Jazzing Up a Plain Dress?

[iDanceonice]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a plain white ice dance dress, and I'm looking to add some sparkle to it. Does anyone have any ideas or tips for adding rhinestones to a dress? I've never done it before...what kinds of patterns would look good? Pictures would be great, as I'm kind of a visual learner, but any advice would be so helpful!

Thanks

[babbyrabbit]

I am known for being the stoning addict at the rink! I love to add bling. Its very very simple. I prefer to glue them on though. I get flatback crystals from
http://www.tamisplace.com/

[LilJen]

You don't have to do stones, either. You could put an applique (or multiple appliques) on there, or use a bit of sparkly fabric to make a fabric rose or something. The site I always use for fabric for skating costumes: www.spandexworld.com. (Their prices are great, you can get free samples, and their shipping is always quick.) I also found www.sequinappliques.com a while back--haven't ordered from it, so I can't attest to reliability but it may give you some ideas.

[Diane Mars]

THE ultimate ressource regarding "How to's" : http://icemom.net/

[iDanceonice]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I plan to start the rhinestoning process as soon as I can...

[another sk8rmom]

I purchase all my rhinestones from here: http://www.rhinestoneguy.com/

Fantastic selection of colors, sizes, as well as brands other than Swarovski if you're looking to save some $$.

[Doubletoe]

I purchase all my rhinestones from here: http://www.rhinestoneguy.com/

Fantastic selection of colors, sizes, as well as brands other than Swarovski if you're looking to save some $$.

I was just about to suggest you look at www.rhinestoneguy.com to see their "crystal elastic banding" as well. If you have a dress with a low, open back, these strands of crystals connected by elastic are another interesting option and this is one of only two places online I was able to find them.
As for designs, I always got inspiration from looking at pictures of top skaters' dresses and seeing how their dressmakers stoned them. You can also look at websites like www.shareneskatewear.com and see how they stone their dresses for the pre-stoned options.
If possible, take your dress to a bead store and actually lay different colors and sizes of crystals on the dress to see how they will look. Sometimes you can be surprised by what actually looks good and what doesn't!

[arya arkaim]

i get things at goodwill.. cut off tags.. take some of this .. some of that.. and sew them back together into something completely new. thought of having my own custom lables made.. and adding them to finished pieces.LOL

[iDanceonice]

Just wanted to come back and thank everyone for the great suggestions! I decided to use lots of stones (you can never have too much bling), and put them kind of "scattered" throughout the dress. They started more heavily on the top and then gradually got spaced further apart. I'm really happy with the way it turned out! Thanks again everyone!

[Doubletoe]

Yay!! Sounds like you're hooked now!

[fan]

does anyone know where i can buy a plain adult ice dance/ballet dress, including shipping to canada, for under $50? All of the discount dancewear stores are reasonable, but shipping is around $30 from the US!!!

[Diane Mars]

Maybe there : http://www.aliexpress.com/products/d...2010-1888.html