Why Do Tutu Skirts Bunch Up?

As any blogger using WordPress will tell you, there is unique insight into the types of information that people are searching for online. Knowing what kind of information dancers and young ballet students are looking for goes a long way when choosing a topic for the next post.

Ballet Students Have A Lot Of Questions

Ballet students normally have lots of questions. They have questions about choosing and fitting pointe shoes. Some of them are simply curious to find out what the typical ballerina wears under her costume on stage. Some want to know how to create a proper ballet bun for class. Many have concerns about their costumes and the way they are supposed to fit and behave. This is especially true of the tutu skirt.  Some tutu skirts “bunch up” on the dancer.

Why Does My Tutu Skirt Bunch Up?

What does it mean when someone says their tutu skirt is bunching up? Many complaints can be found online about tulle crunching up and gathering when the dancer sits down. As the dancer stands back up, her tulle stays wrinkled and gathered.It makes you wonder how a dancer is able to sit at all, doesn’t it?  The following are some of the reasons why a tutu skirt may have problems with bunching.

• Faulty Construction Methods
• Improper Care And Storage
• Tacking Mistakes
• Low Quality Tulle Material

It appears that many home sewers try their hand at making tutu skirts not realizing just how stiff a traditional tutu really is. The netting is firm and crisp, not soft and floppy. Some even try hanging them upside down and spraying the fabric with starch. It looks like the quality of the tulle is extremely important. Cheap, thin tulle does not have the right degree of firmness.

A Word From Costume Creations About Bunching Tutus:

” I would say the main problem would be if the pant was too small  and the tutu maker was not getting the measurements correct making the whole tutu too short in the body. The cheap ready-made tutus nearly always bunch up. The pant and skirt have to be fitted exactly to sit nicely on the hips and bottom. Every shape is different and too many assume everyone is the same shape. The maker needs to look very carefully not only at the measurements but also the dancers posture and stance. This will affect very much how the tutu sits. A good tutu fitter would see all this the minute the dancer walked in the room. That is why I would say a tutu maker should have a lot of experience in dance not just sewing.

• Improper storage can wreck a tutu; particularly the ends. Not many people have the extra space. I give my customers very detailed care instructions ; keep flat – keep covered – keep high– keep away from young children and pets.

• Tacking too tightly could cause ugly bunching up – tacking is very time consuming to do right. I find I  have spent days meticulously making the tutu, then have to spend half a day just tacking. You are not seeing the rewards from this the same, but you know if you don’t do it right the tutu will be a disaster on stage.”-Monica Newell/ Costume Creations U.K.-

No Bunching...Just Beauty

Tutu De Colores

Ballet Or Circus Act?

How many colours can one tutu skirt have before it turns from a classical ballet costume into a circus outfit? Many classical tutus come in slight shade variations that don’t normally combine more than 3 or 4 shades at a time. Very rarely does one see tutu skirts shaded multiple rainbow-bright colours that scream for attention.

Rainbow Coloured Tulle

Imagine one with bright stripes of fire-engine red, neon yellow, lime green and hot purple tulle. Would you think ballet performance or would you picture a whimsical, fun musical or circus act? I wasn’t sure about this, so I decided to search around online for tutu skirts in rainbow shades.

Not tutus in various shades, but one skirt of  rainbow colours that looked like a professional-grade ballet costume. I was surprised to find nothing that looked professional. Or classical. Not one. There may be some out there, but I couldn’t find any during my search.

Are Rainbow Coloured Tutu Skirts Still Classical?

It appears that even colour choices and amounts are controlled and exacting when creating classical tutu designs.  Of course, many tutu skirts are shaded in beautiful variations of colours. It may be the simple (but classical) way of designing the garment so it is tastefully done, not garish or clownish, that makes it classical-ballet- worthy.  There is a lot to think about in the ballet costume design world, don’t you agree?

What Does Tutu De Colores Mean?

By now, you might be wondering what tutu de colores means. It is Spanish for tutus of or with colours. This blog now receives visitors from all over the world. We have had an increase of Spanish-speaking dancers searching for ballet costume information.  It appears that the search for beautiful ballet costumes is a global one.

When it comes to beautiful colours on a classical tutu skirt, look at this airbrushed design below. Tasteful elegance, yet balanced with eye-pleasing airbrushed colour. It is a lovely example of a tutu de colores made with classical elegance and style. Muy bonita!

