The other day, I asked my kids if they would rather go to a store to buy a gymnastic leotard (of whatever color they are selling in the store we end up at) or if they want me to make one (of the color of their choosing). They, of course, wanted me to make one. I asked my 6-year-old what color she wanted her leotard to be. I expected her to say “purple”, like she always does. After no hesitation whatsoever, her answer was: “Light blue with sparkles and a rainbow across the top.” It’s like she’s Carolina Herrera and I am her sample maker.
One of the reasons that I asked them if they wanted me to make them a leotard is that I was on my way into the city to meet Karen for fabric shopping, Carolyn for dinner, and Elizabeth for both shopping and dinner. Karen and Elizabeth both graciously agreed to meet me at Spandex house, where they sell all that stretches. Spandex House had several rainbow fabrics to choose from, in addition to the other colors I sought. For the rainbow, I cut a rectangle from the rainbow yardage, seamed it to make it curve, and serged it to the blue sparkle fabric.
The pattern that I used was Kwik Sew 3508. My 8-year-old wanted the shorts style leotard that a lot of the other gymnasts in her class were wearing, so I altered the shape at the bottom and added a gusset. My younger daughter wanted a standard leotard.
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back view
Rolling in Cloth 
10 Comments
Love the outfits!!! So cute. I’m sure they will be proud to wear them.
It was so awesome to see you.
Elizabeth
http://www.sewnblog.com
Excellent job – they look perfect!
“She’s Carolina Herrera and I’m her sample maker.” Ha!! I am anxiously awaiting my neices to be old enough to draw me their dream dresses.
What adorable outfits, your girls will probably always remember them. Bliss, indeed! I envy you your day, would have loved to tag along. Spandex House, yum!
You did a wonderful job! The colors are quite vibrant 🙂
So fun and spectacular! What happy leotards!
Loved the line “She’s Caroline Herrera and I’m her sample maker”. Made me laugh and smile. Amazing that she had such a clear image of what she wanted.
They look great!
They look fantastic! I miss the days before my daughter became too “cool” for garments that I made.
Claudine, you ARE their samplemaker when you can turn out exactly what they want and that quickly. Thanks for letting us be a part of your search for sparkly. Wish I could have stayed for dinner.
Such cute gymnastics outfits! And that reminds me a bit of my youngest daughter. For much of her childhood, her favorite color was “pink with sparkles”. Not plain pink. She would have loved that pink leo. 🙂