Schlep Sisters. Photo: Don Spiro

THE SCHLEP SISTERS HANUKKAH CRAFT CORNER

Menorah Merkin/Hanukkah Hairpiece

Depending on what Hanukkah party you’re going to, you’ll want some holiday bling to stand out in the crowd! If it’s a family gathering your hairpiece will be the most festive fascinator at the party. If you’re planning a sexy date or a holiday burlesque act your merkin will remind your sweetheart or audience where to find the miracle of light!

SUPPLIES:

• Buckram (hat-making material; you can substitute with card stock or cardboard)
• Silver and/or gold fabric
• Red, orange, yellow and black tulle (optional)
• White, red, orange, yellow and blue sequins or crystals (it’s your choice, get creative!)
• Hot glue gun and extra glue sticks
• Beacon Gem-Tac (The Schlep Sisters preferred decorating glue)
• Menorah stencil (see attached photo, print out according to your sizing needs.)
• Hair comb (optional)

In honor of the eight days of Hanukkah, here are eight easy steps to making this interchangeable miraculous merkin/festive fascinator!

1. Print out your Menorah Stencil

Make this any size you want, you know how big your head/merkin area is!

2. Turn on your hot glue gun

It will take 1-5 minutes to heat up depending on your glue gun. Put the glue gun on top of a piece of cardboard covered in tin foil to prevent any mess on your table.

3. Prepping the base of the merkin/hairpiece

Print and cut out the stencil and trace it on to a piece of buckram. Cut the buckram and, voilà! You have a buckram menorah!

4. Glue and sew the comb to your buckram menorah (optional, you can also just pin your fascinator on with bobby pins):

Sew the comb to the buckram and reinforce with hot glue.

5. Glue buckrum to fabric

Using the hot glue gun, glue the buckram menorah to silver or gold fabric and trim off excess fabric. Let it cool to a warm (not hot) temperature. Then place and form it on your head/merkin area.

6. Decorate!

Use Beacon Gem-Tac to decorate your merkin/fascinator with sequins/crystals. It takes about 24 hours to dry, but it dries clear! Our preferred design is white for the candles, and red, orange and yellow for the flames. Blue to line the Menorah. Optional: add tulle to the flames to create a flowing fire/smoke look!

7. Wear it!

Wearing it as a merkin? Apply double-sided carpet tape to your merkin, remove the backing and apply to an (ideally) hairless merkin area. Please advise, we’re not advocating for a hairless bush. We just want to prepare you for the potential ouchies of taking off a merkin.

8. Werk it!

Wearing at as a fascinator? Style your hair or wig to showcase your beautiful locks. Attach your Hanukkah Hairpiece with bobby pins if you didn’t glue on a comb. You’ll be the shining light of the party!!

More Hannukah Fun with the Schlep Sisters

Customs By Cora – D.I.Y. Sewing and Crafting

Anyone who knows me knows I have a costuming compulsion…sickness…ok, possibly a serious problem. Thanks to Pin Curl Magazine, I now have an opportunity to share some of my madness with you. I hope that I can give you some ideas and information that will help you find new and fun ways to express yourself and make the world a more beautiful (or crazy) place…Enjoy!

Here’s Looking At You…The Googly Eye Series.

We all know that shoes covered in rhinestones are amazing. But, what about another material? In the middle of creating some new costumes for our yearly Zombielesqe show, one of my dancers sent me a picture of shoes that had goggly eyes on them. WHAT??? Googly eyes? This must happen!

I should say at this point that you can apply this whole column to rhinestones as well, but for this project, I was using goggly eyes.

Step 1- Grab a pair of shoes. Anyone who knows me, knows I have an entire room filled with costumes I have made and an embarrassing stock of materials I think I “might” use someday. Patent leather shoes are always my shoe of choice for these kinds of projects. With patent leather, I have had the best luck with glue adhering to both the shoe and the rhinestone. Plus, they are really affordable.

Step 2 – Make sure the surface of the shoe is really clean. I use Clorox Wipes, but then I use them for just about everything including taking makeup off my face (Insert horrified look here).

