Materials Needed:
- Leotard, bloomer, hip roll, and skirt pieces
- 7 yds 1/2″ Horsehair braid
- Matching thread
Grab your leotard torso piece and your hip roll piece. Baste the hip roll to the bottom portion of your leotard, making sure the points of the hip roll meet at the center front.
Get your bloomers and skirt pieces. Match up the bloomers to the V cut into your skirt. Baste this piece in place. You may also want to finish the top edge of your skirt if your fabric is prone to fraying.
Time to attach both pieces! Carefully pin the leotard torso/piping piece to the skirt/hip roll piece. Very carefully baste all the way around these pieces, making sure your fabric doesn’t wrinkle or bunch as you stitch. You’re sewing through up to 10 layers of material at a time, so go slow and be cautious!
Once your fabric is basted into place, check for puckers or other stitching errors and seam rip/correct as needed. Go over your stitching again with a regular straight stitch, getting as close to the hip roll as possible. Finish your seam allowance with a zig-zag stitch or serge.
Finishing the Skirt Hem:
Time to finish up the skirt! Using your wall, dress form, or a friend, level your hem. Our skirts typically hit 7-8” from the point of the V to the hem of the skirt and 10” at the center back, but you may want to alter this for modesty or height.
Trim your excess skirt fabric and finish the edge of your skirt if desired (we serge ours). Remember to leave an extra half inch of fabric for your hem!
It’s now time to add the horsehair braid for extra magical girl flounce! Attach your braid to the right side of the fabric (yes, it’s counter-intuitive, but bear with us). Baste this in place. Turn the braid to the wrong side of the fabric, pulling the fabric taut without distorting it. Turn the braid up, again making sure the fabric is taut, and press well.
Stitch this into place with a regular straight stitch. You may turn the braid up an additional time to completely enclose the braid, but this is optional. Press your final seam and admire your work!
Credits:
Tutorial text by The Geeky Seamstress. Photos by The Geeky Seamstress and Gear Owl.