Sewing a leotard is intimidating at first. I know I was when I made my first one in 2018. Since then, I have made a few leotards and have picked up some tips for you.
If you haven’t heard of a leotard before, it is a tight fitting garment that is worn by dancers and gymnasts to allow free movement of the body. It is similar to a bodysuit, except that a bodysuit has snaps or closures at the crotch.
Leotard fabric & Supplies
First, fabric is very important. The fabric needs to stretch in both directions – along the grainline and perpendicular to the grainline. There are activewear knits, dance knits, swim knits, and cotton lycra all work well for leotards.
I do have to warn, dance knits are slippery and hard to sew many layers with, especially when you add in clear elastic. Since my first one, I have switched over to cotton lycra. Easier to sew and better for a child who feels hot easily.
Other things you might need:
- Clear elastic for neck and leg openings
- Ballpoint needles (serger and sewing machine)
- Fabric for skirt
Fabrics I used
Teal leotard made from dance knit from Joann Fabric
Leap! dress made with cotton lycra from Sincerely Rylee
Light pink leotard was made using cotton lycra from FabScrap.
Dark pink leotard was made using a thinner cotton lycra from Seweird.
Skirts for the light and dark pink are slinky charmeuse from FabScrap.
Leotard patterns
I have used the Violette Field Threads’ Ophelia to make all of the leotards – it has many options all rolled into one pattern. High-waisted blocking, low-waisted blocking, shorts, many sleeve lengths (sleeveless, flutter, short, and long), as well as a high-low skirt and regular gathered skirt.
However, Ophelia isn’t the only pattern out there. There are many more, you can see a handful listed below. Please note that I don’t know how any of these other patterns are, just a list of what I found.
- Jaile has 25 different patterns that fall under the categories of leotard, bodysuit, unitard.
- Peekaboo Patterns Swan Lake
- Tadah Patterns Hapuna
- Made for Mermaids Tai
- Boo and Lu Lilac
- Eunoia Desgins has 14 different dance wear patterns
- The Simple Life Company Lydia
- Little Lizard King London
- Striped and Swallow Designs Raise the Barre
- Treasurie has 38 different leotard patterns
The neckline
I wouldn’t say the neckline the hardest part, but it is definitely more tricky depending on the fabric you use. The first two, I used clear elastic and used the fold over method, and that was frustrating – I kept getting skipped stitches. In the more recent ones, I decided to finish the neck with knit binding, and that went much smoother, but it is also thicker. I recommend testing out both to see which ones your machine likes better.
Even lining the bodice has it’s pros and cons. It is easier to construct, but it stretches out more too – I am going to have to figure out a way to keep the shoulders closer together, as I notices them pulling away as Lilli danced yesterday.
The modifications
The first time I modified this pattern was in 2019, I used it to make a Halloween dress from the movie Leap! where I didn’t make the bottom half of the pattern, rather just kept it a dress and used a circle skirt instead of the pattern skirt.
All of the other ones, I mostly kept it simple – but added a small embellishment to each. (see further below)
Lined Bodice Leotard
The darker pink one was made with thinner fabric, so to make it more substantial, I lined the bodice. I did it in a way that the lining finished the neckline, no binding! Whoohoo!
You want to sew/serge the outer and lining for the front, then sew/serge the back outer and lining. Now you want to attach the shoulders, you’ll end up with a clean neckline.
Sleeves
Sleeves were changed to 3/4 sleeve length, easily done by measuring how long you want the sleeve to be and trimming the pattern accordingly. In the past, it has been a combination of flutter sleeves and 3/4 sleeves.
Skirt
The teal one, made in dance knit, was made with a lace skirt that had fabric flowers on it.
In the latest leotard, I tested out how pleating the skirt would look. I don’t like gathering so anything to avoid it is a plus! Nothing really measured, I pinned the midpoints and side seams then pleated each quarter section towards the center. I think this will be my method of attaching the skirt from now on.
customization
Applique
Flowers from the lace skirt became applique for the bodice.
Fabric Paint
For the Leap! dress – I painted the fabric with fabric paint to mimic the dress in the movie, even creating my own stamp to make it more efficient. You can see the process in the following Instagram posts.
Embroidery
Since this is a leotard for practice classes, I took some creative liberties and embroidered a butterfly to it. The lining was great in hiding all the threads from the embroidery. And the next one, I embroidered ballet shoes.
conclusion
I hope this has helped you get over the fears of making a leotard. With practice, you can make your own in no time! But, if you have any questions, let me know! I’ll leave you with my daughter dancing to one of her favorite songs.
Pin this for later!!
Some links contained in this post may be affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you purchase through these links and helps keep this site running. I was provided with the pattern to test it out, but all opinions are my own
Links and Patterns
Links and patterns mentioned in this post are listed below for your convenience.
- Violette Field Threads’ Ophelia
- Jaile Leotards/unitards/bodysuits
- Peekaboo Patterns Swan Lake
- Tadah Patterns Hapuna
- Made for Mermaids Tai
- Boo and Lu Lilac
- Eunoia Desgins dance wear
- The Simple Life Company Lydia
- Little Lizard King London
- Striped and Swallow Designs Raise the Barre
- Treasurie leotards
- Sincerely Rylee Fabrics
- FabScrap.
- FabScrap – slinky charmeuse
- Seweird – Mauve cotton lycra