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It's about time for another post in my series of interviews with costume professionals and those in craft-related fields like millinery. In this one, I spoke with Kaitlin Fara, a stitcher in the costume shop of the New York City Ballet. If her name sounds familiar, it's because she's a graduate of our MFA program, so you've seen her class projects in the back-posts of this blog! My questions are in italics below.
Would you describe the shop or studio space at the NYC Ballet--how many employees, what different positions there entail, specialty equipment the shop owns, etc.?
The NYC Ballet costume shop consists of a large workroom, a fitting room that divides into two fitting rooms, a fabric storage area that also contains trims and notions, another smaller room with overlock machines, a zigzag machine, and a coverstitch machine (all industrial), a dye room, and a kitchen. There are also areas that I have not yet seen as a stitcher. I know there is an additional storage room for fabrics and trims that are used less frequently, a costume storage area, and a place that wardrobe works out of.
The shop employs 14 stitchers, one cutter, two cutter/drapers, one dye person, one shopper, one costume shop manager, and one costume director. There is some fluctuation with these positions. Before I was hired they employed drapers separate from first hands but there has been some shifting and merging of positions since I arrived.
There are enough industrial sewing machines for each stitcher to have her own. There is also a free-arm walking-foot machine which is apparently fairly new and is invaluable when it comes to sewing inside of tutus. Things like stitching bodices to the tutus used to be done by hand since they wouldn't fit under a regular machine, but that can now be done by machine with the free-arm. There are four overlock machines that are regularly used. Two are usually set up with wooly nylon for stretch fabrics and the other two set up with polyester thread for non-stretch fabrics. There is an industrial zigzag machine and an industrial coverstitch machine. We have four industrial irons and a home iron that is brought out when tacking tutus. The home iron is lighter and many in the shop prefer it when steaming layer after layer of stiff net. I spend little time in the dye room, so I'm not sure what equipment she has.
One of the most interesting objects that I have found in the costume shop is the velvet ironing board, an entire ironing board in which the surface is a velvet board. The shop also has a smaller portable velvet board like I've seen other places but it is nifty to be able to have an entire surface of it where you can press velvet without constantly having to make sure that little rectangle is in place.
The shop is also one of those lucky few costume shops with windows! One entire wall looks out towards the Hudson River from the 8th floor of one of the buildings at Lincoln Center.
What is your background in the area of ballet costume production?
When I was younger, I wanted to be a ballerina. From the time I was four, I trained in ballet including studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts for three years in their after-school program and three additional years as a full-time student.
At 16, I turned toward theatre. I spent the last two years of high school working in technical theatre for our high school's productions. I attended East Carolina University as a theatre major with a concentration in stage management. Course requirements included an introductory costume class where I learned to sew. As a child I had learned some basic hand sewing and needlepoint and I had enough knowledge to sew elastics and ribbons on my shoes as a dancer, but I had never learned how to sew on a machine until college. After taking the introductory class in costuming, i sought further knowledge because I found sewing fun and relaxing. I volunteered in the costume shop for a while and eventually added a second concentration to my major. I graduated from ECU in 2008 with a B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a double concentration in Stage Management and Costume Construction.
From ECU I went on to work as the Costume Shop Supervisor Intern at Auburn University. I cut and stitched for their productions as well as oversaw the undergraduate students during their lab hours.
I was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's MFA Costume Production program for the Fall of 2009. During the three years that I was there I worked as a draper/first hand/stitcher for PlayMakers Repertory Company and studied draping and patterning, couture sewing methods, costume history, costume crafts, and millinery. I also had the opportunity to teach undergraduate students in an introductory costume course for two years. I graduated with my MFA in May 2012.
Summers while in grad school were spent working in theatre. I worked as a first hand at Parsons-Meares Ltd in NYC the summer after my first year, a first hand at Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN after my second year, and a first hand at Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT after graduation.
From Utah, I moved to NYC to seek employment. I worked a short while at John Kristiansen NY Inc, a costume shop for Broadway, circus, ice skating, and other productions. I then applied for and was hired at the NYC Ballet where I have been since September 2012. Working for the ballet is like a dream come true, in a very roundabout sort of way!