Tutu De Colores de Costume Creations U.K.

Frilly Tutu Skirts-The Epitome Of Ballerina Beauty

Frilly And Fabulous Tutu Skirt by Costume Creations UK

Some tutu skirts are simply so fluffy and so beautifully frilly that they appear to have a life of their very own. Nowhere is this more apparent than the tutu skirts that are gracefully dancing out of the Costume Creations studio.

Constructing such a full and wonderfully layered tulle skirt adds so much beauty to the ballerina’s overall appearance. Even though there is layer upon layer of pretty pink tulle, the effect is one of feather-lightness and cloud-soft prettiness.

Standing alone, this wonderfully fluffy  pink ballet costume would appear as a pink carnation  or a delicious cone of sweet cotton candy. Worn by a dancer on stage, this skirt would bring to mind an enchanted field  where pink carnations  come to life with a sudden breeze  and joyfully pirouette around showing off their frilly petals.

Whether the young, pretty ballerina in this photo is portraying a living flower or not, she looks as beautiful as a bouquet. I believe the magic of ballet costume design  is how it can stir the emotions and stimulate the imagination of those who look upon the finished costume with wonder.

Here’s to the lovely world of frilly tutus that grow in the design garden of  Costume Creations U.K.

Double Hand-Pleated Tutu Skirts

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a single- pleated tutu skirt and one that has been double hand-pleated? Not being super-knowledgeable about the methods used in hand pleating tutu skirts has left me with a few questions.

The internet offers very little information about the differences in construction regarding double pleating. Good example photographs were also very scarce. I decided to go ahead and check in with Costume Creations to find out more about these two different pleating methods.

 

Double Hand-Pleated Tutu Skirt by Costume Creations UK

Standard Hand Pleating

A standard single-pleat consists of fabric, or in this case tulle, being tucked and folded once at regular intervals around the circumference of the tutu skirt. Single-pleated tutu skirts have less weight to hold them down. Although single pleating can be used successfully, it takes  great skill to pleat the tulle at the correct depth.  Single pleating on tulle can produce thin and droopy skirt edges when the tulle fans out.

Single hand-pleated tutu skirts tend to bunch up at the top layer which is another reason that many dancers and designers prefer double-pleated tutus.

There are some ballet costume designers who skip pleating altogether and only gather the tulle.  Tulle that is gathered actually has more body and weight than the single-pleat method.

Double Hand Pleating

Double hand-pleating a tutu skirt involves folding the tulle over twice at each pleat interval around the skirt. The depths of each individual pleat are determined by the designer according to the needs of the dancer.

Why Is One Pleating Style Chosen Over Another?

Double hand-pleated tutu skirts are chosen over the single pleated style because they look better and lay better. The extra weight of doubled up fabric gives the tutu skirt added body and firmness. The skirt lays flat and the tutu behaves better.

The many facets of tutu creation are amazing. I would venture to say that tutu couture is an exact science that many of us will never quite understand. There is always more than meets the eye when it comes to the business of couture ballet costumes, hand-pleating and design principals. Thank goodness I only have to write about it.

Karinska Tutu Design-What Is It?

In one of my earlier posts, I mention a style of tutu known as the “Karinska” powder puff  tutu that was created for one of George Balanchine’s ballets. Today, I am researching a little more information on Karinska herself.

Who Was Karinska?

Most of the information available about Karinska has her birth year stated as 1886, 1887, or 1888. She was born in Russia with her real name as Varvara Jmoudsky. Somehow she came to be known as Barbara Karinska.

Growing up, Karinska became skilled with Russian embroidery technique which emphasizes using textures of rough and fine materials layered to make a “collage” of sorts. It wasn’t until Karinska was in her 40′s that she began looking for work using her sewing skills. She made her first costume when she was 40 years old, which I find fascinating. The rest is history. The biggest part of her career was spent in the costume department of the New York City Ballet. According to historical documents, Karinska died in 1983 in her late 90′s.

What Is The Karinska Decorating Method?

