taxi4ballet Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can rejuvenate and stiffen the net on a rather tired and floppy tutu? It has alternate layers of navy and burgundy net and I would be really grateful for suggestions and advice on what I can do to liven it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletmad97 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Back in the days of festivals, we always used to tip the tutu upside down overnight and spray it with a lot of hairspray. You can alternatively get some dress starch but I found it works ok with hairspray depending on how floppy your tutu is. Just out of curiosity where did you get your tutu from/made ? Please message me, we're looking for a tutu maker. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 If you are happy to sew you can squeeze in extra layers of net, not dress net but the really stiff net. Doing this will hold up the floppy layers. Or how about adding a hoop it is a bit of a pain to add a casing after the net has been gathered but it will also support the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Best way is as stated above to sew in some extra layers of stiff net. I have also used spray starch (lots) and an iron but it takes ages and results were nowhere near as good as adding new layers. Never heard of using hairspray before but seems a sensible suggestion and then rather than just hanging upside down try turning inside out so the layers of net are held up inside the body of the tutu (hope this makes sense!). I store all un-hooped tutu's this way as much more compact as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I would suggest getting a hoop put in. It can be done after the tutu has been made. I bought my DD an unhooped tutu and found the skirt too floppy so the lady who makes costumes at our school put a hoop in for me and it made a world of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I always stored my tutus upside down - that helped a lot. I also restrung them with dental floss. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Thank you everyone for some great suggestions - I think I might try the starch, since I'm not much of a dressmaker and hairspray makes me sneeze... Balletmad97, I can't help with a tutu maker I'm afraid, as this one came from a "well-known internet auction" site a year or so ago. Talking of hairspray, I did once hear on the grapevine that excessive hairspray use in theatre dressing rooms tends to set off the fire alarms! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Let us know how you get on! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 I did it! I tried the spray starch, which did work well, but in the end I decided that what it really needed was more layers of net. Off to the shop, where I managed to find just the right shade of blue net, but none in burgundy. Blue it is, then. It's amazing just how awkward yards of the stuff is: when you've got it draped round the dining chairs, it seems to have a mind of it's own! Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, tussling with the net. Finally got it tamed and cut into right lengths. Sewed like mad so it would be ready as a surprise for dd when she came home from residential Easter school. How wrong I was! When she put it on the tutu net sprang up wildly (I'd obviously used too much) and it looked totally ridiculous. So - off it all came again - let's use a bit less this time I thought. Good job I didn't do it that evening, since on the following day, dd's teacher said she really liked the burgundy net on it, and she had some I could have if I liked... So, checklist - new net - use less this time - child present for fittings - burgundy cotton - several hours - Finished! Now all I have to do is sew on some sequins... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Well done, Taxi! What a pain having to do it twice, though! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akh Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I can vouch for excessive hairspray in dressing rooms setting the fire alarms off, it happened at Richmond Festival last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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