Step 3 – Once your surface is clean and dry, grab your supplies. In this case, eyeballs, a wax stick and glue. I used goggly eyes from Joann but I am sure you can get them just about anywhere and they are surprisingly cheap. My glue of choice for ANYTHING on a shoe or flexible surface is E-6000. E-6000 can be found in most craft stores. Warning: use E-6000 in a well ventilated room. The vapors can be pretty toxic, but, I have found nothing that works better. I use a wax ended stick from www.hotfixqueen.com to place the rhinestones/googly eyes. I understand that beeswax, museum wax and crayons also work. I’ll have to try that someday. But for now, I am sticking with what I have.

Step 4 – Pour out your goggly eyes into a small tray with sides. Anything will work, but I like a flat lid or something that will allow me to shake out the eyes/stones when they are not right side up. This flips them over rather than having to do it one at a time. I find this step saves me a lot of time.

Step 5 – Apply small dots of E-6000 wherever you want to put your embellishments. I do multiple dots at a time. Just make sure that you do it fast enough that the glue doesn’t dry before you get to it. Touch the top of the eyeball (yuck) with the waxy end of the stick and it will pick it up. Then gently press the bottom of the eyeball down into the glue. Try to get just the right amount of glue so it just barely comes out the sides. This will make the strongest bond.

Step 6 – Pour yourself a glass of wine and settle in. This is going to take a while…

Step 7 – Make sure when you are finished you give the glue at least 24 hours to cure and you will have an amazingly crazy pair of shoes!

But, I had leftovers….so…

An eyeball bra!! I took a bra (again from that room of craziness) and got to work. Note: a hard cup bra works best for gluing on any embellishments. I used the same application process and a few hours (and glasses of wine) later, I had eyes down where we always say they aren’t. Get it?

Another warning: the early feedback I have gotten is that men are freaked out by boobs staring back at them. So proceed with caution…and awesomeness.

Until next time…xoxo Cora Vette www.coravette.com

Congrats to Silver Kitsune of Charlotte, North Carolina, who won First Place in our recent DIY contest with this Fascinator Project!

How to make a professional looking fascinator:

The word “fascinator” has recently come into the public consciousness due to certain royal hijinks revolving around horse races and weddings. Worn instead of a hat, the modern fashion world has taken to reviving the idea of feathery, flowery and bedazzled headpieces with a will. Increasingly brides are choosing to wear fascinators because of the endless customization options available.
Those of us in the burlesque/pin-up world are left wondering what the fuss is all about, because we’ve been using them for years! Anyone in the burlesque world will tell you that any good costume includes a headpiece. It adds the perfect amount of sophistication and, with an endless array of choices, it provides the artist with a quick way to change up their look during a show without having to completely redo their entire ‘do. With most of the women that I work with operating on a tight budget, I am often astonished at how much a performer will be willing to pay for a simple flower-and-feather clip. The favorable comments about my first few fascinators at shows lead me into making them professionally and I’ve put together a tutorial to help out my fellow ladies make an elaborate (and cost effective!) fascinator for their very own. All supplies could be easily found at a local craft store!

Materials:

I’ve listed exactly the “ingredients” that I used for the fascinator in the pictures, but you could use a mix of materials based on this basic pattern to create a one-of-a-kind fascinator!

-large faux rose (red)

-one large ostrich feather (black)

-goose feather biots* (red)

-pheasant feathers* (red)

-coque feathers* (red)

-stiff black felt

-one large hair clip (I recommend alligator-style clips, I’ve had the best luck with these)

-scissors

-hot glue gun and glue cartridges

-large needle

-rhinestones (basic crystal)

-glue (I recommend GemTac, it dries clear and is easy to use)

-beaded string or ribbon

*Most feathers can be found in mixed bunches in the same area of a craft store as the faux flowers, it’s a good way to get a pile of different feathers without having to buy them all individually, all they require is a bit of disassembly.

Step 1:

Begin by breaking down your materials. You’ll need to remove the rose from its’ stem, cutting as close to the base of the flower as you can. Next you’ll need to disassemble the feather clusters to get at the individual parts. Set these aside in piles so that they’ll be ready at hand and easy to get to.

Remember: a neat workspace saves you time, hassle and possible big, sticky messes if you’re a haphazard hot-gluer like me!

