Finding Irish Sewing Patterns: Skirt and Irish Dance Pattern
The dances remain popular. Dancing teachers, dance troupes and even dance competitions like the Irish style of dancing. Unfortunately, if you are making your own Irish style dance skirt the pattern makers may not have kept up with the demand. Often these dance patterns are out of print.
Finding new Irish dance dresses can be expensive They may cost over $2,000 with used running at about $800 or more. To help you overcome those high costs you can find a dance pattern at Sew Irish for about $10.
To learn more about Irish dance patterns and skirts just continue to read our article. It does the research so you can save time and find the right pattern for your next dance event.
Irish Sewing Patterns 101
Sewing Patterns for Irish Dance Dresses
Trying to find Irish dance patterns is not always an easy task to do. Some times you may have to adjust or alter a Burda pattern to fit the requirements for your new Irish skirt. You can find one of those Burda patterns at Simplicity. The cost of this pattern is about $9.
Then you can try the Pinterest web page. It has a variety of patterns to choose from. Their cost will range depending on the style and complicated design of the costume pattern. There should be over 50 patterns to look through and see if they meet what you need.
Then there is Guna Rince. A company that specializes in Irish Dance patterns. They have recently expanded their line and launched a new website to accommodate all of their customers.
While you may not want to shop at Feis Dresses as their line of new Irish dance skirts can be somewhat expensive. They do have a very good web page detailing current scams that some of their clients have run into. The warning helps make you aware of what is going on so you can prepare yourself.
Irish Dance Dress Bag Pattern
Your search for an Irish dance dress bag pattern can begin at Pinterest. It has a fine selection of different patterns that you may be able to use. There is a fine set of instructions to make your Irish dance dress bag at dance.net. It has a little picture followed by a detailed list of instructions to guide you through the process.
Guna Rince has some patterns for dress bags as well. You can reach their selection by clicking on this link. that page comes with PDF files for you to download and use at your leisure. The cost is only $13.
Then you can always check Amazon but their selection is more of new dress bags for a modest price. If you want to get one new bag and use it as a pattern maker then you can try Etsy. They have a large selection of Irish dance dress bags on sale mixed in with other accessories.
If those sources do not carry what you are looking for, you can always go to your local fabric store and see what patterns for dress bags they have available. Or you can talk to the members of the many different sewing discussion forums and see what leads they can provide you.
Irish Skirt Pattern
One of the problems with finding an Irish dance skirt pattern is that many of them have gone out of print. You can find the older ones through different auction houses or even estate and yard sales.
If you are determined to save some money and make your own be prepared to pay a little more for the materials involved as well as investing more time than your other sewing projects. Some sew it yourself Irish dance skirt projects can still cost you a lot of money.
Of course, the simpler the design the less you will have to pay. But if the skirt is for a competition then expect to pay more for all the intricate details you have to add to the fabric.
Simplicity used to have a pattern but they no longer make it. Irish Threads was another location but a search for their website turned up no results. You can try to reach them through their Facebook page and see what they have to offer.
The key to making an Irish dance skirt is deciding on what color and design are going to be the best one to use.
What are Irish Dance Dresses Called?
The language surrounding Irish dancing, dresses, and competitions is different than one would expect when going to a dance competition. In fact, it is not called a competition at all. It is called a feis, pronounced as fesh.
If there is more than one feis going on, then you would be attending a feiseanna. These events can be held in just about any location. The same attitude continues through the costume you or your child has to wear.
The Irish dance dress is called a solo dress or solo dresses. Their socks are called poodle socks and their shoes are named ghillies, which is pronounced with a hard G and a silent H.
When you attend or are entered into an Irish dance feis you are literally entering a whole new world that is not the same as other dance competitions. Even the names teachers and judges are not used. Instead, the teachers are called Teasgicoir Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha while the word judges are replaced by Ard Diploma Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha.
Those are tongue twisters. It is an interesting world to be involved with.
What are Irish Dance Dresses Made Of?
Over the years the fabrics Irish dance dressmakers use has changed. In the early years, the dresses were made from velvet and had a lot of knotworks added to liven up the costume.
