Tutu novice question

[r3dh3d]

DD has just been issued a tutu on loan from her ballet school, to do her first ever festival solo. Which is a wonderful thing.

 

I don't know much about tutus (haven't had one since I was 4). I think it is a pancake (it has a hoop), which is supposed to be flat afaik - but exactly how flat is it supposed to be? I'm not sure whether it needs to be perked up at all. it will have been stored under a heap of the things for years, so it's entirely possible it's too flat. Then again, maybe it's just right.

 

Could anyone share a picture / link of what this style is supposed to look like, please? (And then I can work out how to get it gently spruced up)

 

Thanks!

[ScottishDancerMum]

I'm new to all this tutu stuff as well!

I've been spending quite a bit of time here, as well as on this Facebook group which is a site for second hand tutus and costumes.  I've gotten a pretty good idea in a short period of time what they are meant to look like.  

There's things you can do to perk up a tutu, like making sure it's tacked (just google "tacking a tutu"), or using types of stiffening spray on the underside.  Still, as the tutu is on loan, you should probably ask your teacher or the person who loaned it to you - they should have a much better idea of how it should look, and should have ideas how to fix it if it's droopy.  

Tell your daughter congratulations on her first solo!

 

[sarahw]

This may help

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/490-reviving-a-floppy-tutu/?fromsearch=1.

 

There was also a thread about cleaning a tutu which I can't find now!!

[sarahw]

Got it

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9329-washing-tutu/?fromsearch=1

[r3dh3d]

Thanks folks - good recommendation on the fb group, I'll definitely join that.  I'm hoping to go on a tutu making course in October (fortunately I can sew pretty well) at which point I will know EVERYTHING there is to know about the things, it's just a question of coping until then!

I'm going to need to do some basic repairs/alterations to the thing - shoulder elastic has gone (it always does as far as I can see, we had to replace the elastics on 16 of the things for the group), that sort of thing.  

Plus spot cleaning - a previous occupant has managed to get lipstick on it (and it's going to be fairly stubborn lipstick by definition).  Any recommendations for getting this off?  It's a pale yellow tutu so I'm a bit worried about spreading the stain around and it looking worse.

[Canary]

Pale yellow flower patch over the top might be a quick way but be aware what you do for one ..............

[PrancingMum]

Any recommendations for getting this off?  It's a pale yellow tutu so I'm a bit worried about spreading the stain around and it looking worse.

 

I have had to get lipstick off from a few and this usually works.  Use a dry cleaning fluid followed by white vinegar.  Put a dry clean cloth under the stain and dab rather than rub to prevent spreading.  However if the stain is old the dye may be quite set.  Good luck!

[LoobyLou]

Fairy liquid (or similar) will do the trick, especially if it's greasy. It's the gentlest way and least harmful so good to try before getting harsher things on the material.

[cavycapers]

Always store your tutu skirt hanging upside down, to allow it to perk back up. Dont hang it from the gusset, though, as this will stretch the pants. If it is hooped, then it is probably flat enough, but as other posters say, maybe retacking the layers will lift them back up using the hoop as support. Sometimes you will see a dancer where a brand new tutu skirt is pointing upwards, almost inside out, and this will need taming until it's parallel,but otherwise, i don't think a tutu can be too flat. Don't oversteam! Otherwise you will have a droopy tutu! By the way, the Russians like their tutus very flat, ie, sticking out from the body, whereas the English prefer their tutus slightly more sloped down.

Edited January 28, 2017 by cavycapers

[Cara in NZ]

We inherited a practice tutu for vocational exams that was several years old and droopy. A friend who did lots of costumes for a different dance school added another layer of net (a very short one) to the bottom and perked it back up beautifully.