The Line Up: Learn

Your Shopping Cart Is Empty

Guides
Blog
Video
How to guides

Featured Guide Ultimate Trends Guide

We surveyed designers, researched competitions, and studied the runway to bring you the top trends in dance costumes for 2020. Get ready to be inspired!

Free Download >

Guides & Free Tools

The Imagination Kit: A Costume Planner

The Imagination Kit: A Costume Planner

Get inspired! This dance costume planning guide is designed to help you create a clear vision for your team’s next season.

Free Download >

Ultimate Trends Guide: 2020 Dance

Ultimate Trends Guide: 2020 Dance

We surveyed designers, researched competitions, and studied the runway to bring you the top trends in dance costumes for 2020. Get ready to be inspired!

Free Download >

Budget Tips for your best costume ever

Budget Tips for your best costume ever

Worried you have to sacrifice your unique look in order to stay in budget? Not true! Discover some easy budget tips that will still let you create your best costume ever.

Free Download >

Pre-Season Planning Guide
for coaches

Pre-Season Planning Guide
for coaches

Get organized! This coaches' planning guide is designed to help you prepare for your dance team's upcoming season. Written by Tami Krause, coach of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders.

Free Download >

Competition Season Planning Guide for Coaches

Competition Season Planning Guide for Coaches

Get organized! This coaches' planning guide is designed to help you stay on track during your dance team's competition season. Written in by Tami Krause, coach of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders.

Free Download >

44 expert Coaching Tips

44 expert Coaching Tips

Who do you turn to for coaching advice? In this guide, experienced coaches share their lessons learned and favorite coaching tips.

Free Download >

Tribe 99 video tutorial

Tribe 99 video tutorial

Follow along as Carsen and Anna from TRIBE 99 Choreography teach your some innovative ideas for jazz transition variations, a hip hop combo, and a pom toe touch.

Blog

View the Full Blog >

Team Spotlight: Edmonton Eskimos Cheer Team is "The Pride of the CFL"

Team Spotlight: Edmonton Eskimos Cheer Team is "The Pride of the CFL"

Team: Edmonton EskimosManager/Head Coach: Karen KondoskiAssistant Coach: Lynae SegouinLocation: Edmonton, AlbertaStyle: CFL Professional Cheer

3 Ways to Wear the Best Dance Costume Trend of 2020

3 Ways to Wear the Best Dance Costume Trend of 2020

Styles from left to right: Bryony Biketard, Helena, & Lydia Dress As we were putting together our annual dance costume trends report, we noticed one major theme: lace is out and mesh is in! 5 of our top 14 trends included some variation of mesh, each a unique twist on the most popular fabric of the season. Here are our top 3 favorites!

Team Spotlight: St. Louis Blue Crew Celebrates a Stanley Cup Win!

Team Spotlight: St. Louis Blue Crew Celebrates a Stanley Cup Win!

Team: St. Louis Blue CrewCoach: Abbie LucaseyLocation: St. Louis, MissouriStyle: NHL Ice Crew

Team Spotlight: NYC's Largest Adult Skating Team, Gotham City Synchro

Team Spotlight: NYC's Largest Adult Skating Team, Gotham City Synchro

Gotham City Synchro Adult Team Team: Gotham City SynchroCoach: Melanie GreeneCreative Director: Helen WeselcouchLocation: Long Island City, NYStyle: Synchronized Skating

The Jason Show Tries The Line Up's 9 to 5

The Jason Show Tries The Line Up's 9 to 5

The Line Up's Deb (Owner/ Creative Director, left) and Katie (Customer Service Manager, right), along with The Jason Show's Kendall and Eric (center) About a month ago we had some very special guest come and visit us at our offices in Eden Prairie, Minnesota! If you are a native Minnesotan, you probably heard of the local daytime talk show on KMSP Fox 9 called The Jason Show. For others that haven’t, The Jason Show is an entertainment talk show hosted by Twin Cities personality Jason Matheson and co-host Kendall Mark. One of the most popular segments on their show is called ‘Kendall Tries Your 9 to 5,' where the co-host visits local businesses and attempts to do their job. We invited Kendall to our facilities to see if she had what it takes to make the easiest item in our store … or so we thought! Check out the video below to watch her experience as a Line Up employee for a day!

Two Easy Ways to Create a Custom Synchronized Skating Costume

Two Easy Ways to Create a Custom Synchronized Skating Costume

Team Spotlight: Hortonville Dance Team's Surprise Pom Uniforms

Team Spotlight: Hortonville Dance Team's Surprise Pom Uniforms

Team: Hortonville Dance TeamCoaches: Ashley Hibbard & Jensen GarskeLocation: Hortonville, WIStyle: High School Dance Team - Pom

Season Recap: 2019 Synchronized Skating Championships

Season Recap: 2019 Synchronized Skating Championships

Looking back on the 2019 Synchronized Skating season, we're feeling extremely blessed to have worked with so many amazing teams! Every year we are inspired by the designs our talented customers create and look forward to getting started on the next year's skate dresses. We covered the 2019 Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships and now it's time to recognize the rest of our synchro friends! From Preliminary to Masters, we were thrilled to outfit all of these teams at this year’s Midwestern & Pacific Coast Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships and the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, check them out below!

