Emma Grace Gerrard

• The bodice is made up of 12 or more panels meaning it has more seams in it so the bodice can curve easily to the body to get a nice fit. The panels also allows for movement. The bodice is supposed to act as a second skin.
  
  
  
• The bodice will sit over the hips with the plate sewn on separately.
  
• Older style or making a classical tutu's the bodice will finish at the waist with the basque visible and in the same or contrasting fabric as the bodice.
  
• The bodice is attached to the basque and waistband which is then sewn to the top of the knickers.
  
  
  




• The seams are sewn on the outside on the basque and waistband.
  
• The layers of net are sewn onto the knickers.

• A 12 layer tutu is the most common in classical tutus.

• Stringing: - Thread going through the tutu which all meet at the hoop.
  
  
  

  - None of the stringing is pulled tightly
  

  
  

  - Its purpose is to hold the layers in place so they do not fall separately when the dancers makes her jumps etc.
  

• To soften layers of net either a scalloped or a danged edge is used. This is used because the tutu net is quite scratchy and could irritate partnering dancers of catch on their costumes.
  


• The scallops or dangs get larger as the tutu goes out. There are generally three sizes of scallops/dangs – small, medium and large.
  


• Pleating – needs to be adapted accordingly as layers closest to the legs are shorter in length than the top layers which can be up to 5 times longer to allow for larger and more pleats.
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

• There is a hoop sewn on the 7^th layer up from the bottom.


• All layers below the hoop are sew upwards
  
• All layers above the hoop are sewn downwards.
  
• We will be making a white tutu with one layer of colour net as the top layer.
  
• Viscose Satin will be used on the insert decoration and will be dyed the same colour as the top layer of net.
  
• The sleeves will be simple. They will be left open under the arm to allow Arts Ed to alter them in the future.

Ballet Bodice

• More panels = more shape
  
• 12 panels is the minimum
  
• Before drafting on a stand a ballet maker tends to "map" out the seam lines with cotton tape on the mannequin. This gives them chance to play around with the look and shape of the bodice before cutting into the calico.
  
  

Ballet Sleeves

• Generally 1 piece and 2 piece sleeves are used.
  
• Often gussets are inserted under the arm to allow for more movement.
  
• Recently a 3 pieces sleeve has been developed which is used in men's costumes more. This is where the undersleeve, that would normally be in a 2 piece sleeve is split in 2.
  
• The costumes need enough fabric under the arms to allow dancers to move and lift their arms without the whole costume rising with them – it should remain in the seam place,
  
• The sleeve head becomes really shallow. Often gussets are incorporated into the sleeve pattern itself
  
  
• For a male costume of a doublet the dancer would wear a Lycra top which has a wide patch of fabric around the armhole in the same fabric as the doublet. The doublet sleeve would be attached to this. The then sleeveless double is worn over the top of this. Tends to only be used by supporting artist rather than principles.
  
• The sleeve band worn around the upper arm on a female dancer is made from a band which has gum tape sewn to up to make it stick to the skin. The decoration is then sewn to the band.
  

This is what the tutu looks like so far. I have finished the practicle work until the next tutorial.

Sewing on the plate really started to make the tutu 'come to life' and I can see that it will probably look really nice when it is finished.

From today's study I have managed to get quite a lot done. I took a paper copy of the underplate, cut out and tacked the plate, sewed on the fastenings and sewed on the two sections to the plate.

I will use this week leading up to the next tutorial to get up to date with my workbook and research file.

I have managed to re-do my tutu now which I am really pleased about and I am not behind which is good. I wrote down all the things I needed to do in the time I had and I estimated that if I worked hard I could get it done. I feel a lot happier about my work with correcting it. From re-doing it I have learnt better time management and how to pleat the tutu in the correct way. the time management is something i can carry on itto third year.

During this workshop the group was told to unpick our bodices and start again because the fabric was too wrinkly. To correct this we pressed both sides of the fabric putting weight onto the iron and ironed some stayflex onto the top fabric pattern pieces. The pressing flattened the fabric and reduced the wrinkles but not entirely as the fabric has a natural crease in it. After completing my bodice for the second time I certainly noticed the difference compared to the scrap pieces of fabric I had not pressed. The bodice looks a lot better and I am pleased with it.

We was also told that the net we dyed to match our bodice fabric needed to be re-dyed to be toned down and made darker. As the net is nylon it does not soak up much dye meaning it was hard to tone down the pink and make darker. After dying some samples I used this dye recipe:

10l cold water
1 cup soda ash
1 cup salt
2tsp Rust Orange
2 1/2 tsp Dark Brown
1/16 tsp Black

Left for 1 hour
Spun and left to dry

I am pleased with the second colour of the net, it is a lot more muted down than before and matches more with the bodice.

From these two changes I have learnt that I should have been more aware of what was happening to the bodice fabric and done something about it or discussed with the group solutions in which we could over come this problem. From the dye I have learnt more about mixing different dyes and that the colour you want may include some surprising dye colours to get there.

I am enjoying working as part of a team. I feel that we are all helping each other whilst still working on out own individual tutus. particularly in the dye room, we all work well together. whilst trying to find our own colours some of us ended up finding someone else's colour. I think we work well as a group which is good practice for when/if any of us decide to work in a workroom in the future.

Mapping out the seam placements

From the recent workshops, I have learnt quite a few new skills which will be useful not only in ballet but in future work with making in general. For example I found the tutor's "quick tips" on flat and mark tacking, and cutting out useful as well as the pressing the iron over the backing fabric when it is lying on the top fabric to make them lie together better. I also liked the idea of mapping out seam lines with cotton tape onto a mannequin instead of trying to do it when there is already calico on the stand. The cotton tape lines also helpped me to visualize what the bodice could look like and gave me a chance to alter the seam placements, before I started cutting into the calico. I will definitely use these techniques in the future because they will help me with the speed of my work and the precision of drafting seams in better places.

