More Musings

This was a project from last summer where I created new bodices for this romantic style tutu.   I started out with a shell pink shantug and used the reverse side of it.  A lot of shine on the material tends to make the dancer look bigger than she is.  The bodices are 12 pieces, which I tailor made to each dancer, but left 1 inch seams on the side seams to allow for fitting on other dancers.  The lining is a cotton/poly blend twill to give structure.   Each piece of the bodice, when cut, has to be numbered to make sure that they are being sewn on in the right order and a serger is used to serge the top layer and lining together to act as one piece.  I like to use piping along the top and bottom to give a more finished look to the bodice, but more and more I see bodices without this level of detail.  It's these details that make a product look finished.  My favorite details are the ones you really don't see.  The steel spiral boning, used for added structure, help the bodice look like a second skin and the mesh elastic for straps, which disappear under the stage lights, so the bodice looks a strapless top.  The bodice will move with the dancer and will stay in place when the dancer is being partnered.