First time sewing a Jolie pattern, leotard, and spandex. It didn’t help that my printer did not print the last page with the illustrations, but thanks to the great help from the Jolie staff, it is complete and my granddaughter Loves it. She picked out the colors and it looks a little like Wonder Woman.

As a somewhat top-heavy adult, I made a shelf bra lining with PowerMesh and 1" elastic. Traced the top of the yoke/bodice pieces, and then measured roughly how long I needed it to be. Cut it a little extra long, and assembled the neckline with the lining in the seams. When the leotard was mostly finished, I put it on inside-out, and marked where I wanted the bottom bra strap to be. I cut the 1" elastic to go all the way around, sewed it to the mesh at the front, and then tacked it to the back below the keyhole.

I love this leotard so much, I'm pondering how best to combine it with a leggings pattern to make a full unitard of it.

Looks brilliant on but a bit tricky for little ones to go to loo, I found the back a little confusing at times the small bits not the cross over, but we got there in the end and each one I did got better .

This leotard has a very tight sporty fit that's perfect for gymnastics. I will say the first one I made per my daughters measurements I felt was too small, however after making her a size larger we both prefer the smaller one. At first she thought it was too tight (high up) on her neck but after wearing it she says it's actually quit comfortable. She loves the back (and so do I, it's so cute and shows off her back muscles well) and the fact that it fits so nicely she NEVER has to adjust while in it which is a BIG no no in gymnastics. The accent stripes on the front curve perfectly to the body and it's just such a sporty and cute leotard. She gets compliments every time she wears them.

I love the look of this beautiful leotard but as a few have said, I would much prefer if the back was a single piece. For me the simpler the better. Also, my 6 year old puts a lot of strain on the leotard because the criss cross back makes it harder for her to get on. As a result she has popped the collar stitching twice by pulling so hard. I am a novice leotard sewer so perhaps others may know better how to avoid this - but I did follow instructions using a zig zag stitch along the collar with the elastic once to attach and again after folding over. I wish there had been a simple back alternative without a criss cross. 3rd complaint is the pattern size lines were not color coded and it was time consuming straining my eyes to find the right line. Took forever. Finally, for me, the leg line was a bit high for my daughter, so I would adjust this to a more modest level next time (I recommend cutting a lower fit because you can always make it higher later). All that said - it is a very pretty leotard, I just won't be creating a bunch of these in a hurry. Size and fit was like a professional leotard.