A fellow RBE company member asked me to make her a tutu so she could get pictures taken in it. I said yes of course. I've been doing little else since spring break started and it's kind of consuming me at the moment. Am I making any money on this? Not at all. In fact I think I've spent more on materials than I'm getting paid. Definitly eating it on this one, although it will be my best tutu I've ever made and the first time I'm attempting a platter.
I initially started making tutu's for my students who were on extremely tight costume budgets and as a teacher I knew they would never be able to buy a tutu on that kind of budget. I looked at one and said... hey.. this looks simple and I can probably do it. Which, by the way, is my motto when it comes to crafts... see something you like, and then go home and figure out how you can make it.. So I started my tutu adventure. I've made probably over 50 classical style tutus and each one of them I have been unhappy with. I learn something from every single one of the tutus that I've made. They have evolved from 4 layers of way-too-soft-tulle sewn on elastic, to 7 layers of stiff netting on a basque and panty complete with darts and everything with hook and eye closures, snap platter on top with trim. And with this evolution, something has also evolved... a hatred for sewing tutus.
I DON'T like sewing tutus. It is tedious and difficult and messy (there is netting and a TON of little tiny black strings all over my floor) and EXTREMELY time consuming.
The last time I made a set of tutus was when I realized this hatred. I decided that over the summer I would learn how to make some extremely professional looking tutus and made 20 classical tutus and 20 romantic tutus. all in white, and then I would NEVER make a tutu again. I would just rent them out to students and whoever for something ridiculously cheap (tutus are not money making for me.. it;s really all about giving people the opportunity to wear a tutu) and be completely done.
But now.. I'm not sure I have it in me to do that. I'm considering just going completely ignorant and pretending like this is not one of the skills I have and just going to back to not being able to get tutus...
Of course I am currently in the middle of making one right now... and it is EXTREMELY likely that when it's completely done and we get to see beautiful pictures of the thing I'll feel this overwhelming sense of accomplishment and charity (i know it sounds stupid but a LOT of me goes into these things) and I'll fall in love with the results and then then next time someone asks, I'll say yes.. and the cycle will continue.. such is life I guess.
The amazing closure system... are those bra hooks?.. yes they are.. and they work wonderfully when I don't have time to order the real closures.
3 comments:
I promise I will never ask you to make me one again. I am sorry! I should have just bought one off discountdance.com. I feel like I ruined your spring break. But yeah if you really want to do the picture thing in the tutu let me know.
Haha.. camille.. really don't worry! Right after I finished it I wrote a blog about how much I love making tutus (once they are complete) and I was just waiting for some good pictures of it before I posted it! It seriously was just me being moody cause my thread kept breaking! Let me know when you want to take some pictures though... Even though you're probably sick of being in front of a camera!
Ellie, The tutu looks really good. Just be patient. Practice makes perfect. People who do a good job have to work at it. So take pride in the fact that you are teaching yourself a really cool skill.
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