In more recent years, these dressmakers have opted for lighter fabrics like silk. They have also gotten away from knotwork and added sequins and bright colors to make the dress more attractive and have it stand out more.
Now it seems that velvet is making a comeback but the added bling remains as even the poodle socks get some attractive accessories to brighten their look. Generally, the rule of thumb is that only 3 colors are used at most when creating a dress.
But then that is not always a standard some dressmakers hold to. You may find some Irish dance dresses made with more than 3 colors. There are also a lot of geometric shapes and patterns that are repeated.
Now you may design a dress the way you want it to look but if you or your child are a member of a team, those design decisions should already be made for you.
How Much do Irish Dance Dresses Cost?
You are not going to find a really good Irish dance dress at Wal Mart or Target type stores. If you do then you should question the quality of the dress and not expect it to last very long.
The cost of the dress will depend a lot on how much work will go into creating it. You can find some at Feis Dresses for over $2000 and some for just over $1000. other locations also have high prices on their Irish Dance dresses because of the quality of materials.
Then the price will be determined by the city you live in, the demand for the dress and so on. If you want a nice Irish Dance dress then expect to pay a lot for it. You can find used dresses but their cost will also be high. Some start at $500 and go up from there.
Why are Irish Dance Dresses so Expensive?
One reason for their high expense will be the fabric used in creating them. If the dressmaker uses silk or some other expensive light fabric, then the silk alone will drive the cost up significantly.
The other main reason is the amount of intricate design that is attached to the fabric. If you want a decorative, complicated design then the dressmaker will have to spend several days applying the sequins and other accessories. This time will drive the cost up just in labor alone. Not to mention the cost of the embellishments.
Some minor reasons that keep the cost of the Irish Dance dress high are the city yo live in. Some cities have a high cost of living and that will include fabrics and embellishments as well as labor costs.
Then the demand for the dress will influence the price. If there is a lot of demand then the cost will go up, if not you may be lucky and get a price break. Finally, the store you buy it at may inflate the price due to their reputation, quality of craftsmanship and so on.
How to Measure Irish Dance Dress
When you go to take the measurements for the dress you can do like you would for any dress. The key is to make sure you measure carefully, especially if the dress you are making is for a young child that still has lots of growth in them.
When you are making the dress for a young child make sure to make it a little larger than the measurements call for. This adjustment leaves room for any growth your child may have while using the dress.
You want to do this because even making the dress yourself can cost you hundreds of dollars and you do not want to have to spend that much money any time soon. Also, adding a little stretch to the fabric will help with your child’s movements keeping her comfortable throughout their dance.
There is a rule of thumb that is used in other industries that apply to sewing Irish dresses and other clothing items. It goes- measure twice, cut once. When you are dealing with expensive fabrics you want to be sure you made the right cuts.
How to Sew Irish Dance Dress
These dresses are not only expensive to make they are also complicated items to produce. You will need a lot of patience as it will take you a lot of time and maybe cause you to use a few words you hate to use.
Once you get your pattern and fabric, you want to use the wrong side of the fabric to make your cuts. Then cut out all the pieces of the dress at the same time. Make sure to label them as you go so you do not get confused and lose a piece.
Before you start sewing the different pieces together, you should consider sewing the embellishments on first. The pieces are easier to handle at this point than they would be if you waited till after connecting the different sections of the dress.
Cotton interfacing is a good fabric to use when you are using a stretchy material to create the dress. Then start with the side seams to begin putting the dress together. After that attach the bodice and then the arms.
Once those are attached you need to attach the zipper. You might try an open-ended zipper as they work well on these types of dresses. When you are done with that part of the dress attach the collar.
As you attach the bodice to the skirt start with the front panel then move on from there till the zipper is attached. At this point, you can add a brooch or other accessories you want the dress to have.
Some Final Words
Even though Irish dances are not out of style, some Irish dance dress patterns are. It may be a little difficult finding the right pattern that you need. But don’t despair, other dress patterns can be altered enough to meet your project’s demands.
All you need to do is look in the right places. Once you get the pattern, just make sure you have the budget for the fabric and the embellishments. Patterns are cheap the rest is not.
