Adding boas to a shrug or gloves gives it a tribal or cutesy feel depending on the boa that you use.
Supplies:
- Shrug and/or gloves
- Boas
- Thread to match boas
- Needles
- Safety Pins
- Scissors
Directions:
Choosing the Materials
The first step is to pick the type of boa that you want to use. There is the smaller boa and the larger boa that has feathers. One thing to consider with the larger boa is that sometimes the feathers will drop on the floor. If that is a point deduction, you will probably not want to use that larger boa. The next thing to consider is the color.
On our sample we are using both a shrug and gloves. First, we will show you how to work with the shrug.
Pinning the Boa on the Shrug
Since the boa does not stretch, you will want to pin the boa to the shrug while the dancer is wearing it. Fold the boa in half to find the center and then match that point to the center of the back of the shrug. Then start pinning the boa to the shrug. Start from that center point and move along one side of the neckline and then return to the center and go down the neckline in the other direction. Make sure, of course, to use safety pins.
Pinning the Boa to the Gloves
We are using the “v” gloves for our sample. There are two ways to pin the boa on the gloves. The first way you could pin the boa on the gloves while the girl is wearing them. The other way is to make a plastic card the size of the girls arm and slip the glove on this plastic piece. You do not want to use cardboard because cardboard could bend and that would destroy the integrity of the measurements. Measure the width of the dancer’s arm and then create this plastic piece to those measurements. Once the glove is on the dancer’s arm or on the plastic piece, then pin the boa to the glove.
The beauty of using the plastic piece for pinning the boa to the gloves is that you only need to pin the one end of the boa and then you can sew the boa onto the gloves while it is in place. If the glove is on the dancer’s arm, then you would have to pin the boa around the top of the glove, remove the glove from the dancers arm and then sew the boa on.
Sewing the Boa to the Shrug or the Gloves
Sew the boa around the edge of the shrug or the top of the gloves from the inside of the shrug. Use thread that matches the boa and be careful to catch the thread that runs along the center of the boa. As is customary, we suggest that you knot the sewing thread at close intervals so that if the thread breaks the boa is not left hanging.
