Sewing Leotards & Dancewear for your BAB

Leotard with long sleeves (legless).

The sewing instructions outlined in my entry about “Onesies, Jumpsuits, and Pajamas for your BAB” actually apply to many of my sewing patterns. So you can use those steps as a guide for making many of the BAB costumes or BAB fashions you'll see in my shop, including for the “BAB Assorted Dancewear Sewing Pattern” set.

The primary points of difference between the jumpsuit/onesie sewing instructions and the leotards/dancewear concern special considerations for knit fabrics, and the order of operations during assembly. The BAB Assorted Dancewear Sewing Pattern has optional sleeves and legs you can add to the basic leotard or to the ballerina top. The legs will not connect with the ballerina top, but they will attach to the basic leotard. The sleeves will attach both to the ballerina top and to the basic leotard. The result is a wide range of leotard/dancewear options to suit your taste...

But to get it right, you must pay special attention to the fabric and to the order of operations, as I said. All pattern pieces in the “BAB Assorted Dancewear Sewing Pattern” set are marked to indicate the direction your fabric will need to stretch, so remember to test your fabric and then place these pattern pieces onto your fabric in the correct alignment before cutting.

The rest of this entry concerns the order of operations when assembling these pattern pieces. Below, you’ll notice several photos of partially assembled pieces in cotton jersey knit materials. The first photograph demonstrates what can go wrong (see below).

In this example (above), the crotch was assembled first, and then the legs were added with each lengthwise leg seam open to either side of the body (right and left) below the arm holes. This mistake in the order of assembly operations would result in an excess of fabric in the crotch area, specifically at the top of each leg.

In the below example, the shoulder seams are assembled first, and then the sleeves are attached at the arm holes. It’s okay to close the seam in the back of the leotard, as seen here, between the crotch and the tail - this may or may not help to keep your work tidy, so it’s entirely up to you.

Whether you are making a long sleeve ballerina top, a sleeveless tank top, a full body catsuit, a gymnast’s tumbling jumpsuit, a leotard with long sleeves, or a leotard with no sleeves… the best place to start is with the seams at each shoulder (1). Then, if you’re adding sleeves, attach the sleeves so that the shoulder seams are at the center point of joining each sleeve to the body (2). And if you’re not adding sleeves, this is a good time to turn the hem around your arm holes, instead.

For your shoulder seam (1), feel free to use a standard non-stretchy stitch. But for around your arm holes (2), be sure to use a stretchy stitch, sleeve or no sleeve, because you’ll need this seam to be pretty forgiving. The image below shows a ballerina top in progress. Notice how similar this is to the jumpsuit/onesie instructions, and to the basic shirt instructions. Matching the sleeve to the body is the same in this assembly as in those, except this knit material should be super stretchy! This natural stretch of your knit fabric can make achieving a smooth seam line around the shoulder significantly easier.

Priority of assembly is as follows: (1) shoulder seam, then (2) sleeve seam or arm hole hem line. This example uses reclaimed cotton from an old tshirt, so the sleeve cuffs are pre-hemmed. This pre-hemmed line becomes the bottom edge of each of the front and back pieces for this long-sleeve ballerina top, as well as the cuff of each sleeve.

Below is what it should look like if you were making a full bodysuit, catsuit, or speedsuit. For the bodysuit, you’ll want to add both sleeves and legs to the basic leotard. In which case, you start at the shoulders (1), then add the sleeves (2), then close the seam continuously from each sleeve cuff to the hip (3) along each side of the body of the leotard, and then (and only then!!) attach the legs to the hips (4). You’ll want to use stretchy stitches for most of your seams, as a rule, rather than non-stretchy stitches. For a tumbling jumpsuit that has no sleeves, you will still start at the shoulders (1), but then turn the hem around the arm hole (2), close the seam continuously from each arm hole to the hip (3) along each side of the body of the leotard, and then (and only then!!) attach the legs to the hips (4).

Priority of assembly is as follows: (1) shoulder seam, (2) sleeve seam, (3) side body seam, (4) top of leg seam, (5) inseam around the crotch (which has not been numbered in the above photo).

** Please note that for the sake of simplicity, I’m omitting the hemming steps for sleeves and legs, in part because you may not want to hem your knit materials at all, and in part because you could probably do that at any point you’re comfortable with, since these stretchy knits are so very forgiving. It may be easier in some cases to hem the sleeve and leg cuffs by hand, actually, because that may provide you with the greatest control over the final length of these features. **

This last bit is crucial for anyone adding legs to this garment. The legs should attach to the leotard with an inseam closing continuously around the crotch. Running this seam is similar to the basic pants or trousers featured in my other patterns. Unlike those patterns, however, there is a seam in this case around the top of each leg where they meet the hip, and there is no seam along the outside of each leg. Therefore, the inseam (starting at the cuff, running to the crotch, and finishing at the other cuff) is the last seam for assembling the legs portion of any bodysuit, catsuit, speedsuit, or jumpsuit in my leotard/dancewear set.

If you’re not using either legs or sleeves, you’ll still want to follow a similar logic. But you’ll simply turn the hem around the holes where either legs or sleeves would have been. In the case of a legless leotard, you may want to close the crotch seam at step 3, instead of closing the body seams on either side, depending on whether you prefer the bulkier seam to be at the hip or at the crotch. You decide.

Below are some additional example photographs.

On a final note:

We all make mistakes. Especially when we’re sewing. And working with knits can be challenging. I personally hate trying to rip out a seam in any jersey knit materials, so I anticipate having to make everything at least twice when I’m working with knits by providing myself with an excess of fabric at the start. When I make a mistake that would normally call for a seam ripper, I simply start again when it comes to knits. (I tend to make a ton of holes in my knits when I try to remove my stitches; it ain’t pretty!)

So don’t rush this project; try to make the experience as easy on yourself as you possibly can. Maybe cut up some old tshirts for practice before you go investing in any preferred materials? You should expect to make mistakes, forgive yourself when they happen, and start fresh when you can afford to do so.

A bodysuit/catsuit/speedsuit, seen here right-side out, with the last seam yet to close: the inseam (from leg cuff to crotch to leg cuff).

A finished bodysuit as speedsuit. Notice that the sleeves and legs are quite long.