I love the sneaky surprise in this tutu … can you see it?
The silvery lace has been decorated with fuchsia, hyacinth and red stones.
A quick look underneath reveals the surprise.
Black and Fuchsia
Category Archives: Ballet Net
Lilac Fairy
This is one of my most requested colour schemes/variations. Lilac comes in quite a few shades and this one was on the deeper end of the spectrum with the addition of a ruched corselet bodice.
Ruched bodice
The top if the bodice is ruched with hand-dyed stretch mesh made to look like a little chemise above a corset. Rather than applying the applique in the usual V-shape I have inverted it and take it around to the back of the tutu bodice.
back detail
It can be a little difficult to sew a non-stretch trim around the underbust with enough latitude for the dancer to squeeze it past her hips but I put a little bit of slack in the sewing and used a number of pieces rather than one continuous piece all the way around.
Plate
The plate is made of matching lycra with a soft lilac lace and silver venise lace spilling onto the skirt. I’ve added rhinestones in purple, lilac and light magenta to give a bit of sparkle.
plate detail
The silver venise lace was a feature of the skirt but I wanted to mute it a little with lots of rhinestones.
soft lilac and silver
The plate was really quite sweet and delicate. This lace had no bling so I had a lot of fun making it sparkle.
back
The back featured a central motif as well as the underbust decoration that was carried all the way around.
Silver and Old Gold
I like to buy lots of different trims for my inventory so my clients have plenty of choice. One trim I bought online recently was quite an old gold colour with greenish undertones. I really wasn’t sure anyone would really like it so I thought I’d try it out first as a ready to wear tutu to test the waters. It sold so fast I didn’t have time to upload it here to my RTW page.
Bodice
The trim was a lovely complement to a warm dove grey lycra I recently acquired. I used a favourite combination of topaz, citrine and crystal AB stones to embellish the appliques.
bodice close-up
I then discovered I had another trim stashed away with the same old gold tones. It was perfect for the plate but I needed a little something extra for some nice long points.
Plate detail
I used another trim of a lighter gold to complete the design I had in mind. I don’t mind using trims of slightly different colour as I think it can add some light and shade to the design.
plate detail
The skirt was ivory and white with a layer of glitter tulle for a subtle ballet sparkle.
plate
I was very pleased with the overall design. I think it sold within a few hours! I can’t wait to do some more RTW tutus. I’m planning on doing 1/3 of my work in 2018 as RTWs.
Ivory and Gold Championship
Ivory and gold are classic colours for an elegant and sophisticated tutu. Here I’ve used gold venise lace with crystal AB, citrine and topaz rhinestones, and added pearls to lighten the effect of the heavier parts of the gold applique.
Close up of bodice
My client wanted the tutu to have rich embellishment without being too heavy so we decided on a small plate but added the trailing jewels on the skirt for a bit of added interest.
skirt detail
I used a few different venise lace trims to get just the shape and effect I was after. Venise lace is a very accommodating trim as it’s easy to piece and re-piece. The slight difference in the gold can’t really be seen and I think it actually tricks the eye into seeing texture rather than colours. I loved working with the venise lace to create the points on this petalled plate
plate detail
You can see here the skirt isn’t just plain ivory but it has a layer of glitter tulle for subtle sparkle and under that a layer of champagne to give a little warmth to the skirt.
Champagne and Silver
I really like it when colour schemes I wouldn’t have thought of are suggested to me. A client saw a tutu I had made in a warm champagne colour and thought that it would suit silver trim.
I used a combination of light topaz and crystal AB rhinestones to break up the thicker parts of the silver applique I used.
plate detail
I matched the champagne lycra with champagne net. I wanted a light effect so I used a net plate rather than a lycra plate. In the picture above you can see the subtle sparkle from the glitter tulle at layer 2.
Champagne and Silver tutu
This is such a lovely colour I ordered more lycra from the supplier as I have a few RTW ideas for this colour with a little bit of air-brushing.
Blue Roses
Here is a pretty little tutu in a soft delicate blue for a young dancer with just a few blue roses for a very soft romantic look.
Silver venise lace and blue rhinestones
The plate was just little bit fancy with a second tier and a few more roses and some tiny blue dianthus flowers. The net petals were made of slightly darker net than the skirt to give them just a little bit of definition. The AB crystals flashed a little pink for some colour depth.
plate detail
The tutu was made for a young girl with a lovely warm complexion and the pale colours looked so good on her. I also loved the tiny patches of sage green from the leaves on the ribbon flowers.
Sixteen petalled plate with flowers and rhinestones
And I made a sweet little tiara to match, with rhinestones and flowers. I’ve added crinoline to the frame of the tiara to make it easier to pin to the hair.
tiara with crinoline
Royal Blue Velvet and Old Gold
I found a beautiful corded lace earlier this year and couldn’t wait to use it on a RTW tutu. The lace and the velvet worked beautifully together and instead of the traditional white skirt I opted for powder blue. It was such a successful combination the tutu sold in a few hours.
corded lace and AB crystals
The lace was a lovely warm old gold with pretty champagne embroidery. I loaded it up with lots of blue stones and a few crystal AB rhinestones for little flashes of pink.
bodice decoration
There was plenty of scope with this trim for embellishment.
Black and Red Tutu
A senior dancer wanted a strong design in red and black that could be used for both Spanish or any other strong choreography.
bodice detail
We went with black velvet for the bodice and a dark red corded lace which I set about encrusting with rhinestones.
plate detail
I used hyacinth AB crystals, various reds and some black rhinestones.
Red underskirt
The top 2 layers of the skirt are black, then wine red and dark red for a brilliant flash of red.
Odalisque from Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire (The Pirate) is a ballet based on a poem by Lord Byron and set in the mysterious Near East, Turkey. An odalisque was a servant in the Turkish ruler’s court and features in the ballet. The iconic 2 piece costume well recognised. This tutu traveled “across-the-ditch” to New Zealand for the Alana Haines Awards in April.
bodice detail
The costume was made in rich teal with purple and gold embellishment. I wanted to make it as sumptuous as possible and almost ran out of space for rhinestones.
plate detail
I used 2 different gold trims on this tutu to create a depth of colour.
The decoration was as rich on the back as it was on the front. The separate top was modelled on an Indian choli rather than a smaller bustier as the dancer was quite young.
front
I think the rich embellishment and the colour choices made for a wonderful overall effect.
back detail
A layer of glitter tulle under the top layer of net add a lovely sparkle.
Flames of Paris
Most Australian eisteddfods and dance competitions don’t ask for variations but I do get a lot of requests for variation tutus from the US. Flames of Paris is very popular.
I used a Dani Legge’s peasant pas dress pattern for the bodice and attached the skirt at the high hip rather than the waist. The slightly bell shaped tutu has a layer of white and silver chantilly lace that I used as the foundation for the blue and red ribbon trimming.
Flames of Paris
