My oldest has been doing gymnastics for nearly 3 years now. That is hard to write. 3 years! When did my little baby get to be so big?

When we first started, we bought the ridiculously expensive leotards. You know the ones with the shine and sparkle, etc. She loved them, but I hated shelling out so much money on something that I could "probably" make.

My first leotards (3 years ago), were pretty awful. Not the pattern designers fault, but my inexperience. It is amazing how much you can improve in 3 years! Last year, my kids got Elsa inspired leotards from Jalie's 2792 Gymnastics Leotard Pattern. Those were a huge hit and I even got several inquiries from parents on where I bought our super awesome leotards. I was so proud to say I made them.

From there, I've gotten several requests for leotards for members of my daughter's gymnastics team. talk about flattery!

Of course, despite my best efforts, my kids keep growing, so while my oldest LOVED her Elsa Leotard, she is now too big. Oh the many tears... And while I still have enough fabric to make 1 more Elsa Leotard, I figured I'd try something new instead. So this year, we're all about the mermaids!

I hacked the Jalie 2792 to be a single pattern piece, rather than 2 piece leotard. I sewed it up in this glittery purple fabric and my girls loved it, because glitter plus little girls=happy. BUT I didn't stop there. I used the Tumble N Twirl (AKA Mountain Ash Designs) Training Wear Separates to sew up a couple pairs of mermaid shorts. That took it from happy to SQUEALING GLEE.

I LOVE the Jalie patterns. Knowing that I can get from my youngest (at size 2) to myself in one pattern is a great pattern dollar spent. And the fit on these are really good too. I love that we use a cross body measurement to ensure the leotards are long enough! I hadn't realized that my oldest has a longer torso than her legs. if I had just gone by age or chest/hip measurements, we'd have been in a size 7 or 5! Turns out she actually needed an 8. And if I had wanted a little growing room, I could have made a 9. What a mistake a size 7 or 5 would have been. Same works for me. I'm petite and would need the length of a much smaller size than the rest of my body. I will say that the neck band elastic measurement is always a tiny bit snug and I always forget to lengthen it a little, WHOOPS.

Those gymnastics shorts are a great investment for us too! I don't let my girls wear their leo's without shorts. That's just my own personal preference for my kids. I like their butts covered and their panties not showing. They are good snug coverage, which is what you need in a pair of gymnastics shorts!

So, if you weren't sure which leotard patterns to check out, I hope this gave you some ideas!