Theater Costume Resources Guide for Volunteer Costumers

Online Sewing Resources

• WAWAK online sewing supply store that carries just about everything you need—thread, notions, tools, and basics you’ll use over and over again. Ships fast. I highly recommend requesting their catalog and marking the items you rely on most. It may feel old-school, but having a physical reference is incredibly helpful when you’re managing multiple costumes and trying to stay organized.

• FABRIC WHOLESALE DIRECT my go-to source for ordering fabric online. Good prices. Sample swatches are available. Videos showing the fabric moving and stretching are especially helpful when you’re deciding what will work best on stage. Note: shipping time.

• SEWING MACHINES PLUS is my go-to source for sewing machine supplies and equipment. It’s a great family-owned company, and my most recent purchase there was a huge win. I use the Baby Lock Celebrate Serger, though if budget allowed I would have chosen the Baby Lock Victory Serger for the automatic tension feature. Both are easy to use right out of the box, save a huge amount of time when sewing for a large cast, and the Jet-Air Threading system makes threading especially simple.

• THREDUP online resale clothing store that’s extremely useful for costuming on a budget. Large selection. Budget-friendly. “Shop Similar” feature makes it much easier to find matching or coordinated pieces—especially helpful when building ensemble costumes.

• POSHMARKis a useful source for finished garments that can be adapted into costumes, often at a lower cost than purchasing fabric. For example, when sourcing pieces for Aladdin, traditional Indian clothing can be found by searching terms such as Lehenga, Anarkali, Salwar, Kurta, or Kameez. These resale garments offer rich fabrics, detail, and structure that work well for stage use.

• ETSY (SEWING PATTERNS)is where I go for simple patterns that I use mostly for my ensemble costumes. Click here to see my favorite patterns

• PDF PLOTTING When I need a pattern(s) printed on a large sheet of paper (AO), I go to PDF Printing. I’m happy with their prices, shipping time, and paper quality. Patterns arrive in a cardboard shipping tube.

• ULTIMATE PAPER MACHE When I need to create animal heads or large character pieces, this is where I start. These are the patterns I use as the base structure before adding fabric, paint, and details—a great resource for shows like The Lion King JR or Seussical.