Step 2:

Take the black felt and cut it into a rounded teardrop shape. You will then need to take your clip and secure it to the felt base, using hot glue. Make sure that you coat all but the very end of the clip with glue so that you will have the most secure base possible. The levering end of the clip should be aligned with the narrowest end of the felt, with the clip’s opening pointing towards the widest part. Leave a bit of the end sticking out past the felt, this will make it easier to put the clip on later.

Step 3:

Take your ostrich feather and coat the base with hot glue, you will need to apply enough glue so that the feather is secured along the entire length of the felt base. Align your feather in a way that maximizes the beauty of the ostrich feather, any overhang at the tip can be trimmed away.

Step 4:

Take a look at your pheasant feathers. In this piece, I’m using three of them, but feathers are like snowflakes and no two are alike. Take a moment to decide where and how you’ll want to place your feathers to best minimize any imperfections. I’ve decided to layer mine in unequal lengths, which will add depth and texture to the fascinator.

Now secure your pheasant feather in the same way that you secured your ostrich feather. Use hot glue at the base of each feather and wait until each is fully attached before adding the next one. Make sure your glue extends to the end of the felt base and be careful of your fingers, hot glue is just that: hot! Once again make sure that you trim the ends of your feathers, doing this as you go is much easier than trying to do it once you’re done.

Step 5:

Now you can move on to the coque feathers. I’ve added four of these to the base of the pheasant feathers in a fan shape. Secure these in the same way as you did the ostrich and the pheasant feathers. These feathers will be a little more tricky because they are a little more “fuzzy” than the others, just be patient!

Step 6:

Using goose feather biots can be tricky, but they add a real professional look to any hair piece. Deceptively delicate looking, they can be manipulated into almost any shape. For this piece, you’ll need to first secure one end of the biot to the base of your clip, wait a few moments and then glue down the other end. Viola! You now have an fascinating looking feathered loop added to your fascinator! Keep adding biots in this manner until you’ve got a large fan of loops, making sure that you don’t clump the bases all in one place. Your base is cut to make sure that you have plenty of room to spread out your glue.

Step 7:

Next, take your beaded ribbon and cut a few different lengths, you can then glue these in loops to the end of your base to provide a nice cascade of beads to give your fascinator a more elaborate look. I’ve found that this is a nice touch, but also one that can be easily left off according to personal preference.

Step 8:

Now comes the easiest step! Put a nice big dollop of hot glue on the bottom of your rose and attach it to your base. Make sure you check your positioning BEFORE you attach the rose, since this is the point of no return! Attach the rose in such a way that it covers up all the little ends of feathers and beaded stands. No one wants to see a messy base!

Step 9:

Because of the way a faux flower is shaped, you will usually be able to see underneath the where some of your messy ends are. This may not seem like a big deal, since you are viewing your fascinator from above, but it can easily be seen from the front when worn. So simply place a dab of glue on one of the bottom petals and press it closed over the base, that way all anyone will be able to see from the front is a beautiful flower!

Step 10:

Now for embellishment! The first thing one usually notices about a burlesque costume is the sparkle, so we’re going to add a bit of sparkle to our fascinator. I like to use GemTac or a similar product for this, using hot glue is too bulky and messy and using superglue will leave your crystals with a film that robs them of all luster.

a) Squeeze out a bit of glue onto a plate or a spare piece of felt. Use your needle to dab a line of glue down the shaft of one of your pheasant feathers. Following the natural line of the feather is the easiest way to figure out where to add rhinestones.

b) Now just place your crystals along the line of glue, tap down with your needle and wait for the glue to dry!

Now you can wear your very own handmade fascinator however you like! Use them for shows, costumes, photo-shoots, parties, weddings or even make a few small ones for everyday wear. The possibilities are literally endless. You are only limited by what sorts of materials you can find! The total cost of this project was less than $20 starting from scratch and almost all of us have a collection of supplies we use in costume making, so if you look around your craft space, you probably have most of the supplies already on hand!

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is one of the most unique holidays in the world. Originating in Mexico, it is a celebration of the lives of those who have passed, and an invitation for them to return to visit for a day. More recently, it has become an American pop culture obsession. Want to join in on the celebration? Enjoy this handy DIY make-up tutorial on calavera, or skull, make-up applications.

Watch on You Tube

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Have a question you would love to have a seasoned performer answer?  Are you a fabulous burly-q gal who’d like to answer reader questions?  Hit us up at editor@pincurlmag.com !