Can you talk about one of the projects you have worked on recently that was particularly memorable/exciting/
Recently, I have been working on a redesign of the ballet "Who Cares." The new costumes are designed by Santo Loquasto. So far, making the costumes for the soloists and the corps de ballet has basically been my project. I have worked on some on the principals' costumes but mainly have been focused on the five soloists and ten corps members. The costumes were draped by our women's draper/cutter, Kellie Sheehan. Figuring out how to put them together has been me so far. This project has been in our shop for months now alongside other new ballets with new costume designs, as well as remakes and repairs of costumes for all of the other ballets in this season's repertory. This means that I work on the costumes for a few days or a couple of weeks and then have to set them aside to work on something with an earlier deadline. Sometimes when other things need to be done but we still need to move forward on "Who Cares" I may be the only person working on these costumes.
I have made samples and experimented with various ways to go about the construction process in order to find the most efficient yet beautiful methods. While all of the leotards and their shorts have been been put together so that first fittings can be done, only one soloist and two corps costumes have been taken to near completion. This way Santo can see how the process is going and make design choices and changes without us having to take apart everything to make a change. We can work out all or most of the kinks on these few "samples" and then put the rest together more quickly.
I have felt privileged to be trusted enough to run with this project. Many of the stitchers in the shop have been at this a lot longer than I have, but Kellie and Marc Happel, our Costume Director, have allowed me to take the lead on how these costumes should be put together. It's been fun to get to figure out this puzzle!
Your shop often remakes costumes for ballets originally conceived by legendary designers, such as Karinska. How do you go about producing a costume where your designer has passed away? In what ways do you approach that to insure the integrity of the original design is respected? Like, who makes design decisions in her absence, etc.?
Let me first say that getting to work on costumes that were designed by Karinska is amazing. She was absolutely brilliant.
It's actually easier than one might think to remake costumes when the designer is dead. For many designs, there are records of the original fabrics and trims used, though the record keeping has definitely improved over the years. There are also photos of the costumes in the shop and onstage. Also, the old worn-out garments are usually brought into the shop while the new ones are being made so that the drapers and stitchers can get inside the garments to see how they were originally constructed.
Sometimes, the construction process is altered from the original for the sake of speed and efficiency. Many of the older costumes have a lot of hand sewing that can be done by machine and so we machine-sew it to speed up the process. However, every attempt is made to keep the design as close to the original as possible. When fabrics and trims are no longer available, the Costume Director Marc Happel makes design choices on what to use instead. Once the new costume is constructed, the records are updated to reflect the fabrics and trims used and where they were obtained from and new pictures are taken.
Remade Sugarplum Fairy from Karinska's costume design for The Nutcracker
What advice would you give to readers who aspire to work for a ballet company costume shop (special skills to focus on, etc)?
For those aspiring to work on costumes for ballet, I would suggest gaining experience and comfort with stretch fabrics. Dance uses a lot of stretch fabrics and they can be a challenge to work with. I have actually been surprised by how often we use a straight stitch in stretch construction and if the fabric isn't stretched enough while stitching, the threads break when the dancer is getting dressed. Also, because so much of what we work with is stretch, we use the cover stitch machine a lot. Often seams that are up and down the body are straight-stitched but seams and other stitching that goes around the body, in the direction that the fabric needs to stretch the most, we use the coverstitch machine. This machine is also how we encase elastic at the legs, neck, and armseyes. It's not a difficult machine to use, but it isn't a machine that people frequently use when not working with stretch. Working with stretch fabric isn't a part of the sewing test that the Ballet issues to all applicants at their interview, but it is a skill that I have found myself using quite a bit.
Mostly what one needs is a good foundation in machine and hand sewing. The things that apply specifically to the ballet can be taught!
Does the NYC Ballet have any internship or overhire opportunities and if so, can you talk a bit about what it involves and how readers might apply?
Since I've been at the ballet, there haven't been any interns. I have heard people in the shop talk of the possibility of bringing in interns but it seems to be mostly a discussion of an idea that hasn't yet become reality.
We have brought in overhires on occasion. So far, they have been former employees. I think that this is because their names are on file and their skill level is already known. I would suggest that anyone who wanted to become an overhire contact Jason Hadley, the costume shop manager. Stitchers applying for a job, if asked to come for an interview, are given a sewing test when they arrive.
Contacting Jason might also be the approach for someone wanting and willing to do an unpaid internship. You never know when expressing an interest in such a thing might get the position created.
Thank you so much for participating in our interview series, Kaitlin.
Thanks for asking me to do this! I really like working for the Ballet and am happy to share my experience with others.
Want to know even more and see behind the scenes of the shop? Check out this video on remaking a Karinsak tutu from an older costume for Tchaikovsky's Theme and Variations, featuring Costume Director Marc Happel:
Would you describe the shop or studio space at the NYC Ballet--how many employees, what different positions there entail, specialty equipment the shop owns, etc.?
The NYC Ballet costume shop consists of a large workroom, a fitting room that divides into two fitting rooms, a fabric storage area that also contains trims and notions, another smaller room with overlock machines, a zigzag machine, and a coverstitch machine (all industrial), a dye room, and a kitchen. There are also areas that I have not yet seen as a stitcher. I know there is an additional storage room for fabrics and trims that are used less frequently, a costume storage area, and a place that wardrobe works out of.
The shop employs 14 stitchers, one cutter, two cutter/drapers, one dye person, one shopper, one costume shop manager, and one costume director. There is some fluctuation with these positions. Before I was hired they employed drapers separate from first hands but there has been some shifting and merging of positions since I arrived.
There are enough industrial sewing machines for each stitcher to have her own. There is also a free-arm walking-foot machine which is apparently fairly new and is invaluable when it comes to sewing inside of tutus. Things like stitching bodices to the tutus used to be done by hand since they wouldn't fit under a regular machine, but that can now be done by machine with the free-arm. There are four overlock machines that are regularly used. Two are usually set up with wooly nylon for stretch fabrics and the other two set up with polyester thread for non-stretch fabrics. There is an industrial zigzag machine and an industrial coverstitch machine. We have four industrial irons and a home iron that is brought out when tacking tutus. The home iron is lighter and many in the shop prefer it when steaming layer after layer of stiff net. I spend little time in the dye room, so I'm not sure what equipment she has.
One of the most interesting objects that I have found in the costume shop is the velvet ironing board, an entire ironing board in which the surface is a velvet board. The shop also has a smaller portable velvet board like I've seen other places but it is nifty to be able to have an entire surface of it where you can press velvet without constantly having to make sure that little rectangle is in place.
The shop is also one of those lucky few costume shops with windows! One entire wall looks out towards the Hudson River from the 8th floor of one of the buildings at Lincoln Center.
What is your background in the area of ballet costume production?
When I was younger, I wanted to be a ballerina. From the time I was four, I trained in ballet including studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts for three years in their after-school program and three additional years as a full-time student.
At 16, I turned toward theatre. I spent the last two years of high school working in technical theatre for our high school's productions. I attended East Carolina University as a theatre major with a concentration in stage management. Course requirements included an introductory costume class where I learned to sew. As a child I had learned some basic hand sewing and needlepoint and I had enough knowledge to sew elastics and ribbons on my shoes as a dancer, but I had never learned how to sew on a machine until college. After taking the introductory class in costuming, i sought further knowledge because I found sewing fun and relaxing. I volunteered in the costume shop for a while and eventually added a second concentration to my major. I graduated from ECU in 2008 with a B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a double concentration in Stage Management and Costume Construction.
From ECU I went on to work as the Costume Shop Supervisor Intern at Auburn University. I cut and stitched for their productions as well as oversaw the undergraduate students during their lab hours.
I was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's MFA Costume Production program for the Fall of 2009. During the three years that I was there I worked as a draper/first hand/stitcher for PlayMakers Repertory Company and studied draping and patterning, couture sewing methods, costume history, costume crafts, and millinery. I also had the opportunity to teach undergraduate students in an introductory costume course for two years. I graduated with my MFA in May 2012.
Summers while in grad school were spent working in theatre. I worked as a first hand at Parsons-Meares Ltd in NYC the summer after my first year, a first hand at Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN after my second year, and a first hand at Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT after graduation.
From Utah, I moved to NYC to seek employment. I worked a short while at John Kristiansen NY Inc, a costume shop for Broadway, circus, ice skating, and other productions. I then applied for and was hired at the NYC Ballet where I have been since September 2012. Working for the ballet is like a dream come true, in a very roundabout sort of way!
