Shall we dance?

For the past several years, I've been helping sew and repair ballroom dance costumes for a local K-8 school.  This last spring, I ended up designing waltz dresses to be worn by the Junior High dancers.  

Ballroom dance dresses- simply elegant

Ballroom dance dress back

This is the design I settled on.  The instructors wanted gowns with full skirts and could be worn by ladies in 5th through 8th grades.  I wanted a design that could be sewn quickly and easily.

Bodice- I began with a basic leotard style top, ending with a drop waist.  The red dress is the prototype.  The instructors preferred a cap sleeve and rounded, raised neckline in back. There are only two pattern pieces for the bodice: a front and a back.

Skirt- The skirts are just one big circle, no seams, and a rounded, heart shaped cutout in the center.


 

The purple dress is the finished product.  I used 50 lb fishing line to make the hem curl.

Ballroom dance full circle skirt spins beautifully

Ballroom dance full circle skirt spins beautifully

 While basic in design, floats or other accessories can add interest to the costume.

The 7th & 8th graders who performed in the purple dresses also used matching fans and wore coordinating flowers in their hair.

Patterns and instructions

These will be available for purchase and download online through my web site in the near future (I hope):
www.sewpleasing.com