Tutu Tutorial

I finished my second tutu yesterday; this was the tutu for my niece's doll. I thought since I've been talking about tutus a lot this week I would post a tutu tutorial (wow that's a mouthful).

These tutus are so simple to make. The only materials needed are tulle and a piece of elastic. For the tulle I just used the spools that you can buy in most stores.

The first step is to measure the waist. Since mine is a surprise for my niece, poor J had to step in as my model. I figured I would need just a little bit of negative ease so I sewed it about half an inch shorter than I measured. In this case I cut 20" and overlapped it by half an inch to sew it down.

The next step is to cut the tulle. At this point you will need to determine how long you want the skirt to be. Take that number and double it. Then check the width of your elastic and double it. Add the two numbers together. In my example I wanted a 9 1/2 inch length and my elastic was 3/4 inch. So I cut each strip to 20 1/2 inches (9 1/2 + 9 1/2 + 3/4 + 3/4).

Now take the tulle and fold it in half. Place the folded end of the tulle inside the elastic waist, pointing towards the bottom of the tutu. Take the unfolded end and pull it over the top of the elastic and through the loop. Repeat until the elastic is covered. I find it helpful to stretch the elastic slightly while doing this to make sure everything is covered well.

The doll tutu was very similar. I did cut the pieces of tulle in half lengthwise since it was a lot shorter. My doll is 10 inches around and I wanted a 4 in length so each strip was 9 1/2 inches. Otherwise the process was the same.

Voila! That's how it's done!

I'm linking up to parties at It's Overflowing, I heart Naptime, Six Sisters Stuff, and Bru Crew Life.