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.

Classical Tutu Skirts-Sewing Embellishments Onto Pleats

Classical tutu skirts are traditionally made using layers of stiff netting called tulle. There are some tutu skirts that are left plain after the construction process is over and the designer has chosen to leave off any additional embellishments. More often than not, tutu skirts are given an extra dose of beauty by the carefully chosen placement of embellishments.

Looking at this completed ballet costume, I find myself wondering about the application process and what the steps would be to add embellishments correctly to a classical tutu like this one.

If you notice in the photo, the tutu skirt is pleated all the way around. The embellishments were sewn on over those pleats without crushing or flattening the pleats of the skirt. I searched around on the internet for any good tips to use if I were to try to sew embellishments over the top of a pre-pleated tutu skirt. I could not find any information about the proper sewing technique for embellishing a tutu skirt.

I have experience with clothing construction (basic) and have made a pleated skirt or two in the past. The pleats were super-wide, I admit, and none of them were ever embellished with trim over the pleats.  Sewing a regular street skirt can be done in just hours. It certainly doesn’t compare to the time-consuming process of applying the tiny decorative details  found in a classical ballet costume.

It takes a very careful eye and delicate touch to attach decorative trims to a tutu skirt. The proper thread has to be used. The applique trim needs to be positioned evenly all around the skirt. Applying the trim itself is the most delicate part of the construction process.

The embellishment has to be sewn on firmly enough to stay put during a performance, but not so tightly that the tulle on the tutu skirt puckers up around the stitches. I would like to take a guess and say that sewing an embellishment onto the top of the tutu skirt is done using the first layer of tulle only.

Thread color choice might be a strong, transparent thread, or one to blend in with the costume color scheme. There are no shortcuts around the hand-sewing requirements of a professional grade ballet costume.

It is this time-intensive hand labor that makes each custom-made ballet costume so incredibly special…