Vivienne Vermuth. Photo: High Art

Tips for stretching your costume budget: Making every rhinestone count!

by: Vivienne Vermuth

Sitting in the audience at a burlesque show is thrilling, especially seeing the moment when the dancer struts out on stage, displaying a glittering, gleaming costume full of feathers, sequins, rhinestones and glam. You immediately decide to go home and try to create something similar… Wow, who knew that those teensy rhinestones were worth their weight (literally) in gold! And how much are ostrich feathers? GEEZ!
Yes, burly girls develop quite the expensive habit… But there are ways to cut down costs and not lose the glitz! I will also clear the air on types of bling so you are more educated on where your dough goes!

The most important item that every ecdysiast needs: rhinestones to adorn their pasties, g-strings, gowns and gloves. It can be confusing searching for these, especially when buying in bulk and in high quantity! Here’s what years of searching and buying have lead me to -

1) Not every rhinestone is equal! There a three major types – plastic (acrylic), glass (also can be preciosa) machine cut, and the highly coveted Swavroski. These can be broken down by two main categories that separate them, cut and clarity. Hold up an acrylic rhinestone, and they appear a bit cloudy, not easily seen through, but still some shine, and there is just a little reflection off its surface. Hold up a machine cut glass stone, and it’s much clearer, with more glint. Machine cut stones have more facets, or inner/outer surfaces for the light to bounce off (like a diamond). Swarovskis have a specific cutting process that gives them the most facets, which gives them what’s commonly called the “inner fire”. While a lot of machine cut glass comes close, there isn’t anything like a “Swav”. Good news is you can find balance of sparkle and checkbook by mixing your stones!

2.) Be careful of how MANY you buy! I’ve seen too many companies sell stones for much higher mark
Up, simply by changing the numbers. Look for words like “by the gross” which is industry term for 144 pieces, or stones in a pack, or a “ten”, meaning a ten gross pack, 1440 pieces or stones. Generally the more you buy, the cheaper they become. Don’t be fooled by half gross! You could pay way more!! Best places I have found for great prices on Swavroski without a wholesale ID – rhinestone guy.com, rhinestoneshop.com (free shipping!) and my newest find, rhinestonebiz.com. I have used them all, found great prices, excellent service and fast shipping. For excellent acrylic and glass stones, I highly recommend Decadent Dame Designs on etsy.com, she sells an amazing selection of high quality acrylic and glass machine cut stones, and I have a coupon for you to use when purchasing through this store – use “VIVIENNEVERMUTH” in your checkout for 10% percent off your purchase! Please do not buy crystals at the local craft stores unless you are in desperate need – you won’t get nearly as much bang for your buck!

3.) When combining rhinestones, it’s always smart to use them strategically! If you have a large area to fill, use acrylic or machine cut stones, and use Swavroski to highlight where light will hit your costu e most! the great performer and costumer Penny Starr Jr teaches this in her famous workshops all over the country. You can also use sequins, especially faceted ones (not flat) because they are foiled and will bounce light off easily! You can also use sparkly material and use good rhinestones to accentuate.

4.) Don’t forget a food glue! When possible, don’t use hot glue! It’s not a bad glue for in a pinch, but generally speaking it’s not a long term adhesive. Look to more industrial glues, such as E6000. Do material tests first to make sure these glues don’t stain fabric, and be VERY cautious of fumes and work in well ventilated areas! When used properly, these glues will ensure you don’t lose stones while taking it off! They also work well for trim, feathers and other pieces.

Now get out your crafty stuff and make something sparkly! Happy bedazzling!

The Tape Dilemma

By: Black Mariah

How do you apply pasties?

I think the only real point that will never have one answer between burlesque dancers is “how do you keep your pasties on?” The answers will range from Flash tape, eyelash glue, spirit gum, toupee tape, and the list grows every year I spend in the world of burlesque.

I have attended many shows, many conversations in the dressing rooms, many “pastie rescue efforts”, and one thing I do know, is as many answers as exist to the pastie dilemma question, whatever choice a dancer uses, they stick to it. (no pun intended. Ok it was intended)

I have only decided that the reason for the variety in adhesive usage is A) availability of products and B) skin types and their reaction to adhesives.

Liquid adhesives like Liquid Latex (which is also known as eyelash glue) and spirit gum, and medical glue are favored by many dancers. The disadvantage to these is the drying time. In the need of quick pastie changes, drying time cannot be an issue for a dancer’s changing regiment. Another point to consider is skin allergies. Although people can be allergic to virtually anything these days, a latex allergy is a very common allergy, and must be considered when choosing an adhesive.

The other types of adhesives are the tape style adhesives. These are adhesives that come in a solid double sided sheet type form, and are applied to the pastie, then a wax backing is removed to expose a sticky side which adheres to the skin. The tape style adhesives vary greatly in their adherence and composition. Flash tape, toupee tape, carpet tape, medical adhesive (the tape form), and many others are all adhesives used to apply a pastie. Testing products to see what works best with your particular skin type is essential to becoming a happy pastie wearer.

Make sure that whatever adhesive you choose does not take skin off when you remove the pastie, (think cheap bandaids! OUCH!) look for swelling, itching, hives or sever redness while wearing the adhesive, as all of these are signs of skin allergies or sensitivity to the adhesive.

When you apply your adhesive, apply the adhesive to the outer ring of the inside of the pastie that makes contact with your skin. Make sure your skin is clean and dry when applying the pastie, free from lotions or body oils as the adhesive will not stick when oil is present. The nipple area is sensitive and thin skinned so avoid placing adhesive where it may make contact with the nipple itself (center of the pastie). Those of you with nipple piercings will also want to avoid adhesive that will make contact with your jewelry. Pulling off the pastie when it is adhered to jewelry could cause trauma to the pierced skin.  If you have exhausted every possibility of adhesives and your pastie is still coming off, then resort to putting tape adhesive all over the pastie. Do not try this method with liquid adhesive as the center of the pastie will not dry while the outside will dry. Also avoid liquid adhesives if you have piercings as wet adhesive can seep into the piercing and cause lots of issues and even infection. When removing the pastie take care and gently pull the pastie off starting on one side and pulling towards the opposite side. If the adhesive requires a remover (spirit gum) be sure to use that to remove your pastie. If you should receive battle scars or irritation from pastie removal (this will happen with repeated pastie changes in a short time) apply Neosporin or some type of triple antibiotic cream to the area that is irritated until healed. And certainly don’t cover it with a band aid!

Here are some brands you can look for to try their adhesives.

Braza bra “Flash Tape’ comes in a 30’ roll of double sided tape.Can be found at local dancer shops as well as online.

Top Stick Men’s grooming tape- toupee tape this can be found at beauty supply stores and wig shops. Top stick comes in 1×3 strips. Top Sol which is made by the same company comes in a roll, and is virtually the same product.

Double sided tape from TheBreastFormstore.com This tape is pressure sensitive and heat sensitive, becoming more secure the harder it is pressed into the skin and the longer it is worn.

Duo lash glue- get clear, the dark tone will dry black.  Can be found at beauty supply stores and drugstores in the beauty supply section.

Liquid Latex- can be found online as well as local sex shops in various sized containers.

Spirit Gum/ Spirit Gum remover- sold by Ben Nye or any theatrical supply company. This product can be found online or at local costume or theatrical suppliers.

Medical adhesive/removers- can be found online through medical suppliers. Searching locally could prove to be a hard sought adventure.

DIY Pasties with Vivienne Vermuth

Photos: Courtesy of Miss Vermuth

One of the most fun things about being in burlesque has to be making pasties! These little circles of delight can really bring out your creativity, and lets you express your personality on your…well, personalities! Once you get the basics down, you’ll be a pasty making princess in no time!

As far as materials for pasties, I tend to use buckram, which is a stiff mesh-like fabric that’s used commonly use for millinery (hat-making.) Other materials that are good to use are vinyl and stiff felt. I tend to use Aleene’s Fabric Fusion or E 6000 as my glues of choice. If you choose to attach tassels to your pasties, you will also want to grab some metal grommets to ensure a smooth twirl. I’ll go over tassels more at the end.

STEP ONE

Measure how big you want your pasty to be, by measuring the dark part around your nips. That should be the size of your pasty. Then use a protractor, set it at 1/4 of an inch more than your size, and draw 2 circles on your fabric. Cut them out, and cut out a small “pie slice” from the edge to the center. Your circles should look like a PAC MAN.

STEP TWO

Take your glue and run a small line of glue down one edge of the pie slice, then bring the other edge of the pie slice to the glue side. You’ll find that your pasty now has a prominent upside down “V”, or tent shape. Take your finger or Popsicle stick and smooth the glue down over the edge so its seamless, and it will get rid of the edge a bit. If you are attaching tassels, snip a TINY hole in the tip, and place the grommet into the hole, and glue the edge, leaving the hole clear.

STEP THREE

DECORATE!!! This is the fun part! You can use sequins, rhinestones, glitter, fabric- whatever your heart desires! Keep in mind the weight of the pasty – the heavier it is, the harder it will be to keep on! Also, if you attach pasties, make sure everything is smooth and laying flat – you don’t want to catch your tassel on an edge!

STEP FOUR (ATTACHING TASSELS)

Starting from the outside of the pasty, take the non business end of the tassel and thread it through your grommet, just enough to poke through the inside of the pasty. Then take your glue (I prefer hot glue for this because it’s waterproof when dry) and drop a bead big enough to cover the back of the grommet and the tassel, then place s small circle of fabric over it to protect your nip. Once dry, your tassels should swing freely! You can also experiment with using necklace chains as your tassels, because then you can change out your tassels!

USING YOUR PASTIES

My favorite adhesive is toupee tape made for wigs and hairpieces, but you can also use eyelash adhesive, double sided tape, spirit gum, etc. Keep in mind how you will use them, i.e. if you are a performer, you may want to use tape to ensure that they stay on. If you want to use liquid adhesives, I would advise putting a small layer of hot glue on the back of your pasties, because once it’s dry it will be waterproof and then whatever adhesive you use won’t stain or damage your pasties. Take the adhesive, and line around the edge of the pasty, then press onto the nip. You are set to go!

Enjoy your new pasties!

Cheers! Vivienne Vermuth

Shake a tail feather with Black Mariah

No need to post an emailed question this month because I have had DOZENS of emails from burlesque dancer wanting to purchase ostrich feather fans. I thought these emails came at a great time as I just purchased my third pair of ostrich feather fans, and let me tell you, I thought I knew everything about fans, and I did not. With that, let me educate all of you potential feather flaunters in how to purchase your first pair of fans wisely.

When I bought my first set of ostrich feather fans, there were only a few websites selling “Sally Rand” fans. I must have searched over a month before I settled on a fan vendor and sent my payment for my fans. When I received my fans from the company that shall not be names, I was incredibly disappointed. They weren’t nearly as full as they appeared in the picture, and they didn’t open up to even 45 degrees the fan staves were wooden but not painted to match the black feathers, just wood. I made the best with the purchase and went on to make a great number with them. I just chalked it up to a life lesson of “You get what you pay for”. The fans I purchased were really only about $120 less than the fans I COULD HAVE gotten from a competing company which I would have been extremely happy to have. I purchased a pair later from ostrich.com, but had bought the cheapest fans which were the full sized single layer fans. When I received them, I was not satisfied as they too were not as full as I thought they were, which was no fault of ostrich.com, as the pictures on the website accurately depicted the product. I just didn’t know any better. Here are the important details I wished I had known before I made both of those purchases.

1. Buy at least double layer fans — Ostrich feathers are thin and dainty quills. If you hold a large sized feather (the size used in feather fans) up, you can see through them. If you hold two together, one in front of the other, the objects behind the two feathers are hidden; hence your naughty bits will not be exposed. Triple layer is best, if you purchase fans with clear staves. The third layer is a short set of feathers set low on the staves, starting just about the connecting screw. The third layer actually covers the clear part of the bottom of the fan staves that would be a point of exposure. Some vendors also sell fans with colored staves, in which case the third layer would only be a preference and not a need.

2. Purchase pre assembled fans I am incredibly crafty and know my way around all of the tools in our garage. I would even go as far as to describe myself as the very definition of DIY. However adding a second layer of feathers to a set of white feather single layer fans was a very humbling experience. It took me three days of wrestling with wire, wire pliers, clamps and ostrich feathers which I might explain, do not like to lay flat- EVER. They rolled and moved, and caught the wind easily and slid out of there places. It was very difficult. The Ostrich.com website suggests that the approximate assembly time is 75 minutes per fan. I am pretty sure it took me much longer when dealing with two feathers per stave. The lesson here is that it is not NEARLY as easy as it sounds. The last purchase I made from ostrich.com, I purchased pre assembled. It was worth the extra charge to let a professional do it and make it look nice.

