DIY Tutorial Free Standing Ballet Barre {How to Make}

Over the years my daughter has gotten more and more serious about her ballet and tends to practice daily.  I went online in search of a free standing ballet barre for her and found the prices and the reviews all over the board.  Since I have a love for DIY projects I thought it would be a lot easier and cheaper to just make our own.  We went back and forth between doing a pvc version or a steel version.  In the end we choose to go the pvc route because it can be adjusted easy and since she is still growing would be a cheaper option for now.  Once she hits her teen years and stops growing, we plan to make her a steel version should she still be serious about her ballet. :)

She was so happy about her new barre and began practicing right away.  :)  She plans on decorating it more up the sides with different colors of tulle.  

We went the route of doing two bars across, that way its more stable and one is for use now and the other is for when she gets taller.  You can remove the two small vertical pieces in between the two bars across and put in shorter or slightly longer pieces if need be.  This is also a good option if you have two or more kids that like to practice their ballet at home. You can have one child working on one side at the shorter bar and another child who is taller working on the other side on the taller bar. 

Measurements of our barre: 

Aprox. 4ft 3in tall x 4ft 1/2 in long x 3ft wide 

Our daughter is roughly 49 inches tall so we based the measurements off of her after doing research online and talking to dance teachers. 

What You Will Need: 

We shopped at Lowes, keep in mind, prices do vary depending on where you live. 

21 Feet of 1 1/2 in pvc pipe 

.43 cents a foot = $9.03 

We went with this bigger pvc pipe because it was more the shape and size of the ballet barre my daughter uses at her studio and because it felt sturdier than the smaller pipes they had in stock. 

4   1 1/2  Tees 

$ 1.13 x 4 = $4.52

2   1 1/2 in elbows 

$1.12 x 2 = $2.24

4   elbows with one side 1 1/2 and the other 1 1/4 

$2.11 x 4 = $8.44

4   1 1/2 Caps 

.76 x 4 = $3.04

Our PVC Cuts: 

2  x 48in 

2   x 8 in

2  x 32 in

4  x 18 in

You will change up the measurements to fit your child.  These are for a child that is roughly 49 inches tall. 

Assemble 

Put your pieces together, making sure you push them together hard to ensure a tight fit.  You can glue them if you want but we opted not to because of the smell and the fact that we wanted to be able to adjust the barre as needed.  Its really sturdy without the glue and works perfect for our daughter. 

Finish up by attaching the legs and caps and you are done! 

Now your little one has a custom barre that they can practice on at home. :)

Price Recap 

$9.03 PVC

$4.52 Tees

$2.24 Elbows

$8.44 Elbows

$3.04 Caps 

Grand Total:  $27.27 for a custom ballet barre. 

That's a pretty sweet deal for endless days of ballet practicing. :)