Video

view youtube video library >

How to Rhinestone - Flat Back Method

How to Rhinestone - Hot Fix Method

How to Measure

How to Wash your Costume

Stain Removal Tutorial - Intro

Stain Removal Tutorial - Glue

Stain Removal Tutorial - Permanent Marker

Stain Removal Tutorial - Lipstick & Makeup

How to Complete Your Prototype Kit

How to design a custom dance costume

View the series >

4 Things You Need to Take Advantage of Early Bird Discounts (And It Doesn't Include Your Team Roster!)

4 Things You Need to Take Advantage of Early Bird Discounts (And It Doesn't Include Your Team Roster!)

Starting early on your custom dance costume design can save you time, stress, and money, but one of the main constraints we hear is, "I don't have my team or money yet!" No worries, there are ways to get started even without your team assembled or your funds in place for the year. You can take advantage of early bird savings by getting started with your design and prototype before you have your team or your full funding. Then, when you have your team and funding secured, you can place your full order.

10 Places to Find Inspiration for Your Next Dance Costume

10 Places to Find Inspiration for Your Next Dance Costume

Inspiration for your next dance costume can come from anywhere: the runway, your Instagram feed, a sneaker, or even something as random as that gorgeous peach that's sitting on your desk! We know it can feel overwhelming to narrow your focus to create a concept that is unique from your competitors. To help, we've rounded up some of our favorite resources for finding dance costume inspiration.

5 Ways to Add Logo and Lettering to Your Cheer Uniform

5 Ways to Add Logo and Lettering to Your Cheer Uniform

One logo created with 5 different techniques. Price will vary depending on logo size and exclude base garment price - shown here at 7.25" high. Most teams brand their cheer and dance uniforms with logo and lettering, but you may not realize that there are many different options available! "Which logo and lettering option is best for me?", you might ask. The answer is that it depends! Some factors that affect which option is best for your dance or cheer uniform are: Your overall budget Level of detail in your team logo Fit of your uniform or location of logo Below, we summarize 5 ways you can add your logo to a cheer uniform - embroidery, vinyl, sublimation, spangles and rhinestones - and the pros and cons of each!

How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost: Construction Details

How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost: Construction Details

In our How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost series, we’ll be covering a few things that will affect the price of your dance costume: patterning and set-up fees, fabric choices, the number of costumes being ordered, and embellishments. Today we’ll talk about construction details that add to your custom dance costume costs - the “cut and sew” features of your costume! Construction details include the base pieces of your costume that need to be cut out of fabric and sewn together, and doesn't include add-on features like rhinestones, appliques, or fabric choices. Generally speaking, the more construction details going into your garment, the more it will cost. Below we break down 5 common construction details that add cost, along with average price ranges of each. Prices will vary depending on your chosen costume company and your group discount, but below we used pricing from The Line Up, before any discounts are applied.

4 DIY Dance Costume Embellishments That Add the Perfect Finishing Touch

4 DIY Dance Costume Embellishments That Add the Perfect Finishing Touch

We've kicked off our How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost series and next up we're talking about dance costume embellishments! Embellishments add the perfect finishing touch to your custom dance costume. But when designing on a budget, they're often the first thing to get cut. Why? Because they can get pretty costly and add up quickly! Not only do you have to consider the cost of the embellishment itself, but also the labor costs to have your costume company apply the embellishments for you. However, you shouldn't have to sacrifice those finishing touches because of your budget! The easiest way to save is to apply the finishing touches yourself. Here are 4 dance costume embellishments that you can add yourself for the perfect finishing touch, while also cutting costs:

How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost?

How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost?

One of the most common questions we get regarding costumes is "how much does a custom costume cost?!" This can be a difficult question to answer because a custom costume is just that - custom - and depends on what you add! Everything is completely unique, which means that the pricing is unique as well. As a general guideline, custom costumes can range anywhere from $150 to $600. The more detail and complex, the higher the price. However, we generally tell people the average price of a custom dance costume is around $250, and to start with that budget in mind. If you're looking for more information, here are six areas that will determine how much your custom dance costume costs:

How to Design a Custom Dance Costume in 8 Steps

How to Design a Custom Dance Costume in 8 Steps

You've got your choreography, your team is practicing hard, and now it's time to design your dance costume! This may seem like a daunting task, but designing a custom dance costume can really be broken down into 8 simple steps. If you've been following along our How to Design a Custom Dance Costume series, we've covered everything from prototypes to fabrics. We've compiled all the posts in this series to give you a brief overview of the custom dance costume design process. Check it out below!

How to Design A Custom Dance Costume: Sizing and Measuring

How to Design A Custom Dance Costume: Sizing and Measuring

In our recent How to Design a Custom Dance Costume series, we've been covering all the steps to ordering a custom costume. Once your design and prototype is confirmed, it's time to get started making your group order! The next step is sizing and measuring your team before your custom costume goes off to production. Fit is fashion! Even with the most beautifully designed costume, if your outfit doesn't fit properly, the focus will be on your flaws and not your skills. Here a few tips to ensure your dancers are fitted correctly: