In this section, we want to show you different ways to cover belly buttons and/or love handles. We will give you ideas on how to use various shapes and how to drape them to look best for your body type.
First, you have to have a bra top and the bottom. If you are using a skirt, then you should sew the piece to the brief or shorts under the skirt. Otherwise, it will pull the skirt up.
Supplies:
- Top
- Bottom
- Fabric of your choice – Often works better with a fabric other than the fabric that is the same as the top and bottom
- Scissors
- Pins
- Tailor’s chalk or a small piece of soap
- Broach, feathers (optional)
Directions:
- Choosing Supplies and Materials
First, you have to have a bra top and a bottom that you want to use where you want to cover these trouble spots. If you are using a skirt, then you should sew the piece to the brief or shorts under the skirt. Otherwise, it will pull the skirt up.
You could use material that matches the bra and/or top or that complements the bra or top. You could also use lace, a textured material or a printed material. Choose whatever appeals most to you.
- Preparation
Put the garments on the dancer. If you are making these changes for yourself, you should look in a mirror while you determine what you want to do because you will need to stand up straight to make sure that additional fabric pieces do not pull. The method you choose will depend on what you are trying to cover.
- Different shapes and draping
There are several suggestions below:
- Use a long acute triangle piece of fabric. Put the smaller end up by the armhole and tuck it inside the armhole and sew it down. If you put it as high as the shoulder at the strap, you could make a decorative tie around the strap or sew it down. You could also use a broach on the end of the triangle at the shoulder to make it more decorative. Pull the fatter end of the triangle to the opposite.
- Use an iscoceles triangle and tuck the narrow end under the bra and spread the wider end under the waistband. If you wish, you could gather up the end that is under the bra. You could also pull the bottom off to one side.
- Insert a piece of fabric of your choice straight down on the side from the top to the bottom.
- Drape a piece material of any shape – a rectangle, an acute triangle or isosceles triangle, from the center of the neckline to the bottom. The piece could be straight down or at an angle. Again, you could use a broach or a flower at the top.
- There is another technique where you create swirls. First, you cut a circle. Then, you cut inside the circle about an inch from the edge so that it makes a circular design. Draw a line from the outside in a circular pattern to the middle of the circle. When you hold it up by the outside of the circle, it will create swirls that hang down. You could then attach a few of the swirls at the bottom of the fabric that is stretched across the front of the bra and bottom.
Play with these different ideas and choose the idea, or the combination of ideas, that works best for your body. Be creative and play with it.
You could also use a broach, feathers or flowers or whatever strikes your fancy to add to these drapings.
