The cutest ballet bag for your little ballerina...

Every ballerina needs a bag to carry her stuff in.  

I had been searching for a ballet bag for my daughter Ava, when I was inspired by a bag I saw on Etsy through kidsbowtique .  I thought it was the cutest dance bag, so I decided to try and make it myself with a couple changes.  Here are the directions if you want to make a dance bag for your special ballerina-


You will need:

• a medium white canvas bag
• elastic sequin trim (at least a yard) 
• pink tulle (a yard and a half)
• pink and white thread
• iron on transfer letters (or you can have the bag monogrammed)

Directions:

1.  Make sure to wash and the iron the canvas bag before you begin.  Cut out the letters you will need, center them and iron them onto the bag.

2. Fold the tulle in half.  Stretch out the elastic sequin trim and line it up with the edge of the tulle.  Use the foot of the sewing machine to hold the trim and tulle together.  Start sewing.

      As you begin  to sew, keep the sequined trim stretched out as much as you can.

3.  When you are done, the elastic will bunch the tulle together, creating a tutu.

4.  Place the tutu on the bag, making sure the "seam" of the tutu lines up with the seam of the canvas bag.   Once you have it where you want it, tack it into place every two inches so it will not shift as you go. Then, go back and sew it on all the way around.

5.  After you have sewn the tutu onto the bag, you will see that it hangs much lower than the  bottom of the bag.

Trim the tulle about  1/4" to 1/2" above the bottom of the bag.

6.  The last step for the tutu is to sew up the two sides of the tulle.  If it is placed correctly, the tulle should meet at the seam on the side of the bag.  Match the two sides together, with the edges folded under towards the seam.  Take your needle and thread and weave it in and out until you get to the sequined trim, where you can secure the thread.

The stitched seam of the tulle should blend in to the skirt. 

 7. You could be done at this point, or you could decorate the handles.  I chose to sew the same sequined elastic trim onto the handles so that there would be a consistency with the materials I used. 

 Hope your ballerina enjoys her bag and that you enjoyed making it : )