It’s important that tutus and other dance costumes suit the choreography, the music and most especially the dancer herself. When we have taken the music and choreography into account it’s time to see what pleases the dancer. I love the look on the face of a very young dancer when I pull out the perfect lace and trim for her. Here are a few elements of  simple and sweet little tutu.

very pretty and age appropriate trims

The lace I used has tinselly swirls all over it. I had to find some motifs I could cut from the lace for bodice decoration.

motif

I arranged these onto the bodice and augmented them with flower gems and scalloped sequins and rhinestones to give the lace a bit more definition. No nude insert for this tutu as the dancer was only 8.

bodice detail

The plate was cut as a circle from the lace and I added a few extra motifs to fill in the gaps. I just sewed them on with a zigzag stitch in a matching thread. If it can’t be seen in the photo it can’t be seen on stage. Remember, this is not haute couture!

plate

And just in case it wasn’t sparkly enough I put a layer of glitter tulle at layer 2. There is also a layer of pastel blue at layer 3 to give the white skirt a soft touch of blue.

tutu layers

The overall effect was a sweet little blue tutu.