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Calling All Teachers

 The Class Proposal Submission Period -  December 1, 2025 - January 24, 2026.  

Instructions for how to register as a prospective teacher and to submit class proposals are available here or by clicking the link at the bottom of the page. 

The success of Costume College relies on you, our wonderful and generous volunteer teachers. Please help us fill Costume College 2026 with a full slate of lecture and workshop classes. Whether you have taught for many years or just started to share your mastery and knowledge, we want to extend an invitation to you to teach at Costume College 2026.

We believe that diverse perspectives and experiences enrich our costuming community. We warmly welcome class proposals that celebrate the rich history of costuming from all backgrounds, communities, and cultures (especially those underserved and underrepresented). Whether you're sharing self-taught knowledge or hard-learned lessons, highlighting historical contributions, or exploring contemporary cultural expressions through costume, your expertise adds value to our programs at Costume College and Costumer’s Guild West.

If you or someone you know has insights to share about costume traditions, techniques, or history from different cultural backgrounds or lived experiences, we'd love to learn about it. Together, we can create a vibrant learning environment where everyone's costume journey is celebrated and valued.

Here are some class ideas to inspire you…

  • Adding lights to costumes
  • Afrofuturism
  • Appliqué & reverse appliqué
  • Appreciation vs. appropriation
  • BIPOC/AAPI/MENA/LGBTQ+/Disabled experiences in costuming
  • Built-in bodice support
  • Bustle era deep dive
  • Clothing as coded communication
  • Corset & stay making (construction, flossing, fitting)
  • Costume care, repair & upcycling
  • Costuming with Disabilities: Incorporating Assistive Devices & Sewing Adaptation Tools
  • Creating quick-change and transformable costumes
  • Creative costuming hacks
  • Detachable elements (sleeves, collars, panels)
  • Digitizing sewing patterns
  • Drafting and sewing trousers
  • Drag history and related techniques
  • Dying techniques (bleaching, ice & shibori dying, natural)
  • Embroidery techniques (couching, ribbon, goldwork, beetlewing)
  • Ethics in materials sourcing
  • Global fashion history
  • Glove making
  • Hand painting, stenciling & block-printing
  • Historical reuse and fabric economy
  • How to be an ally in costuming
  • How to fake historical hairstyles for all hair textures
  • How to splice and/or stack wigs
  • How to transfer large designs to fabric
  • Intro to airbrushing
  • Intro to EVA foam/ Foamsmithing
  • Intro to thermoplastics
  • Jacket and Waistcoat Tailoring
  • Low-waste patterning & cutting techniques
  • Making accessories (jewelry, fans, stockings, shoe decorations)
  • Making costumes for pets and dolls
  • Materials used in fashion and their original source
  • Millinery techniques (hat bases, silk flowers, feathers)
  • Passementerie (Tassels,fly fringe)
  • Pattern drafting for real bodies
  • Pleating & Smocking
  • Quilting for garments
  • Sewing a capsule costume wardrobe
  • Shoe decoration & repair & last-making
  • Size-inclusive costuming tips
  • Special effects makeup basics
  • Textile rescue & preservation
  • Using found objects and unconventional materials in costumes
  • Visible mending
  • Working with spandex and stretch fabrics

 

We will be accepting class proposal submissions from December until January.  Please don’t wait until the last minute! The Programming Team will finalize the class schedule in February and you will be contacted to confirm which of your proposed classes have been scheduled.

If you have any questions or there is anything that you feel would help enhance the teaching experience, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Thank you in advance for sharing so much of yourself to help make Costume College a dynamic and engaging experience for all.

Lauren Dedow, Programming-Teacher Liaison 2026


Prospective Teacher Registration and Class Proposal(s) Instructions