regalia help

[tindi]

I just had a son, and though he wont quite be walking by this summer/pow wow season, I want to make him some basic regalia - I'll probably make a ribbon shirt, but I also want to make him a little grass dance set - problem is, I'm a woman and my dad never danced, so I don't know much about mens/boys dance and regalia.
I am sure I can figure out how to make the apron and the yoke and put designs on them. Problem is, I don't know how to attach the fringe. Anyone have any suggestions, tips, or websites I can check out?
Also, what basic accessories go with the grass dance outfit?
I may keep him in grass dance as a toddler and then when he can make his own decision, let him decide what dance he wants to do. Though, we're Lipan Apache and I know that grass dance is a plains thing...but I think little tiny grass dancers are cute.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[dancinfancy]

I went through this last year with my infant son. What I done was I made an apron and side tabs and sewed them to a pair of pants/shorts that had an elastic waist. As for the top a just made a cape. You can attach the ribbon a couple of ways you can do it the same way you do shawl fringe or you can sew it on. As for accessories I would just make a headband to go with it and leave it at that, they're not really old enough to hold anything and just as he gets older add the things he will need for the style you choice for him.

[tindi]

I went through this last year with my infant son. What I done was I made an apron and side tabs and sewed them to a pair of pants/shorts that had an elastic waist. As for the top a just made a cape. You can attach the ribbon a couple of ways you can do it the same way you do shawl fringe or you can sew it on. As for accessories I would just make a headband to go with it and leave it at that, they're not really old enough to hold anything and just as he gets older add the things he will need for the style you choice for him.

I don't know how to attach shawl fringe either.

Thanks for the tips, though!

[dancinfancy]

You poke a hole in the fabric and tey make needles for fringe to thread the fringe through then you just tie it in a knot in the fringe close to the fabric. I do make outfits for people so if you decide you would rather have someone else do it just let me know. I hope this helps.

[tindi]

You poke a hole in the fabric and tey make needles for fringe to thread the fringe through then you just tie it in a knot in the fringe close to the fabric. I do make outfits for people so if you decide you would rather have someone else do it just let me know. I hope this helps.

Yes that helps a lot! Thanks. I think I can figure it out. I have been sewing since I was 5, just never did anything with fringe.

[dancinfancy]

That sounds like me, I've been sewing that long. Glad I could help and good luck.

[danceman457]

ok me and a buddy of mine worked together on his and what we did was we had a peice of sting and we done what is know in boy scouts as a larks head and looped the yarn over the string and we had a couple of feet of this done and we cut it up to fit is outfit and and stiched it on he done all of his beadwork on his own and really he doesnt carry anything when he dances but you may want to make a small set of bells the pattern for them you can find any where but now can you help me out i want to make a set for another friend of mine who really love to grass dance and he doent really have much money and he is going though some family prablems as well and i want to make it and give it to him as a present because i dont charge for my work but after makeing a tradtional set and a fancy set to give away i have run out of color combinations what you guys think are some good combos?

[mirandav]

i also found this thread to be a big help. my son is two and will be making his debut in the circle this year. thanks for all the help!

[DancingCreek]

ok me and a buddy of mine worked together on his and what we did was we had a peice of sting and we done what is know in boy scouts as a larks head and looped the yarn over the string and we had a couple of feet of this done and we cut it up to fit is outfit and and stiched it on he done all of his beadwork on his own and really he doesnt carry anything when he dances but you may want to make a small set of bells the pattern for them you can find any where but now can you help me out i want to make a set for another friend of mine who really love to grass dance and he doent really have much money and he is going though some family prablems as well and i want to make it and give it to him as a present because i dont charge for my work but after makeing a tradtional set and a fancy set to give away i have run out of color combinations what you guys think are some good combos?

The method described here is how I put the fringe on my sons regalia. This was after I had made 3 and tired different ways of attaching fringe. This method worked the best by far and it also really looks good when done this way!

[tukisha]

This was written a few years ago, I hope you can get to this. I printed this out at the time she wrote it.

http://www.powwows.com/gathering/grass-dancing/11158-starting-young-grass-dancer-out.html

[spottedeagle]

A good trick that I picked up if you are using ribbon for fringe is to wrap the ribbon around a piece of wood or cardboard that is your desired length. I mark the center with a marker on both sides of the cardboard. Slip a piece of heat bond light a 1/2" or so wide under your ribbon, then fold it over top of the ribbon and iron it. Cut your ribbon on the center line on the opposite side. Remove your cardboard and iron the back of your heat bond. Cut your heatbond in half with the ribbon inside. Now you have two sections of ribbon fringe that have heat bond on the one end. After you get enough to go all the way around just sandwich the ribbon between your front material and your backing iron it together and sew it up. That's how I did my tradish outfit and my daughter's fancy shawl, and how I plan to do my both of my sons' fancy outfits. For the mine and my sons outfits I use 1/8" and 1/4 inch ribbon. For my daughter's shawl I used 5/8" and 3/8" ribbon.

When I did my son's grass set a few years back I used yarn. Stretching a piece of base cord between the legs of the ironing board that I turned upside down. It took a while, but it looked good. All depends on the look you are after. I know with the yarn my son got hot pretty easy. With the ribbon it's not as hot because it doesn't trap your body heat as much.

[tindi]

I finished it!
I decided to use ribbon because a friend told me that when you use yarn, it picks up everything from the ground and it is hard to get it all out of the yarn..and when they're little, the yarn gets full of stuff, so I will wait to make it with yarn.
I experimented with different ways of attaching the ribbon. I also just sewed the apron to the pants. I have never done this before so it isn't wonderful, but I think it's a good first try.
front:

back:

[sookout sh'nob]

Awesome! It's parents like you that make the world a better place for all of us- and I'm serious about that. A lot of people allow themselves to be intimidated and stop short. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to make something for money - then offered to teach them how to do rather than do it for them - and then had someone walk away disappointed.

You've done a wonderful thing here - take a moment to internalize that.

[danceman457]

That set is amazing i love the designs for the feathers i hope you dont mind if i copy it for mine? the medicine wheel around the neck is cool to... below is a pic od my buddy i mentioned earlier in his set i help make <a href="http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j39/danielgreen_304/?action=view&current=greyham.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j39/danielgreen_304/greyham.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[tindi]

lol, I wouldn't call it amazing...upon close examination there is quite a few mistakes/problems with it....but like I said, never done this before. Thanks for the compliment though.

one thing though, I ran into a lot of problems with my fabric choices. I used flannel for the base fabrics, but the applique fabric is horrible and I had a ton of issues with it. What kinds of fabrics are good for both the base fabrics and the applique?

I have never done applique before either, kinda cheated on this set and just did a zig zag stitch around the edges of the fabric, but I would like to learn good applique skills - but don't know what I'm doing. Any tips?