Karinska used multiple layers of not only fabric, but many other types of embellishments that were  built up upon one another to create color and dimensional texture.  The typical Karinska tutu decorating design would have many layers:

• The Base Layer would be satin or some other soft, flowing fabric
• After the base layer might come a layer of gold or silver tulle or netting
• After the netting layer, decorative braiding would be added to the netting
• Jewels were then added to the braiding
• On top of the decorative braiding and jewels, other embellishments were sometimes added like bows and ribbons
• The last layer would consist of a sheer over skirt.

George Balanchine Ballet And The  Jewels Ballet

Hand-sewing 20, 000 Of These? Amazing!

In 1996, George Balanchine created a ballet called Jewels. This ballet was to be a tribute to women and to the jewels they wear. The ballet has variations that focus on Emeralds, Diamonds, and Rubies. For this ballet, George Balanchine requested a Karinska reproduction.

The costume designer had to create this costume with 20,000 hand-sewn stones. Can you imagine the amount of work and time involved hand-sewing 20, 000 little stones onto a ballet costume? Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a photo of this costume, but I will keep searching.

This is the incredible part of costume designing; being able to fill the most important need in the ballet world using creativity, patience, and most of all, fingers that never seem to get tired.

Madame Karinska At The New York City Ballet Circa 1946

What Would This World Be Like Without Those Who Are Skilled With Needle And Thread?

Tutu Skirts- The Challenges Of Construction

How In The World Do You Make A Tutu Skirt?

I spent a little while this evening researching and trying to gather information about the tutu making process. There are hundreds, if not thousands of tutu making articles on the internet. I went through one article after another trying to get a basic idea of the steps involved in making a tutu skirt.

The articles that I found had titles like, “Make A No Sew Tutu In 30 Minutes“, or, “How To Make A Tutu Skirt In 3 Easy Steps“. Illustrations for articles like this show pitifully thin strips of tulle hanging from a thick elastic waist band. These are not tutus. They are tutu-like play costumes for people who are just having fun.

The tutu construction methods I was seeking are for professional grade, real classical tutus that end up on the stage of the Kirov Theater. I should have known that  ballet costume designers for major theaters would be much too busy to be writing how-to articles about tutus. It’s hard to write when you’re up to your ears in tulle.

Classical ballet costumes of the professional grade can take more than 3 weeks to complete. Some tutu skirts have scalloped edges that need to be cut out by hand using a special edging template. Multiply that by the layers needed and you can plan on having a very busy day!

As you can see in the photo, the tulle layers of the tutu skirt have to be graded. That means that each layer of tulle has to be shorter than the layer above it in order to stand out firmly and not “flop”. The tutu has to be the correct width so the dancer can allow her partner room to come in close.

There is so much precision required of the person who aims to make a professional looking classical tutu. These kind of endeavors are better left to the nimble-handed and experienced tutu engineers!

Tulle Fabric Spools In Rainbow Colors

What Makes A Ballet Costume Classical?

What Are The Characteristics Of A Classical Ballet Costume Versus A Romantic Ballet Costume?

When this beautiful pink gem was under construction at the Costume Creations design studio, the designer, Monica Newell,  fashioned it a certain way because all ballet costumes are grouped into specific categories.

Some dance costumes are classified as modern or jazz.  Other costume types may be labeled as lyrical, character, theatrical, or contemporary.

When a client places an order with Costume Creations for a classical tutu, why does that mean that the tutu skirt will be short, stiff, and multi-layered? I decided to do a bit of research on the terms classical and romantic and here is what I found:

In 1832 Marie Taglioni appeared on stage in Paris wearing a ballet costume that was cut above her ankles to show off her legs and feet. During those years, there was a social movement called romanticism that was rejecting a scientific view of the world. This movement believed that humans should live by intuition and emotion alone.

These beliefs caused the popular ballets of that era to explore extreme emotions. The romantic tutu is named for this era in ballet. Romantic tutus are long and floaty with layers of soft tulle.

After the ballet audiences became thrilled to see the foot work of the ballerinas, they requested the skirts become shorter. In 1880, Virginia Zucci came out on stage wearing the first classical tutu which was knee-length. Through the progression of time, tutu skirts became shorter and shorter as ballet audiences responded favorably to seeing the full range of motion in the dancers legs.

Classical tutus are short and made with layers of stiff netting. Although the romantic style ballet costume is older, it is the classical tutu that has represented ballet costume tradition for the last 120 years.