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Cost
$ $ $ $ $
Difficulty
• • • • •
Time
40 mins

The Extremely Detailed Tutu Tutorial
Don't be put off because you can't sew or think you aren't creative-this doesn't take sewing skills or creativity!! :) And won't it be great to have something underneath the Christmas tree this year made by YOU!?! This is an easy, everyone can do it project. I realize there are other tutu tutorials out there-this is just one woman's way of doing it.

**This tutorial is for personal use only-please do not sell tutus you make from these instructions.

Since teaching my tutu class I've had quite a few questions from friends who were unable to attend, so I put together this little photo tutu tutorial just in time for Christmas. I've tried to be as thorough as possible, but if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or email me and I'll do my best to answer them. Bear with me as this is my first tutorial ever-hopefully not the last though!!

Supplies for tutu making:
a pair of scissors
(if you have one-if you end up using rolls of tulle you will not need this) a rotary cutter.
A cutting mat (like for quilting-also if you have one and you won't need one if using tulle rolls)
Materials you will need for infant to toddler size tutu:
-6 yards of tulle-if you want it to be two toned (like the picture above), then you'll need three yards each of two different colors.

If you want a mix of three colors than get three yards each of the two colors that you want to be predominant and one yard of the accent color. For example, one really pretty three color combination is light pink (3 yards) bright purple (3 yards) and bright turquoise (1 yard).

-package of 1/2 inch elastic. You won't use the whole package, but I'm just generalizing. I'll get to more on elastic in a second.

For a tutu 3T/4T and up
-4 yards of each color tulle, unless you want a third accent color and then it would be 4, 4 and 1 of the accent-see above explanation and again if that doesn't make sense, just write me and ask any questions!!

-1 package of 1/2 inch elastic

A word on elastic-
There are quite a few different kinds of elastic-from ultra stretchy underwear elastic to the stiffer knit elastic. Honestly, I think I've tried every kind and, with the exception of underwear elastic which will make your tutu HUGE, I don't see much of a difference. The key is to get elastic no wider than 1/2 inch-otherwise it will roll when you pull the tulle knots tight.

Posted by Beth V. Published
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  • Step 1

    Instruction
    Waist Size-these are very general
    Preemie (under 7 pounds)-14 inches
    0-3 months: 17/18 inches
    6-12 months: 18/19inches
    1-2 years: 20 inches
    2-3: 21 inches
    3-4: 22 inches
    4-5: 23 inches
    -Cut your elastic 2 inches smaller than the waist size. This will be the waistband for your tutu.

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 2
    Step 2

    Preparing the Tulle
    Tulle Rolls If you are using the rolls of tulle, cut the whole roll into 20 inch pieces. Each piece will be 6 inches wide (the width of the roll) and 20 inches long. Do that with all of the colors that you will be using in your tutu

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 3
    Step 3

    Full yards Lay your tulle on your cutting mat and using a straight edge (a cheap ruler will do as a straight edge) and a rotary cutter, cut AWAY from yourself every 4-6 inches (I like 4 inches, but there are less cuts when using 6 inches).

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 4
    Step 4

    Again cut all of your tulle colors into 4-6 inch strips. They will be super long----go back and cut each one in half (there should be a faint fold there anyway from being on the bolt at the store)

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 5
    Step 5

    If using two colors: layer 3 strips in every other color. For example, if I'm using pink and white, layer 1 white, 1 pink, 1 white.

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 6
    Step 6

    With three strips layered, fold in half and put loop in front of elastic

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 7
    Step 7

    Take the ends of the strips and...

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 8
    Step 8

    go under the elastic and through the loop that you created

  • Step 9

    Pull this knot semi tight (now when I said "tight" at the class-some people took me EXTREMELY literally and pulled it so tight that the knot was impossible to move or undo)

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 10
    Step 10

    Voila! You are finished with your first tutu knot!

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 11
    Step 11

    If you are working with two colors, you will now layer opposite colors than last time-so in my purple/pink example, it would be 1 pink, 1 purple, 1 pink. Now repeat steps 2-4 again. Continue doing this until you get close to the end of your elastic. **Read below if you are using three colors

  • Step 12

    ***Three colors-if you have three different colors, you will pattern them like this: color 1, color 2, color 1----next knot: color 2, color 1, color 2---next knot: color 1, color 2, color 3--next knot: color 1, color 2, color 1 and so forth. Obviously, you can mix this up however you want-the trick is to keep some sort of pattern

  • Step 13

    Sew the two ends of elastic together using a sewing machine or needle and thread. Cover the sewn ends with a couple more tulle knots.

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 14
    Step 14

    Now it's time to even your tutu out-you can totally leave it messy if you want to skip this step. It gives it more of a fairy look rather than a ballerina look. If you want a cleaner "ballet" look, even out all of the ends by cutting them at about 8 inches long (for infant and toddler tutu).

  • How to sew a baby skirt. Tutu Tutorial - Step 15
    Step 15

    YOU ARE DONE! If you want to add more froof, the addition of silk flowers, ribbon or sequins can really dress up the tutu. My friend Jen added wings, ribbon and an antennae headband to her plain tutu and transformed her daughter into a bumble bee!
    The possibilities are endless!

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Comments

jeny S.
jeny S.
This is going to be a big thing here. http://igfollowers.net
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ecange80
ecange80 · Swansea, Illinois, US
This is the best one I've seen yet!! Beth, any idea how many yards of tulle I should get to make one for my 9 year old little girl...she wants to be the Black Swan for Halloween this year!
Reply
Beth V.
Beth V. · 1 project
Caitlin-you'll need about 10 yards. and so if you want three different colors, i'd get 3 of one, 3 of the second, and 4 of the third. does that make sense?
Reply
Caitlin K.
Caitlin K. · Calgary, Alberta, CA
this is awesome! does anybody know roughly how much tulle you'd need to make a woman's size 4/6 tutu????
Reply
Andrea A.
Andrea A. · Methuen, Massachusetts, US · 2 projects
That's cute i thinking i'm going to make one for my 2 yeas old Daughter!! Happy
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jenniferr.lopez j.
jenniferr.lopez j.
i have a question- when your tulle starts to kinda defluff how do you make it come back to that?
Reply
noura m.
noura m.
aw aw aw {:
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Prinz3ssDoku
Prinz3ssDoku · Lake Wales, Florida, US · 16 projects
lovely ^-^
Reply
Melanie S.
Melanie S.
Thank i have been searching for intructions i can understand and follow and yours are! My daughters 1st birthday is on 01/30 and i am going to make her one I LOVE IT THANKS!
Reply
Hannah B.
Hannah B. · U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, US · 5 projects
This is fantastic! It's really easy to understand. :] Thanks so much!
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