Just a little lace

Week Three...

Sometimes you just need to add a little lace.

This past week is the beginning of competition season for dancers.   That means Caroline is busy, busy picking out pieces and assigning alterations to fit the dancers and their choreography.
I have been assigned an all to familiar dress which brings me to reminisce back to last year when myself, Valerie and Kristine (fellow seamstresses extraordinaire) originally were approached for a number called The 5 Tutus.

Often we look at older, worn in tutus and see how we can alter then to fit our current needs.  You see  to make a well constructed tutu many hours and meters of tulle are put into it, so it at least deserves another look at before it is finished its usefulness.

The tutus in question certainly had been well worn and were somewhat out of date.  It was easy to tell that no one was in love these dresses, but we decided to give them a chance anyways. As we carefully removed the pieces that were torn or did not fit the vision of our director we uncovered (thanks to our guardian sewing angle Marie)  that the skirts were in decent condition and the bodices were made from beautiful fabric that was very well constructed.   We had a very good base to work with.


The three of us worked together removing all the parts carefully that no longer worked for the number in question.  At the same time we researched other peoples dresses, some tutus, some just spanish dresses, to pick and choose the element we wanted to emulate in our dresses.  Together we came up with four different designs representing a new tutu which was shared with the choreographers. 
And voila, a final design was selected to work towards.

The skirts were in relatively good shape and only two out five needed Kristine's touch in adding additional layers of tulle.  Quickly they became refreshed and full of life.

The bodices would require more time.  

After fitting the bodices to each of the five girls, a black lace was selected.  Many pieces of lace flowers and leaves were selected, cut and sewn to the basque and bust areas.                                                                                                                                                                         

As layer after layer of lace was applied by hand the look and feel of the bodice was transformed into something beautiful.  When enough lace had been sewn on, I knew it was time to add some small trim then sew the bodice and skirt parts together.



The results?

I was proud of the work we all did.  The time and effort was most worth it.  The girls left to their competitions with pride and confidence, each time returning with awards and praise of their costumes.

3 of "the 5 Tutus" competition number, Ballet Ouest.
Choreography by Claude Caron.

This year the dress will be used again, but for another number.  Again the dress will be modified to fit the choreography and vision of the dance.  This time, however, only a few pieces (flowers) are to be added in order to continue its use.  As time goes by I am sure that parts of the dresses will be added and subtracted each time making the dress work for the moment,  and that is just fine.