up our dressing rooms and quick change stations. Europeras 3 & 4 are going to be held down the street at this gorgeous smaller venue. It gives us some exciting challenges. We are looking forward to this beautifully eclectic opera! #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #GemTheatreDetroit #WalkThrough #Europeras3&4 #JohnCage #JohnCageEuroperas3and4 #Europeras
#ToolsDay Here we have an Expanding Sewing Gauge. This makes marking out where buttons, grommets, and pleats go very easily without having to get mad at the calculator. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #ExpandingSewingGauge #WawakHasAlmostEverythingForSewing
#MemeMonday Costumers' brains get weird when they don't sleep well during the run of a show... #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #BabyShark #SeamRipper #Snips #FabricShears #TheseSharksDoBite #Ouch
#ThrowbackThursday Here is a costume from Don G. This is for Donna Elvira. This reel shows some of our "tricks" like the lacing panel and our wide side seams... #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #dongiovanni #donnaelvira #CostumeMaking #SkilledLabor #SnapsMakeCostumeChangesBetter
#ToolsDay Structured bodices, corsets, hoop skirts and underpinnings of all kinds use different types of Boning and many of them are metal and sharp when cut. Plasti-Dip is great to use, but takes a while to dry, and the container will dry up easily between shows for us. The metal tips can get pricy, and can be difficult to put on properly. If you just leave the end cut, it can be sharp and cut through your garment. If you sand down the edges, it's less likely to cut through, but if the person wearing the garment sweats, it can rust and leave marks. The solution we found was to cut the bone to length, trim off the corners, sand it down and put heat shrink tubing on it. You can fold the end up like I did in the video, or leave it long and even sew through the tubing to keep the bone from shifting in the channel. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #Boning #BoneTipping #HeatShrinkTubing #Corsetry #CostumingIsNotJustSewing #PowerTools #SkilledLabor #PleaseDontLookAtMyNails
#MemeMonday Respect the Power Tools. Anyone who has run their fingers over with a sewing machine needle can attest to the need to be safe around all the equipment. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #SewingMachinesArePowerTools #RufflerFoot #SkilledLabor
#WorkItWednesday We had been looking at the production timeline and noticed that one of our performers who starts out in one period costume that laces up the back, has a quick change into a different period costume. In some cases we would replace the back lacing panel with a zipper, but we had the idea to try a different type of closure that we have seen used in several different places, online and in person, that doesn’t require us to replace the lacing. So we decided to try it out on one of our stock corsets and a dress form. You can see the results. #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #QuickChange #PeriodCostume #Corset #Lacing #NotAnotherZipper
#FabFriday We got some of the new curtains hung in the Cadillac Cafe at Detroit Opera yesterday afternoon. We are waiting on more parts and will get them all up after the 1st of the year. Watch for more pictures when the job is finished. They are looking good if I say so myself. Great work from the team of Trish, Lupe, Maureen and Suzanne! #dressingupforthenewyear #teamworkmakesthedreamwork @pizzarpepo @ravenessravensbane @suzanne.m.hanna #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #CadillacCafe
#Toolsday the savior of many a new build, the Blind Hem machine!
#WorkItWednesday Fabric Rolling. Gravity is your friend! #DetroitOperaCostumers #DetroitOpera #FabricRolling
Zirkel magnetic pincushion is today's #ToolsDay feature!
Shortcuts
- Address
- Alerts
- Videos
- Claim ownership or report listing
-
Want your business to be the top-listed Event Planning Service?
Share
