As a young girl growing up in Reading I used to watch the carnival procession passing the end of my street so I have memories of colourful floats, dancing and lots of music. | "Seeing I'm from Barbados heritage I wanted to make a costume that represents my culture so my costume will in the same colours as the Bajan flag." | |
This year it's going to be my turn to get involved in Reading Community Carnival and I'm very excited to be involved in such an exciting event that marks 30 years since carnival begun! Last year was a lot of fun when I was part of the procession but I didn't wear a costume so this year I've gone to more effort. It never occurred to me to get involved until Chairperson of the Carnival Pat Alleyne came on to my show in March where she invited me to the Carnival Workshop Classes to make a costume. I've always been into fashion and I thought it would be a great way to put my creative side to good use so I'm glad to do accept the challenge. At the time I thought it would be easy to put together a costume because it looks easy.
 | | Crowning glory |
But I'll tell you - its been a lot harder than I imagined. Carnival costumes look beautifully colourful and effortless but this whole process has made me appreciate how it all comes together. Now I'm starting my costume I've had to think of loads of things including colours, shapes and what type of fabrics I would like to use, what movement I'd like on the day and even what foot wear I'll be wearing. There will be a lot of walking so I reckon it will be trainers to make sure I can make it round the whole route!听 Seeing as I'm from Barbados heritage I wanted to make a costume that represents my culture so my costume will be in the same colours as the Bajan flag - blue, yellow and black.
 | | A feathery Louise Chandler |
I've read that some costumes can take eight months to make and that makes me feel a bit nervous, knowing that I've only got less than four weeks to create a costume - so let's see how I get on...... Next week I'll be having the fitting for my costume - I'll be designing it then creating the paper pattern so that I can buy the right fabric and create it. This bit makes me nervous in case I do it wrong or it doesn't look right - so I've got a lot of work to do! I think this is where I'll have to 'revise' my sewing skills and enlist the help of key costume maker and helper Philbert. Now on to the costume. The main part of my costume will be my head dress and whenever you see carnival costumes - it's always the most striking part that catches your eye so this is the first part of the costume that I've started making. The main part of the head dress is a crown like structure so it will be held in to place while dancing (it looks like something from a Roman film). This one is made from metal to make sure it is sturdy and will survive if it rains (fingers crossed it will be sunny skies like true Caribbean carnivals).
 | | The crown of the head dress |
The circumference of my head was measured and a strip of cardboard was made to get the base. Two strips of card board was made to form the cross structure in the middle which will support the over all head dress. It's a bit uncomfortable to wear but I think on the day I'll be having so much fun I'll forget that I'm wearing it! I've decided to use feathers听that will go on top of the crown to complete the head dress - making it look quite flamboyant and hopefully very carnival. I'll tell you more about my costume including the name and the theme of it next week........ I'd love to say I had made this mask BUT I'll let you in to a little secret....I brought it from New Orleans. When I saw it, it conjured up all types of carnival feelings and thought and I knew it would fit in with my costume.
 | | Louise's mask |
It's a traditional carnival mask so I'm sure it will fit in well with the rest of costume. I want to make sure I get it right so I've drawn lots of different designs and I'm still trying to make my mind up...but there's not long left so I'll have to do it quickly! If you want to get a sneaky peek of my costume or make one yourself, come on down to the Mapp Community centre (off Mount Pleasant - off Silver Street) in Reading every Thursday, 7-9pm. Catch Louise every Sunday 9pm - 10pm to hear the latest carnival updates on 大象传媒 Radio Berkshire. | 