3. Wide open spaces Know the dimensions of your stage before you commit to using your fans in a show. A stage that is 10 ft wide is too small. Full sized fans should measure 30” from the anchor screw to the tip of the feather. My arm measure 25” from shoulder to thumb. In a full arm extension with one fan out to the side of your body, you would need 55” of clearance just to perform a basic extension swirl. That is 4.5 ft. So double that for the other fan on the opposite side of your body and that is 9 feet of space just to complete two arm extension swirls, leave one tiny foot of space for your body to move about. Constrained movement does not make for a beautiful fan dance.

4. Quality feather fans are made from male ostrich wings. Not until this fact was pointed out to me did I realize the stark difference between male and female feathers. Male feathers are the feathers used in the most beautiful fans. In the bird kingdom males have the ornate and brightly colored plumage, solely for courting and mating with females. Oh the irony that we humans are quite opposite. Male feathers will also bleach completely and thoroughly to a bright white. While female feather will bleach to white, they are likely to retain dark brown or black spots of color. I am not clear as to why, but the male feathers will bleach all the way to white. I looked at many websites offering “quality” feather fans at much more desirable prices. It was only now that I noticed phrases like “femina wing feathers” in the sales description. Be very diligent when you read the descriptions about a potential fan you would like to purchase. Remember that “you get what you pay for” and this phrase is incredibly true with fans. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Second hand fans are the exception to this rule.

5. Unique, like everyone else Ostrich feather fans are a beautiful, unique addition to your repertoire, however there is at least one fan dancer in every major city. In a festival, or competition setting, you can guarantee that most dancers will want to enter their fan dances, as it is no doubt their strongest, and the most glamorous of their routines. Imagine, one show getting auditions from 20 dancers, and 18 of them want to enter the show or competition with a fan dance! Understand that although you may have a unique routine, or feel your fan dance is worthy of a national level of performance, almost every dancer or troupe has a fan dancer, and they all feel the same way. You will be more likely to get a slot in a competition or festival showcase by submitting anything but a fan dance. In fact, as a rule across the board of performances, I would stray from entering ANYTHING that might be a commonly used song, or theme. (i.e. fans, cabaret chairs, top hat and cane, Sarah Palin, Little Red Riding hood)

6. Lessons and Practice A fan class from a professional or even a fan dance instructional video will do wonders for your technique, and give you a good set of basic fan dance skills to which you will have the tools to create unique moves and choreography on your own. You should work to develop your own style and personality with fans. After all, while you are concealing yourself with beautiful plumage, your feet and face have to make up for all of the body that you are not showing.

7. Choreography The internet has opened the doors for information to just appear right at our fingertips. It helps to watch as many fan videos as you possibly can. Some of the performances available for your viewing are simply amazing. You may be tempted yourself to utilize some of the moves or tricks you see in these videos. I have been asked if that was OK to do, and I warn all of you to tread this line carefully. “Moves” can be named but not copyrighted. Sets and combinations of moves in the order they were performed CAN be copyrighted and is definitely stealing choreography. If you are unsure, email the dancer and explain the move that you would like to use in your routine, and ask permission before busting a fan move out as your own. Many dancers are flattered for a newbie to love their creations, and don’t mind a bit if they are borrowed.

I personally use ostrich.com for my entire feather and fan needs. Cindy is the best and is the most personable customer service rep I have ever experienced. This company cares so much for their clients and it’s no surprise that much of their business is repeat customers. I have only received the best product from the company and have always been satisfied with my purchases. Ostrich.com has an incredibly diverse selection of fans in a huge budget range.

I know that many of the top performers and teachers also use featherstore.com in which you can find fans with colored staves.

A new feather fan designer here in Dallas by the name of Meleea’s bazaar shop creates custom fans for her customers and as I know a few dancers who have utilized her very talented fan making skills, they were very happy with their purchase from her. Meleea appears to serve much of the belly dance community so you may find other very unique items for your dances in her store!

Thanks so much for reading and if this article helped you in selecting your own fans, send us a picture!