During my second year at university, I made a costume for the Sugar Plum Fairy that I had designed in the previous term, for a ballet prodution of Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker'. The costume features a petticoat mounted on a basque with the edges of the netting bound in bias tape; an 18th century bodice with tight-fitting sleeves, box-pleated cuffs, and a machine-embroidered stomacher; a circle skirt with a waistband and tails draping down the back; and a box-pleated Elizabethan ruff. I designed and applied all of the textiles elements myself, and this involved dye sublimation printing and a mixture of machine and hand embroidery, including operating an Amaya embroidery machine. This costume involved both pattern cutting on the stand and flat pattern drafting, and was made to fit my performer.
My costume was also selected to be part of the end-of-year show exhibiting work by second year and final year students at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.