Can you talk about one of the projects you have worked on recently that was particularly memorable/exciting/
I have made samples and experimented with various ways to go about the construction process in order to find the most efficient yet beautiful methods. While all of the leotards and their shorts have been been put together so that first fittings can be done, only one soloist and two corps costumes have been taken to near completion. This way Santo can see how the process is going and make design choices and changes without us having to take apart everything to make a change. We can work out all or most of the kinks on these few "samples" and then put the rest together more quickly.
I have felt privileged to be trusted enough to run with this project. Many of the stitchers in the shop have been at this a lot longer than I have, but Kellie and Marc Happel, our Costume Director, have allowed me to take the lead on how these costumes should be put together. It's been fun to get to figure out this puzzle!
Your shop often remakes costumes for ballets originally conceived by legendary designers, such as Karinska. How do you go about producing a costume where your designer has passed away? In what ways do you approach that to insure the integrity of the original design is respected? Like, who makes design decisions in her absence, etc.?
Let me first say that getting to work on costumes that were designed by Karinska is amazing. She was absolutely brilliant.
It's actually easier than one might think to remake costumes when the designer is dead. For many designs, there are records of the original fabrics and trims used, though the record keeping has definitely improved over the years. There are also photos of the costumes in the shop and onstage. Also, the old worn-out garments are usually brought into the shop while the new ones are being made so that the drapers and stitchers can get inside the garments to see how they were originally constructed.
Sometimes, the construction process is altered from the original for the sake of speed and efficiency. Many of the older costumes have a lot of hand sewing that can be done by machine and so we machine-sew it to speed up the process. However, every attempt is made to keep the design as close to the original as possible. When fabrics and trims are no longer available, the Costume Director Marc Happel makes design choices on what to use instead. Once the new costume is constructed, the records are updated to reflect the fabrics and trims used and where they were obtained from and new pictures are taken.
Remade Sugarplum Fairy from Karinska's costume design for The Nutcracker
What advice would you give to readers who aspire to work for a ballet company costume shop (special skills to focus on, etc)?
For those aspiring to work on costumes for ballet, I would suggest gaining experience and comfort with stretch fabrics. Dance uses a lot of stretch fabrics and they can be a challenge to work with. I have actually been surprised by how often we use a straight stitch in stretch construction and if the fabric isn't stretched enough while stitching, the threads break when the dancer is getting dressed. Also, because so much of what we work with is stretch, we use the cover stitch machine a lot. Often seams that are up and down the body are straight-stitched but seams and other stitching that goes around the body, in the direction that the fabric needs to stretch the most, we use the coverstitch machine. This machine is also how we encase elastic at the legs, neck, and armseyes. It's not a difficult machine to use, but it isn't a machine that people frequently use when not working with stretch. Working with stretch fabric isn't a part of the sewing test that the Ballet issues to all applicants at their interview, but it is a skill that I have found myself using quite a bit.
Mostly what one needs is a good foundation in machine and hand sewing. The things that apply specifically to the ballet can be taught!
Does the NYC Ballet have any internship or overhire opportunities and if so, can you talk a bit about what it involves and how readers might apply?
Since I've been at the ballet, there haven't been any interns. I have heard people in the shop talk of the possibility of bringing in interns but it seems to be mostly a discussion of an idea that hasn't yet become reality.
We have brought in overhires on occasion. So far, they have been former employees. I think that this is because their names are on file and their skill level is already known. I would suggest that anyone who wanted to become an overhire contact Jason Hadley, the costume shop manager. Stitchers applying for a job, if asked to come for an interview, are given a sewing test when they arrive.
Contacting Jason might also be the approach for someone wanting and willing to do an unpaid internship. You never know when expressing an interest in such a thing might get the position created.
Thank you so much for participating in our interview series, Kaitlin.
Thanks for asking me to do this! I really like working for the Ballet and am happy to share my experience with others.
Want to know even more and see behind the scenes of the shop? Check out this video on remaking a Karinsak tutu from an older costume for Tchaikovsky's Theme and Variations, featuring Costume Director Marc Happel:
