Hi, I am Cyndi from bdancewear.com. I am going to show you how to add a skirt to a leotard so that the skirt is attached to the briefs turning the leotard into a dress. One reason you might want to do this is that a lot of times dresses tend to ride up and you will see spaces between the briefs and the top part of the dress. So, this process holds everything into place and gives it a lovely flair. You do not see stomach. You do not see the skirt rising up on the girl. Lastly, it looks beautiful on the dance floor or ice skating.
Supplies:
- Leotardtard
- Skirt
- Thread to match
- Wooly thread optional
- Tailor’s chalk or bar of soap
- Pins
- Scissors
Directions:
- Choosing Your Materials
The first thing to choose is the style of leotard you want to use.
Next, chose the skirt you want to use. You can either make your own skirt or purchase a premade skirt. I am using one of our own circle skirts and am cutting the waistband off. Using a premade skirt allows you to know the exact length of the skirt. If you chose to make your own skirt, you could purchase a pattern or you could view our video, DIY A Circle Skirt. If you make your skirt, leave the waistband off. If you use a premade circle skirt, carefully cut the waistband off.
I have decided to use one of our own circle skirts and cut the waistband off.
- Determining the Waistline
Once you have the leotard, have the girl try it on so that you can determine where the skirt should be attached. The whole thing stretches so if you try to determine the waistline without having the girl try it on, it might not end up where you want it. With the leotard on the girl, mark the waistline where you want the skirt to be with either Tailor’s Chalk or a bar of soap. If you are using chalk, make sure that it will wash off the Lycra material.
Once you have determined where you want the skirt to be attached to the leotardtard and the desired length of the skirt, it is easy to go from there.
In the case of the red leotard and skirt shown, I used a basic leotard and a long circle skirt. In my example, I am going to use a red halter leotard and a black skirt so that you can easily see how this project works. As you can see, I have marked a chalk line where I want the skirt to be attached to the leotard. I have matched up the front and back and pinned them into place together so that it is even from right to left and I do not have to worry about the skirt being uneven.
- Cutting the Leotard in Half
Once the leotard has been marked and the front and back are pinned, I can cut the leotard is half right on that chalk line.
The reason I chose a halter leotard is that it gives me a little bit of leeway. If you make that slice in the leotard and then put the leotard back together, the leotard becomes just a little bit shorter. The halter top allows me to adjust the neck when tying the ties. Whatever type of leotard you use, make sure that it does not fit too perfectly but has a little bit of room to play with so that it does not become too tight when you put the leotard back together.
- Pinning Top of Leotard to Skirt
After cutting the leotard, remove the pins. The best way to ensure you do not mess the leotard up when putting it back together is to lay the top out and then lay the skirt down so that it is exactly the way you want it to look when you are finished. It makes it easier so that you do not accidentally sew it incorrectly. Slip the edge of the leotard into the waist of the skirt. Then flip the hem of the skirt up on top of the leotard with the finished side of the skirt facing the finished side of the leotard. Then pick up the leotard and the skirt together making sure the outsides of each are facing each other and stretch the waists of the two garments as if they are one. Match the sides of the skirt and the leotard and pin them together. Then match the two sides together to find the center front and center back of the leotard and skirt and pin the front of the leotard and the skirt together and the back of the skirt and leotard together.
Take the waistband at the center back and center front and stretch it out to make sure that the side pins match up and it is even. Then, take the side pins and stretch it out to make sure the center front and center back pins line up. This will ensure everything is pinned evenly. Stretch the two garments out again to find the spots that are midway between each of the pins and place another pin in those spots. In this manner, you have pinned the garments in eight equal pieces. I feel comfortable with using just the eight pins. But, if you are new to this or just uncomfortable with just eight pins, you may want to use more pins.
Once you have pinned the skirt to the top, flip the skirt back over to make sure that the right side of the skirt and the leotard are facing out. Flip the skirt over and continue pinning.
- Pinning Briefs to Leotard Top and Skirt
The next step is to turn the leotard and skirt inside out with the skirt inside the leotard. Then, pin the briefs to the leotard and skirt. You want to remember to make sure that the right side of the leotard and the briefs are both going to be on the outside. One of the things you need to prevent is sewing the back of the top to the front of the briefs. So, really pay attention that you are doing this correctly. I like to start with matching the side seams together. Continue pinning around the waist of the three pieces making sure to stretch the waistline out to make sure they line up correctly. Make sure that the center back of the leotard and skirt match up with the center back of the briefs. Since both the back of the leotard and the back of the briefs have a seam, the back seams are easy to match up. Next, match up the center fronts and the sides.
Because you are working with three layers, it is a good idea to use a lot of pins to keep one of the layers from slipping down as you sew. It is a good idea to double check to make sure that the right side of the material on the brief and the leotard are facing the same direction. You should also double check each of the pinned spots to make sure that the edges of the three layers line up together and noting is sticking out and none of the layers have slipped down.
- Sewing
When sewing these together, I use a nice, wide stretch stitch. If your machine does not have a stretch stitch, you can use a zigzag stitch. If you use a zigzag stitch, I suggest using a wooly thread, but make sure you put it in the bobbin not the top of the machine because if you put the wooly thread in the top it will stretch out as the Take Up Lever of the machine goes up and down causing the thread to break. You will also have a lot of problems with the tension because the wooly thread is thicker. If it is in the bobbin, it just spins. The wooly thread adds a little stretch and keeps the stitches a little stronger which is perfect for leotard.
Gently pull the three items together keeping them slightly taut as you sew them together. You do not want to really pull them because that will cause that will mess up how the fabric feeds through the machine. Sew at a steady, medium pace making sure that everything stays lined up and the layers do not slip. If your machine does not handle pins properly, remove them as you go and continue to make sure that everything lines up properly. Sew as close to the edge as possible while making sure to catch all layers in the seam. If you sew too far from the edge, you will actually shorten the girth of the garment.
When you are done, pull the garments back out so that you can see everything the finished product. The fabric of all three pieces should be facing out.
It is really that easy to add a skirt to a leotard.
If you do this project, please send me pictures so I can see what you have done.
