Hi, my name is Cyndi from bancewear.com. In this video, I am going to show you how to take a halter leotard and create your own unique look. It is a simple thing to do that I have seen very expensive on line or from different custom websites. So if you want to find out how to do some sort of simple braiding like this just using a basic halter leotard, this just may be the video for you.
Supplies:
- Halter leotard
- Three different types of material
- Thread to match material
- Safety Pins
- Straight Pins
- Scissors
- Sewing Machine
Directions:
- Choosing Your Materials
First, of course, you will need to choose your leotard. Then, the fabric you will use for the braided effect. You can use lace, you can use Lycra, you can use sequin or mesh. It is completely up to you. But, you want to choose at least three different types. You can choose more if you wish.
- Preparing Fabrics
To start off with, you will need to cut the fabrics in strips. Make sure that you have thin strips and fat strips of each fabric. I have picked three materials – a mesh, lace and sequins. You can use more types of fabric but I would not really suggest less because it will look too matched up and too even if you just have two. It will look too much like a weave.
When mixing up the fabrics, you want to make sure to not go with a pattern. Do not go sequin, lace, mesh, sequin, lace, mesh. Do a couple of lace together, a couple of mesh, single strips. Just spread it out so that it is really random and there is nothing that the eye will say, “Oh, okay, I see a pattern.” The eye wants to see a pattern but if you can mix it up enough, the eye cannot see a pattern. Also, mix skinny strips and wide strips and just randomly grab them.
- Pinning Strips
I am going to show you right now how to do this.
I am going to use a basic halter leotard. I have a mannequin to work with, but you will probably need to have the girl try the leotard on. With her wearing the leotard, tie the halter tie around the girl’s neck so that it fits the way it should be.
The next strip is to create the “collar.” I have taken a strip of fabric that I have sewn so the raw edges do not show and am going to pin it around the mannequin’s neck. (I would suggest not using the sequined or other fabric that would scratch the girl’s neck.) This creates the base of the collar. Now, what I am going to do is pin it to the top of the leotard’s shoulders on each side. When we take it to the sewing machine, I am going to sew the fabric where it is pinned to the leotard. Since you will most likely be pinning it on the girl, I suggest you use safety pins.
To start the design, I am going to place one of the lace fabric strips diagonally from the right armhole down to where I want it to end. I think I am going to move this strip over a little. The beauty of this, as you can see on the finished leotard, is that it gives it a really rough edge. Next, I am going to place a nice fat sequined strip next to that first one. As you go over the neckline, you want to make sure that the strips are placed really close together so that you do not see a lot of skin. It is okay if there is a hint of skin. (If you want, you could sew a piece of material in that open neck area so that you cover the skin.) So, I am going to keep pinning these diagonal strips in a random pattern both in the width of the strips and the choice of fabric. Once you get up to the fabric tied around the neck (the “collar”), pin the strips to the collar, too. (Ultimately, you will be sewing the collar onto the halter and the strips to the leotard and the collar.) Continue pinning the strips to the leotard until you have covered the rest of the front. You may need to move the bottom of the strips closer to accommodate all the strips.
For the sake of time, I am going to go ahead and show you this next part. So, you are going to pin fabric strips at the top of the armhole on the left side and let them hang loose for now. Continue pinning them down the left side.
Once you have pinned the strips down the left side, you will weave the side strips through the diagonal strips. Starting with the first strip, weave through the diagonal strips and pin it down to the right armhole past the first diagonal strip. Like the diagonal strips, you want the side strips to be random in width and fabric. But, you also want the weave pattern to be random. So, sometimes you will go under and over each diagonal strip and the next side strip might weave under or over two diagonal strips at a time. Just make sure there is no pattern to the number of strips you weave under or over. With the next side strip, I am going to go under two diagonal strips. Just make sure that they vary from side strip to side strip. The next side strip, I am going to take a long, skinny strip and fold it in half. I am then going to pin the folded end at the left armhole. I will then weave both ends through the diagonal strips separately and use different patterns when weaving them through the diagonal strips.
I am going to complete the weaving off camera and then come back and sew them down. As I take the leotard of the mannequin, I am making sure everything is pinned down. I am also making sure the pins holding the “collar” to the leotard are tight. You want to be really careful so that the safety pins are closed if you are taking this off of the girl. You do not want to accidentally poke them.
- Sewing Strips to Leotard.
So, I have completed the weaving and have added some extra strips at the neckline. So, using a zigzag stitch, I will be sewing across the armholes, the neck, down the right side of the braided material and along the bottom of the strips of material. While doing this, I need to make sure that I have caught the ends of all of the strips of material. We also want to make sure that we sew the “collar” to the shoulders of the neck ties.
I am now going to sew everything down with a stretch stitch. If you do not have a stretch stitch, you can use a zigzag stitch. As I sew around the ends of the strips, I am opening them up so they are nice and flat. Just keep sewing around the edges of the strips. It is very important that you pay attention to the leotard itself as you are sewing these strips down. You want to make sure the leotard stays flat and you do not sew it funky underneath. You want to take care to make sure it looks exactly the way you want it as you sew. You will probably want to replace safety pins with straight pins so you can sew over the pins (if you machine will sew over them) or just remove them as you sew. Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of your stitching. It is probably a good idea to backstitch each time you change directions, also. Sometimes the leotard may gather up too much, so you may want to stop stitching, smooth the leotard out and start sewing again. Again, be careful that the leotard stays flat.
As you sew the strips down, you can turn the ends under if you wish. But, I kind of like those raw edges showing and they also give you a little coverage. Now, I am going to stitch across the neckline. The beauty of this is that it is so random and patchy nobody is going to focus in and see the stitching. They are just going to focus in on all the pieces. If you place the strips close enough at the neckline, no one will notice the open skin underneath.
Because we covered the neck, we had some extra pieces. So, I am going to take those pieces and gather them up. If you want the neck to go higher, you can extend the strips a little higher. It is really easy to do.
- Double Checking
Once you are done stitching everything down, do a little quality check. Make sure that the ends of all of the strips are sewn down and stretch the leotard in different directions to make sure the stitches stay. If any stitches snap, go back and reinforce the stitches in that area.
- Finish
At this point, you can trim all the ends of the strips to finish off the design and you are done.
