FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Luthien’s Tutu
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Luthien was a princess in The Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien (a prequel to The Lord of the Rings). She was the daughter of an elf and a Maia (a lesser angel), and was therefore immortal. She fell in love with Beren, a mortal man, but her father disapproved of him. He sent Beren on an arduous quest, in the hopes that he would die on the way. Luthien went with him, but Beren was indeed killed. Heartbroken, Luthien went to the Keeper of the Dead to plead for his release. Her song moved the Keeper, so he allowed Luthien to trade her immortality to bring Beren back to life. Together, they completed the quest, and they lived out their lives traveling the world.
I chose to make a tutu for this because Luthien is dancing when Beren first meets her, and she dances for a lot of their courtship. Many of the pictures of her also depict her dancing.
Outline the construction…
The bodice of the tutu has ten sections, all satin with a twill lining. There are six strips of boning: one on each side of the center front seam, and one each behind the two seams on either side. The seam allowances of the bodice are sewn flat to the bodice by hand. The skirt is four layers of tulle, with an overskirt of chiffon. The front of the skirt is attached to the bodice by elastic (sewn by machine to the skirt, and by hand to the bodice). I’m not sure why the pattern told me to use elastic instead of just sewing in the ditch of the bodice seams, but that’s what it said to do. The back is closed by hooks and eyes, and piping hems the top and bottom of the bodice. The trims on the bodice (white on top, and a white and gold braid along the bottom) go along the seams between bodice and piping, and a gold trim goes along the edges of the elastic shoulder straps.
It looks so pretty! I love the colour and floofiness of the tutu.
It’s so fun to see ballet attire mixed into this competition! Well done!
The shape is wonderful! And this fabric is so flowy, perfect for this project❤
So graceful and beautiful. Thank you.
Oh, this is fantastic! I can just about see her dancing in the glade…
I love this! It’s really very well done! Thank you!