Black Swan
Normally my girls don't do Halloween. On the contrary, they love Carnival, New Year's Eve masked balls and Mardigras where they can remain beautiful and glamorous. So for them, I created these two looks which can be worn as a costume, (complete with the masks we created last year) and as high fashion.
No matter the length of tutu, this technique for making a tutu is straightforward. No sewing machines or patterns needed!
2. It should be long enough to make a good size bow in the back.
3. Next, decide on the length you want your skirt and double it. (You will be creating two layers of frou frou at a time.)
5. Fold each strip in half and twist the tulle in the middle.
6. You will now loop the tulle over the ribbon. To better show you how this is done, I've substituted blue ribbon so you can see clearly. Place the wad of tulle under the thin ribbon forming a loop as shown.
7. Take the ends and pull them through the loop.
8. Adjust the position of the strip and pull to tighten.
9. Here is what this looks like with tulle. Add as many strips as you need, being careful to keep them as close as possible. Do this until you have enough to cover the entire doll from front to back.
Swan Lake
But first, an underskirt. In many cases, the longer ballerina skirts are more dense. The challenge here is the transparency of the tutu you've just created. You will never be able to add enough layers to get the semi opaque look of the full scale. So, we had to make an underskirt. I made a gathered skirt cut from a sheer fabric so that it blends in better with with the tulle. In this case I cut up an old negligee and made a simple gathered skirt. You can also use organdy, organza, cotton voile, nylon or sheer non-wovens.
2. This skirt only has one seam which you can stitch up from the hem to about 1 inch (2cm) of the waist. Press the seam open. Close the waistband with a snap or hook & eye.
3. Here is our finished underskirt. You should not add a hem. In my case, the fabric doesn't ravel which is perfect. But if you are using a material which does, apply "Fray Check" or a bit of craft glue diluted with a couple drops of water and apply to the edge with a toothpick. Tulle, by the way, never needed hemming! Before I show the result. I make the bodice directly on the doll which I'll share with you.
2.Wrap around the body and pin in the back, leaving enough margin to fold under and apply a snap.
3. This fits the top of her busline and is loose underneath to the waist.
4. Carefully fold the trim under each bust so that the fold moves toward the side.
5. Pin in place.
7. I had an old lace shirt which I cut away medallions. (Old lingerie is a good source as well.) Place them against the bodice and pin in place. Play around with the placement. When you're happy, sew them down using tiny stitches. You can also place these to hide seams or to create a top or bottom border. I added a rose medallion at the back (in the photo just below) which I used to hide the stitches from the snap.
8. Here is my corset on top of the underskirt. Originally I planned for the bottom border to drape over the tulle skirt, but I later discovered the skirt was way too full and the flaps wouldn't lay down. So I tied the tutu over the corset. The good thing is that this dress is in three parts: corset, underskirt and tulle skirt. This allows me to use any of the elements to form other looks!
And when this party is over, Muriel plans to toss sweep over her shoulders and head to the prom next spring!
We are in Paris for the next few weeks where the girls are excited about reporting on the Christian Dior exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, the new Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Irving Penn (photography) exhibition at the Grand Palais.
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