I had such a nice time working on this tutu. It is for Ballet Dalton in Georgia. They present a ballet called The Snow Queen each year. I believe this is the 5th year of their production.
Here are a few photos I took during the process from start to finish. Here is the rendering. Yeah, I know, she looks like she really has to go to the bathroom!!! I just stared with renderings after taking a class this summer. One of the main things I learned is “how to get my point across” and, I think this does that.
Skirt layout choices, I like to lay the skirts out to see if I like how they blend into one another. The purple and blue are very “dark” layed out this way, however once they are ruffled with the white net, the color is very subtle and soft.
I love how the skirt is always a puff ball once all the layers are ruffled and on the panty.
I usually steam the skirt before I attach the basque so it’s easier to handle. Sometimes I do the basque after I attach the first skirt layer. But, doing it this way, its easier to remove the basque for alterations and cleaning.
Attaching the basque to the skirt by machine. I used to attach my hooks and bars by hand. It was my enjoyable handwork, but did take so long. I now attach all of the hooks and bars on the basque by machine before I attach the basque to the skirt. The hooks are really secure and this way saves so much time.
The basque is attached. I used Travis Halsey’s Hollywood basque pattern from Tutu.com. It is really a nice fit and has a nice line to it. The girls seem to like it too. It also has a higher waist which is good when costumes will be worn by different dancers each year.
I made each of the sections of the skirt plate individually. There are two kinds. One is the bodice fabric with the brocade and trim from the bodice. The second one is a sparkle lace I found at JoAnn under a light blue sparkle organza. I trimmed these pieces with a silver metallic trim. The plate is not all the way decorated in this picture. I added more appliques and trims and lots of rhinestones.
Another view of the skirt plate. Each of the points is tacked to the tutu skirt with 2″ long swing tacks. These allow movement with the skirt, but the plate doesn’t flop up and down.
Here is a closeup of the bodice. I used silver metallic trim, silver and blue brocade and a blue bengaline as accents. Then added lots of rhinestones. This is also one of the Travis Halsey bodice patterns from tutu.com. I think it is the Regal bodice. I love this one and it fits really well.
And finally, the dancer in the costume. It is a shame that we don’t have sparkle vision because this tutu really sparkles and that really doesn’t show in any of the photographs.
Thanks for stopping by…Until next time
AMM
The Dancing Squirrel 