Tulle Tutus.... YES PLEASE!

Tulle tutus are a fun, easy project and look adorable on little girls. If you are like me, you probably love pretty frills on little girls, but do not have a whole lot of extra time on you hands, these tutus only take about 30 minutes to make.

Not the best picture of Maddy. She was in dire need for a nap,
but the best picture I could find of the skirt, since she is such a busy body.

Material Needed:

1" elastic (for babies try 3/4")
20-30 yards Tulle (I like the 6" wide rolls, that way I only have to cut length wise.)
Scissors
Measuring tape
Needle and thread
Pitcher (optional)
Ribbon (optional)

Start out by measuring the waist of your model and subtracting 2-3 inches. The reason for subtracting 2-3 inches is that you want it tight and the elastic will stretch out with wear. I ran into this problem and had to take it apart and make it smaller. Sew the two ends together either with a zig zag stitch on your machine or hand stitch it. Another option is to use satin ribbon instead of elastic. It is easier to adjust the size when using ribbon, but if making the tutu for I young girl and if she is anything like my toddler, the chances are she will untie it a hundred times by the end of the day.

Measure the length of your model, double it and add an inch for knotting. For my two year old I made the strips each 23 inches long. If you choose to go the bolt route when you buy your tulle, cut each strip about 6 inches wide. I will tell you that the 6 inch rolls will save you a lot of time. The rolls probably cost a little more at $2.99 a roll at Hobby Lobby.

To assemble the tutu you can use a water pitcher to put your elastic around to hold it in place while you loop the tulle around the elastic. It is not necessary to use a pitcher, in fact I have not used one, but some think it really helps make the project go faster. You can loop the tulle either two ways, by knotting it or doing a slip knot. The the regular knot, you put the tulle even on each side and knot it around the elastic. The slip knot is when you fold the tulle in half and loop it through itself around the elastic. The regular knot I feel keeps better and gives a fuller look verse the slip knot lays straighter and closure together. Push each of the knots close together for a fuller look!

To finish off the look, trim the bottom if needed to assure that the skirt is even. You can add an embellishment to the elastic part that you sewed, I find that the tulle doesn't stay on the stitched area very well. I like the look of a satin bow!

Hint: For a fun look you can add strands of ribbon through out the skirt, attaching it the same way you did the tullu. Other Embellishments include things like rhinestones, puff balls, pom poms, flowers, Rose petals, or small premade ribbons that you can find at Micheal’s or Hobby Lobby. You can either sew these on or use a hot glue gun.

I made two skirts a red one and a black one and had her wear them together. I wanted a super full skirt and the layered look. You can also alternate colors if you want. I cut out layered circles of the black tulle and sewed it to the red to make it look like a lady bug. My daughter, the little perfectionist ripped them off, she felt they didn't belong, but it was a cute look.

Some Halloween Ideas for Tutus:

• Red Tulle with Black Puff Balls glued on Make a LadyBug
• Orange, Purple, and Black tulle for a witch
• Yellow, Orange, White for Candy Corn
• Hot Pink and Lime Green for Strawberry Shortcake
• White and Light Pink for a “50′s” Look
• Purple and Light green for a Fairy
• Yellow and Black for a Bumble Bee