New Leotard! (finally)

Each summer, the kids take a break from gymnastics.  Then, if they want to do it again the the fall, they start again then.  Just before summer started, Dorothy had outgrown one of her leotards, and the other was starting to get a little short in the girth.  When it was time to sign up for Fall classes, she didn't want to do gymnastics, and opted for a basketball and soccer class instead.  She hated basketball and soccer, I'm not sure exactly why, but the fact that she can't run very well (she's slow, and it is more of a jog, with an occasional skip/hop in there) might have been part of it.  Once that was over, she wanted to go back to gymnastics, and I promised I would make her a new leotard.

Well, she did an entire session in the one that was too small, because I didn't get it done.  I eventually, forced her to wear one that we received in a box of hand-me-downs because it actually fit and she would not be tugging at it every few seconds.  She hated that leotard for some unknown reason.  I promised her that she would only have to wear it for one week.  We picked out fabric (from my stash), agreed on a design, and I even got the front cut out.  Then I realized that I had cut it the same size as the one that no longer fit, not the next size up.  *smacks forehead*

I was frustrated and not motivated to get it sewn, so it sat in my sewing room for another two weeks (and she had to wear the leotard she hated, much to her disgust).  Finally, a plan formed in my head and I was ready to tackle the leotard again.  I cut out the back the same, wrong, size as the front.  Then I lined them up and cut them both in half and added a two inch insert of a scrap of bright lime green, holographic fabric so that there would be a band around her lower chest.  I just eyeballed the placement, and it could be about half an inch higher, but it isn't too bad.  Luckily, she is pretty tiny around, because her new leotard is not any wider than her old one, but the band bought her some length.  Hopefully this will last her for a little while.

The pictures are pretty terrible.  The lighting at gymnastics isn't great, and she doesn't hold still long enough for a photo with the lens open just a second longer.

 I embroidered three flowers on the front and the back because she wanted a "soft leotard with flowers on it."  She chose a wine colored stretch velvet for the leotard and agreed to my suggestion of orange, light purple, and hot pink flowers.  I had to surprise her with the green band, but she liked it because it sparkles.

 I had to guess as to placement of the orange flower I wanted on her hip/bottom because I have to do the embroidery before sewing the leotard together.  It got it just about where I wanted it

 Waiting for class to start.

 The colors look a bit off in both pictures (with and without the flash).  It's really somewhere in between how the photos look.

None of my action shots turned out well, but it seemed to move with her nicely, and I did not see her tug at it once, which is a huge improvement over the one that was too small.

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out.