New ballet gear

Teenagers have a habit of growing, sometimes fairly quickly! Brains informed me one day that his ballet gear was all a bit tight and too small.

Really?! I'd only made him some at the beginning of the year . . . oh, well! Miss Lisa had also said that she wanted him to wear a black leotard for this exam. Every year up until now it has been white.

I measured Brains so I could see what size I needed to make. The biggest difference was 6cm (2 1/2") in his full girth since earlier in the year. So he needed the same size leotard but with a bit added in the length. The larger size would have been too loose fitting, and a leotard needs to be close fitting, especially for exams.

Once again I used Kwik Sew K3029 as a basis, although I've tweaked it a bit by lowering the back neckline. Also I added to the length this time.

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They're quite quick to make up.  I always use 4 threads on the overlocker. 

A view from the front. For the guys leotards I use my coverstitch machine to finish the neckline, sleeve hems and leg openings. The guys aren't too keen on a zig-zag finish  :)

The back view. The neck looks as though it is rolling out a bit, but it does sit flat when it is on.

New dance tights were also needed and so I made a pair of footed tights using a pattern developed by Robin from Tutu Amor. It's a great pattern, very close fitting. I used wooly nylon thread in the loopers as per the directions. This is so that the seams won't pop. The tights fitted well.

 

Here is Brains wearing the leotard and tights before he went in for his RAD Advanced 1 exam. Miss Lisa has the boys roll the top of their tights over a belt. This is so that their tights stay up. With no belt they tend to slip down a bit which can hamper the dancers movement. 

The exams went well for all our dancers and they all passed well  :)