It’s been a month of impatience and excitement for me. I’ve been waiting by the computer like a kid on Christmas Eve. Slowly last week reviews came back from my incredible Ella Stretch Tutu sewing pattern testers.
The Ella Stretch Tutu sewing pattern has been an idea in the back of my mind for several years now. This year I finally had the time (and motivation) to make that idea come to life.
The Tutu Dream!
I love tutu’s. They are the embodiment of grace and poise. I love the excitement on young dancers faces when they put on a tutu for the first time and feel like the most beautiful ballerina in the room.
The first tutu I made was a self drafted, boned tutu in cream stretch sateen. I made it for my tiny dancers first ever competition. After that I went on a bit of a journey with boned tutu’s, perfecting my sewing technique and my patterns. Following boned tutu’s I went on a bit of a leotard obsession. I worked on creating leotards that both fit nicely and had interesting features.
Being a dance mum, I spend most days in a studio waiting room. I often get messages from other dance mums who need help with whatever costume they are currently working on. The most frequent costume people seem to have issues with sewing is the tutu.
Making The Pattern
After years of competitions (dancing myself and now watching my little dancer), I’ve seen A LOT of tutus and I know what I like and don’t like. I set out to make a tutu sewing pattern with great shape and balance that came together easily. I knew I wanted to include a good selection of sizes because every body is a dance body. So far I have made sizes from a child 2 to an adults 16.
The Ella Stretch Tutu sewing pattern has the sweetheart shape I love, a paneled bodice for structure, and a NZ/AUS length skirt (we like them longer) which I think balances the body better. I’m also a big fan of the butt ruffle on a tutu.
Pattern completed, I needed someone else to take a look at my work.
After putting out a request for pattern testers, sewers with varied sewing experience were selected across the 11 tutu sizes available. My goal was to ensure that each pattern was well tested. I also wanted to know that it was easy enough for even a beginner sewer to tackle. After sewing an Ella tutu, a list of questions on the following topics were tackled by each amazing pattern tester:
The Pattern:
The Fit:
Instructions:
After some minor tweaks to the instruction booklet. The Ella stretch tutu sewing pattern is now ready to be released.
The Ella Stretch Tutu sewing pattern allows you to sew your own gorgeous, stretch, pancake tutu at home. This tutu is perfect for competitions, recitals or just for a fun costume. It is a print-at-home A4 or copy shop A0 sewing pattern which comes with an easy to follow tutu sewing guide.
Our step-by-step guide takes you through the process of making your tutu from printing the pattern to finishing. We’ve included written instructions and photographs so that each step is easy and enjoyable. It is filled with incredible tips and tricks to help make sewing a tutu a success.
Why should you sew a stretch tutu?
The beauty of a great stretch tutu is that it grows and moves with your dancer. They are an economical option during fast growing years, and perfect for dance schools costuming various body shapes. Stretch tutus are comfortable to wear. They’re also very forgiving for dancers who don’t fall into set measurements on a size chart.
The Ella Stretch Tutu is incredibly easy to sew – especially with our easy step-by-step instruction guide by your side.
Store your Ella Tutu right and it will definitely last! Tutus can be sold on very easily in dance competition circles or passed down to a younger sibling.
Get your Ella Stretch Tutu sewing pattern PDF now!
Click through to our Sewing Patterns page by clicking the image below or head to our SHOP to get your hands on the Ella Stretch Tutu sewing pattern today!
Sewing a tutu for yourself or your dancer has never been so easy!
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