How to Sew a Flamenco Costume

Flamenco dresses enhance the visual excitement of the dance.

Flamenco is a dance of fire and passion, and the traditional flamenco costume complements the drama of the dance. Flamenco dresses are colorful, flamboyant and figure-hugging. They fit tightly to below the hips, then flare out into a cascade of swirling ruffles. Making your own flamenco dress is a chance to combine bright colors with wild patterns for a showstopper look.

Things You'll Need

• Flamenco dress pattern
• Fabric
• Thread
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Select a suitable dress pattern. Either purchase a pattern designed specifically as a flamenco dress or modify a pattern to create your own design. Dresses can be one piece or a coordinating skirt and top, which is used typically for practice wear. Customize a dress pattern with styling details such as ruffles to create the look of a flamenco dress. Creating ruffles is an easily mastered technique.

2. 

   Vibrant fabrics are a hallmark of flamenco dresses.

   Choose a vivid combination of fabrics. Mix colors and patterns to either coordinate or contrast. Contrasting fabrics create a bolder look. Polyester-content fabric is a good choice for the body of the dress, because it flows nicely, is machine washable, and doesn't wrinkle easily. Lightweight cotton blends work well for the lining. Select ruffle fabrics that are crisp and a little stiff, so the ruffles will hold their shape and not wilt.

3. Lay the dress fabric on a hard surface. Place the lining fabric on top of the dress fabric with wrong sides together. Smooth both fabrics and fold in half, aligning the selvages. This results in four layers of fabric and ensures that each pattern piece you cut out will produce a mirror-image piece, such as both the right and left sleeves.

4. Cut apart the paper pattern pieces and pin them to the fabrics, as shown in the pattern's layout diagram. Cut the fabrics through all layers, following the cutting lines of the pattern pieces.

5. 

   Flamenco costumes reflect the dancers' creativity.

   Pin the fabric pieces together as shown in the pattern directions and sew them with basting stitches. Try on the dress to check for fit. The hips should be snug, and the sleeves should allow room for movement. Alter the seam lines if necessary to ensure proper fit. Check that the length is comfortable. When you have the proper fit, sew the garment with tighter final stitches.

6. Add ruffles to embellish your flamenco costume. Decide how many and what color ruffles you will add based on the look you want, the length of the dress and the weight of the fabric. For the ruffles, cut strips of fabric selvage-to-selvage in the desired width of the ruffle. The length of the ruffle fabric needs to be at least twice as long as the hem width of the dress; cut multiple strips if necessary and join them at the short ends. The longer the strip, the more volume your ruffles will have.

7. Finish one long edge of the ruffle fabric with a zigzag or serger stitch. Gather the other long edge until it is slightly shorter than the hem width of the skirt. Attach the ruffle parallel to the hem with a zigzag or serger stitch. Repeat for additional ruffles. Add ruffles to the sleeves, if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Longer skirts are more dramatic, but can pose a tripping hazard for novice dancers.

References

• Flamenco Dressmaking: Make a Flamenco Dress
• Dress for Flamenco: All About Flamenco Costume
• Marbella Guide: Traditional Spanish Dress

Resources

• Folkwear: Flamenco Dress and Practice Skirt
• Spanish Fiestas: Flamenco Dresses and Costumes