See my other free Gymnastic tutorials
What you need
- 14" x 10" 4 way stretch fabric (stretches in width and height)
- FOE (fold over elastic) (around 18")
How to make the leotard / swimsuit
download leotard pattern here
Please use for home use only, this pattern is copyrighted by me, Read Creations !
Make sure you have page scaling set to none !
All seams are 1/4" if not specified otherwise, use a stretch stitch on your sewing machine
1. Cut out both pattern pieces. You can play with it and make your own neck designs (that is why I have marked where I cut it but gave you the pattern up to her neck), just make sure you have the opening big enough for her body and arms to fit through (fabric and foe will stretch to a certain extend). The suggested neck opening is the bare minimum size if you don't want to use any Velcro. If you want a smaller neck opening, you either need to add a seam in the back with Velcro, or you have to make it big enough for the head and you can put a Velcro closure between her legs (like a body)
2. Sew her right shoulder sides (front and back) together (fabric right sides together)
3. If you have a pointed neck, mark the point with a needle otherwise you can skip this step
4. Sew foe around neck opening (pull foe slightly but not too much)
5. If you have a pointed neck, fold front in half and sew across foe in an angle (indicated with the needle since the thread is barely visible)
6. Sew other shoulder side (front and back) together
7. Sew foe around both arm openings (pull foe slightly but not too much)
8. Sew sides together
9. Sew foe around both leg openings (pull foe more tightly on the back sides and only slightly on the front, this will help shape the butt area)
10. Sew front and back together between the legs
You are done !!!
Variations
- If you don't want to use foe, you can always add a seam allowance where I used foe and hem it with 1/4" elastic
- You can always cut the pattern pieces in half (maybe in an angle across in the front) add a seam allowance to the cut sections on both sides and voila, you can have multi-colored leotards
- You can add folded foe to the seams as seen in the black leotard
For more Gymnastics items see my blog
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this tutorial.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. Have fun.
DeleteThank you for sharing your patterns and tutorial..making memories with granddaughter is awesome. Thanks again for sharing your talents.
DeleteYou are welcome. I am glad I was able to help with the special memories :-)
DeleteThank you! My little girl wanted an ice skating outfit for her doll. With your pattern, some silver lame, aqua FOE and a little bit of time I have an outfit she will LOVE. I added a circle skirt to complete the look. Thanks for your hard work.
ReplyDeletethe skating outfit with a skirt was on my list for the next few weeks now that we are in wintery weather. I am glad it worked out for you.
DeleteThank you so much! I LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much....I love it!
ReplyDeleteI can't get the pattern to print - how do you set the scale to none.
ReplyDeletehow do you make a 2 peice
ReplyDeleteUse my free Bikini pattern http://myagdollcraft.blogspot.com/2013/06/bikini-for-american-girl-doll.html or just cut the swimsuit pattern at the hip and shorten the top to whatever length you want it. Seam the top of the created pants with FOE and make a small seam at the bottom of the top or also use FOE to finish.
DeleteThank you for sharing this! My daughter is going to love this for Christmas!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome.
DeleteThank you for sharing sheila
ReplyDeleteThank you for the pattern, an old swimsuit lives on.
ReplyDeleteHow should I go about making this when I dont have any stretchy fabric and i dont want to cut up any clothing? I am wanting to make this for part of a sailor moon pattern for my american girl doll. Can I use normal fabric?
ReplyDelete