Sewing for a Show

The last week of the school year is always a crazy busy one for us, not just because of all the usual end of term madness at school but also because, for the last six years, India and then Georgia and Savannah have performed in their ballet school's annual Student Showcase. This is the culmination of a year of lessons and hard work (five hours a week for India this year!) and the only opportunity at their level that they get to perform on a stage in front of an audience.

This is always a performance that showcases the dancers' evolving talents without the distraction of expensive costumes, but they do get a headpiece to fasten into their perfect performance ballet buns. This year, the girls' teacher was so enamored with the pom pom headband that India has been wearing to class (modeled above by Florence and made by me as part of India's Tinkerbell costume for the school musical) that she asked me to make one for all the girls in her classes - that's forty pom poms!!



The pom poms were made by adapting this tutorial. I used three layers of different colored tulle cut into four inch wide strips and about 25 inches long (half the width of the fabric). The pom poms for the show were attached to bobby pins, but for everyday class wear I have sewn them to elastic headbands just like the one Florence is wearing.



Georgia and Savannah's class wore blue, India's chose pink.



More than half an hour of combing out tangles went into each of those buns. Once I'm done, even Keith and I have a hard time telling the twins apart!



The girls all danced beautifully. We were so impressed with how much their skills have developed in the last year and they all LOVE performing. It makes all the rushing to lessons and ouchy hairdos so worthwhile!