I never tire of making traditional peasant pas dresses. This one is in the prettiest pale pink brocade.

The faux corset insert, chemise and sleeves are fine silk chiffon embellished with time ribbon roses and ombre ribbon carnations.

I love these little ribbon roses.

Instead of ribbons I have added a row of pink embroidered lace.

In the latter part of the year when the Australian dance season is starting to wind down I make a lot of YAGP costumes. We don’t do a lot of variations here so it’s nice to be asked to make them for “my” American dancers.

I’ve used a pretty pink trim on a pale pink leotard in an asymmetrical pattern across the top of the bodice and down onto the skirt.

The rhinestones are pinks, apricots and topaz. Here you can see the skirt is made from stretch mesh. It is robust and easy to dance in with no static and easy to trim to the correct length with no hemming, which is perfect for remote clients.

The costume is completed with a tiara and arm cuffs.

I’ve been experimenting with tutu skirts being just a tiny bit darker than their bodices and plates. Here is a pretty aqua with a light cornflower skirt and silver trim.

The silver billion trim has been embellished with various blue acrylic gems, black diamond and crystal AB rhinestones.

Decorated backs are becoming quite popular, either as a deep back with a nude insert or like this one with a simple trim across the back.

The difference in colour is not strong and just brings a subtle point of difference to this tutu.

I bought this beautiful French lace on my travels in Surabaya. I’ve been trying for ages to entice clients to choose it but to no avail. So I thought the time was ripe for a RTW tutu featuring this lace.

The colours are divine and allowed me to push burgundy and royal purple together.

I love the green and gold in these bugle beads. I added a few small crystal AB rhinestones for a bit of sparkle.

The fine metallic silver threads embroidered through the lace is particularly pretty.

The skirt grades down to burgundy from purple with a layer of black glitter tulle on the top layer. There’s a sneaky layer of dark red in  there as well just peaking through the top of the skirt.

My client wanted a soft grey tutu with delicate silvery embellishment. We played around with a few different trims and rhinestones and she found some lovely peridot stones that looked divine.

A few large focal stones on the bodice added some interest, as well as sneaking in a little bit of silver venise lace as well for a deeper textural effect.

We decided them to put a touch of peridot in the skirt as well.

The soft arm frills are made from grey tulle and glitter tulle.

Another lovely deep decorated back.

And a tiara

Sophia has a beautiful olive skintone which called for a strong colour for her new tutu. She waltzed around the studio draped in colour after colour until we settled on this vibrant fuchsia. We teamed it with the palest of pinks skirt and silver venise lace.

Rhinestones were burgundy, fuchsia, hyacinth, red and pink.

Decorating with rhinestones is one of my favourite parts of tutu making. I like to use colours that might make some people shy away but they all seem to blend nicely. Remember the five metre rule.

And of course a lovely silver and fuchsia tiara.

Ruby fell in love with this lace and had to have it on her tutu. She chose a beautiful champagne coloured teardrop rhinestone to be a feature of the design.

The appliques are made up of tiny glitter dots swirled about in beautiful designs. I’ve use champagne, bronze, apricot and pink stones to give some warmth.

The warm colours enhance the beautiful creamy tones of the bodice and the plate. The appliques are such a light gold they really needed a bit of help.

A decorated back and some arm frills completed the design.

Floating rhinestones over a glitter tulle top skirt add a touch of lightness.