November 13, 2013

5 Figure Skating Dress Hacks You Need To Know

Hey guys and girls! Thanks for stopping by today for this post - the first I've written in quite a long while! If you're on Pinterest, you'll have seen the very popular "life hacks" styled posts (if you don't know what that means - it's essentially a list of easy tricks you never knew about that can make your life easier), and I thought it would be fun to adapt the concept to skating dresses! Because we all know sometimes you just need a quick fix! (psssst! If you are a Pinner, come check out my figure skating board)

September 23, 2012

Figure Skating Dress Sketch Templates

I've written quite a few posts on the subject of skating outfits and dress design now (see below), and I've been wanting to provide you all with a template dress sketch for a while. Today I finally got around to sitting down at the table and sketching out both a ladies and a girls sketch template, so you can get dress-creative even if you can't draw anything more anatomically correct than a stick-man!

September 19, 2012

Figure Skating Outfits Part 4: Considering Embellishment In Figure Skating Costumes


Welcome to part 4 of our 4-part series on figure skating costume design! If you're just joining us, make sure to check out parts one, two, and three, in the series! Having worked through the conception stages of figure skating dresses and men's outfits, today we'll be looking at those finishing touches that make dresses sparkle and pop out there on the ice: embellishment! To the Bead-Cave, my pretties! (OK so that sounded better in my head *ahem*)...

September 12, 2012

Figure Skating Outfits Part 3: How To Decide On Shape For Your Costumes

Welcome back, if you've been reading part 1 and part 2 of this series on costume design, or welcome full stop for those of you joining us today for the first time! Be sure to check out the previous posts in this mini-series on breaking down the figure skating dress design process.

Today we are going to be considering the role of shapes in dress design, and how you can use cut and shapes to relay a given message or atmosphere to your audience. So let's get cracking!

September 5, 2012

Figure Skating Outfits Part 2: Deciding On Colour For Your Figure Skating Costumes

Carrying on with our 4-part series in skating costume design, this post is the second part, following up on Part 1: The Design Process Demystified.

Today we’ll be hypothesising two figure skating costumes, to suit two very different styles/music. One will be a Latin outfit, the other something soft and romantic that one might expect to see on a skater who’s music is one of the great works of Chopin or Rachmaninov.
We’re going to be using colour swatches to demonstrate how colour can influence your feelings and convey a certain message to the viewer.

August 29, 2012

Figure Skating Outfits Part 1: The Design Process Demystified

Although I have already written several blog posts on the subject of figure skating outfits, here I'd like to take an in-depth look at how you can design your figure skating outfits. When looking at the finished product often it seems unfathomable how the designer and/or dress-maker came to such a finished piece, so here we'll take a step-by-step look at the basic figure skating costume design process, and how you too can create sensational looks for your next big event! 

August 14, 2012

Fresh As A Daisy: How To Wash Skating Outfits

Have you ever been in the middle of preparing for a competition or test, and realised your dresses are no longer smelling of roses? Do your tights have water stains from falls or spray, or worse, splatters of black rink-rubber gunk up the legs? Needless to say skating outfits are generally quite fragile little things, especially when adorned with crystals or hand-sewn beading! Even competition tights, which are usually worn thinner than training tights, can be delicate to wash if ladders and holes are to be avoided.

A few simple tips will help you avoid having to spend the night before your big performance re-gluing Swarovskis back onto your bodice. So read on to learn the secrets of successfully rinsed rink-wear!

July 1, 2010

Figure Skating Costume Ideas List

Ok, this is going to be a short post. It's more like a list of things to consider during costume conception. It's intended as an aid to designing your costume (whether you'll be making it or not), in the form of a list of styles per element of the costume (piccies included!). 

Drawing for Figure Skating Costumes

As discussed in my previous post on colour for costumes, I love drawing my outfit ideas. The lovely IceMom is also a professed sketcher and carries a notebook with her at all times, as she mentions in her great sewing post that you can read here.

Do you have a love for art, and wish you had more time or simply more ideas to doodle skating outfits? Or are you a klutz with a pencil but need decent sketches to convey your costume ideas? Here we're going to have a look at a few ways to get you off to a flying start. Once you're imagination is flowing you'll be unstoppable!!

June 30, 2010

Colour Inspiration for Figure Skating Costumes


I've been thinking alot lately about costumes as I find them a constant source of amusement and creativity in skating. I make my own outfits and love all the thought processes that go into that final garment. The most interesting step, for me, is the design stage, and this happens on paper with pencils (and when I'm feeling really crazy, watercolour pencils which turn into a wash of colour upon a stroke of wet brush tip).

June 22, 2010

How to: Make Your Own Figure Skating Outfit

I salute you! Making your own skating outfit is a hard task, yes. Especially if you have never done it before. However, it is terribly rewarding when the final garment comes together, and I just cannot describe the sheer pride you will feel when someone compliments your outfit at your competition and woos "ohh, who made that for you?". So let's go my pretties, to the sewing machine!


How to: Get a Competition Outfit

So your coach thinks you're (or your child is) ready to compete! Congratulations, and welcome to the world of competitive figure skating.

Many thoughts are probably currently buzzing around inside your head, such as what about a programme, how do I sign up for a competition, how do I choose music (see post below), and of course, what will I wear!? That's where this post comes in handy!

June 7, 2010

How to: Dress for Practice Sessions

Dressing for practice sessions is mostly a question of practicality, although some skaters also take this opportunity to show off their personal sense of style. I have personally always gone with the comfort aspect of dressing for practice, with an emphasis on safety for muscles in the cold environment.

June 6, 2010

How to: Dress for Figure Skating Tests

Sitting a test, no matter what discipline, often requires a different look than the one you might adopt for competitive participation. Here we will take a look at the main differences between these two situations and talk about what's suitable, and what's not!

Competition usually implies a myriad of clothing rules and we are, for the most part anyway, all pretty excited when it comes to thinking about what coloured rhinestones we could use, and how we could style our hair for the all-important event. To mention but a few important factors in competitive dress; the outfit itself, the tights (glittered, non-glittered, over-the-boot, footed, stirupped, glossy, matte... need I go on?), hairstyles, hair accessories, eye shadow, lipsticks.. the list goes on. But which of these elements cross over into the testing situation, and which most definitely do not?

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