I enjoyed the fabric sourcing task to London I was set. Before I went I was a little anxious about the idea of fabric sourcing because it was not something I have done before where I would be choosing the fabrics for a client. However I found it quite exciting going around the fabric shops, which I have never been to before and to explore their fabric ranges. To prepare for our sourcing trip myself and another student researched the fabric shops and their locations so we would know where to go. Most of the shops where in or around Shepards Bush Market apart from the trimming shop which was off of Oxford Street. During the tutorial we were giving the task of sourcing a gold brocade for the bodice which had a budget limit of £12m and Spanish Gold Russia Braid about 3mm wide.

The first couple of shops I went into on Goldhawk Road I didn't find anything suitable. I was worried that we might have came all that way and not find any fabric remotely like the bodice fabric. We got as many gold brocade samples we could find (and were allowed to have) which could have been suitable for the bodice fabric. It was difficult as gold brocade seemed pretty limited in most shops but we did the best we could be visiting all the fabric shops we could find. All the samples we got were well under the budget the most expensive being £8m. I thought Shepards Bush Market was the best place for the fabrics because they had more fabrics which were suitable for what we were looking for.

From this experience I have learnt a great deal, in particular what it is like to source fabric for a client. I have learnt about new places for fabric sourcing/shopping, which will come in useful in the future. I have also learnt that it is good to use some initiative in that there was not any fabric exactly like the original but I brought back as many samples as I could which would enable the client to have more of a selection to choose from. With a couple of the fabrics that had a pattern on I took a photo of on my phone but if I was ever to do fabric sourcing again I would take my camera with me as it takes better photos than my phone and try to remember to take photos of all fabrics so the client can get an idea of the pattern which cannot be shown on a small sample. I thought we did well on recoding the information for each fabric sample and hope it was useful when it came to ordering the fabric.

Upon returning to Uni after the Easter holiday I found out that I had pleated my tutu entirely wrong. I was upset that I had made such a huge mistake and misunderstood the instructions, especially as I struggled with the work over the holiday due to family circumstances. When I came to do the pleating I was a little confused how to do it so I emailed other members of the group, I tried researching on the Internet and I looked at photographs I took of a tutu in one of the workshops all to try and help me understand. I thought I understood how to do this and proceeded to construct the tutu. I would have phoned my tutor but I did not have his home phone number.

From my mistake I have learnt that I needed to try and recognize that I am doing something wrong before I go too far and think of other ways in which I could find out what to do. One way I could do this if it is possible or available is to find a primary research of the costume to look at to see how it is done.

Due to time restraints and deadlines I will be unable to unpick and re-pleat my tutu meaning I will have to do it in the summer. However if I do have enough time before the fitting I will try to re-do this and just hope that I get it right the second time. I hope I do get time to do this because I do not like the idea of handing in something that is wrong, especially when it is intended for a client. I feel really irritated with myself for making this mistake and putting more work on myself when I am already struggling. When I do correct my mistake I will at least learn how to pleat correctly.

I have finally finished making the skirt of my tutu. It took a very long time to make and a lot of unpicking and readjusting of the layers was involved to get it right. I found the pleating quite a challenge to get to the right measurement and sewing the layers on was fairly difficult towards the top layers due to the amount of fabric. Once all the layers were sewn on I could begin to see the form of the tutu taking place.

In this unit I will develop my skills in costume construction into a new area of costume. This will be achieved by exploring the construction of costume in the form of ballet. I will apply practical and creative skills I have gained from previous units and develop these skills by completing a set of dancewear workshops and self directed learning as well as working as part of a team with other members of the group making the final outcome of a classical tutu. Within this unit I will broaden my knowledge of costume into the area of ballet by researching into the history of ballet to gain an understanding of the art itself and how it began and how it has developed over time into what we associate ballet as today. In addition to this, I will also research into the types of ballet costumes which are used in performance.

In this unit I will work with clients from Arts Ed to replicate, (to an extent) one of their classical ballet tutu’s, which they will use as part of their costume stock in next years dance performance. At the end of the project I will have a chance to have the costume photographed professionally.

From completing this project I will have gained the knowledge and understanding as to how a classical tutu is constructed in modern day industry by constructing one myself. I will also gain background knowledge into the creative art of ballet.

I have decided to construct a classical tutu for my Self Directed Project because I want to be challenged on a whole know level away from anything I have produced on this course so far. Furthermore I will be able to achieve a completely new set of skills in the area of dancewear which is something I have not yet covered. These newly acquired skills will possibly open more doors for me when I come to work in the industry. Another reason which directed me to choosing this option, was because I am interested in and have wanted to learn how the construction of a classic ballet tutu works. This project will allow me to improve on pattern cutting and draping on a stand as well as gaining experience in working with different fabrics. Also I will gain broaden my knowledge and understanding of costume construction. In this unit I am hoping to learn how to make a classical tutu and improve my team skills by working as a team with the rest of the group. I am also hoping to gain a lot of knowledge into ballet through my research with will help me to understand ballet.

For this project I will:

- Produce a ballet costume which reflects on the original whilst incorporating modern construction techniques.

- Compile a research file relevant to the area your of study. This should include an overview of the history of ballet and the different styles of ballet costumes as well as images to back up research.

- Produce step by step write-up on new techniques.

- Within the Blog you should write reflections on tutorials and fittings.

- This should all be under pinned by personal development planning (in your blog journal) and a final written evaluation (750 words) evidenced in your Progress File.