Tutu Tutorial (Part 5): Basic Sewn Tutu

This is by far my favored method of making tutu's. The resulting tutu is clean, neat, crisp, fluffy and provides a blank canvas for such a wide variety of options and decorations.

You will need:

- 10 yards of 54” tulle - you can use a different width of tulle too - it will just result in a shorter tutu.

- cotton for sewing – the same color as your tulle.

- elastic (I used 1” non roll elastic – but any sort would work)

- a long blunt instrument for threading your elastic – I used a large crochet hook

1)  Prepare your tulle

Fold your tulle together once and then again so you have four layers of tulle. Pin the folded edges. You will sew along the edge that has the two folds. The other edge will have two edges and one fold. Because of the yardage of tulle folding the fabric can be a bit fiddly. I hang the tulle over the banister while I fold and pin.

It is important that your tulle layers lie flatly on top of each other and the folds are tight.

2) Sew your tulle layers together.

Sew a little over 1” down from the folds. Sew one straight line securing all four layers together down the entire 10 yards of tulle. I used a walking foot which helped prevent the tulle layers from slipping

OPTIONAL: Adorn your tulle.
Now is a the time to sew on ribbon, stick on gems or stuff your tulle with pom poms/petals etc Do these kinds of decorations BEFORE you insert the elastic. Once the elastic is inserted the tutu becomes so full it becomes tricky to work with.   

(I stuck gems to the tulle with a glue gun - practice first - those glue guns can make a mess!)

(I sewed ribbon to the entire length of one layer of tulle before inserting the elastic)

 

3)  Insert your elastic

Cut your elastic to your desired waist size (this chart might help you.) A blunt, easy to handle instrument is easiest to help you thread your elastic into the waist band. I impaled (literally) my elastic on a large crochet hook – and used that to thread the elastic through the gap on your waist band.

There is a lot of tulle here. Take your time threading the elastic in – you do not want to rip the tulle or loose the elastic half way through.

Sew the elastic firmly together. When I sew elastic together I like to sew the two ends together with a straight stitch first (forward & back once).

And then fold the seam over one way and secure again with a zigzag stitch (forward and back once).

I used the same color thread as the elastic (I used black thread on white elastic here for demonstration purposes only.)

5) Sew the back seam

Ensure all your tulle layers are flat when you sew the back seam together.

Once you have sewn all the layers together - trim neatly

OPTIONAL: Decorate your finished tutu

Add a bow to your waist band, sew on flowers or butterflies ...

... the final touches are endless.

UPDATE: I love seeing anything that my blog inspired you to make. Here is a tutu that Michele at MicMac' Bows made using this tutorial. This tutu was made for a 12mth old. So we adjusted the measurements.
For a shorter tutu for younger girls. 
- Purchase 5 yards of 54" tulle.
- Cut the 5 yards to 2 strips of 27" x 5 yards.
- Sewed the two lengths together into 1 strip of 27" x 10 yards.
- Then follow the tutorial to make a tutu that is approx 6.75" long & super cute.

Previous Tutu Tutorials: 

No Sew Tulle Tutu

No Sew Tutu with Crochet Elastic Ribbon

Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu

Fabric Scrap Tutu's

Tutu Tutorial (Part 4): Using Fabric Scraps - Tutu Ideas

This is less of a 'tutorial' and more of an ideas page of how you can use fabric scraps to make tutu's.

Recycled Shirt Tutu
Using the No Sew Crochet Elastic Tutu method I made this tutu. I had some strips of cotton left over from this fun project in 2008 (yes I keep scraps from that long ago!) - so I decided to make them into a little fabric tutu. I don't know it it reminds me of a little kilt or one of those raggy morris men outfits!

(Men's cotton shirts yield a lot of fabric that can be recycled into all sorts of things - you might remember I recycled lots of shirts into a quilt. We still have it - in fact is it now in our little boys room.)

Silk Tie Tutu
Using the No Sew Crochet Elastic Tutu method I made this tutu. The 1st layer is white tulle and the 2nd layer is re purposed white ties. Because of the size of knot that the ties make the ties are knotted on every other space in the crochet elastic. I used a binding stitch on the end of the tie pieces to try and minimize future fraying.

 

Previous Tutu Tutorials: No Sew Tulle Tutu

                                        No Sew Tutu with Crochet Elastic Ribbon

                                        Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu

Stay tuned for my next post:

- Basic Sewn Tutu 

Tutu Tutorial (Part 3): Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu

Using the same knotting method as you would make a No Sew Tulle Tutu you can also make tutu's out of plastic bags. It was SO quick and easy and the girls had a blast.

You will need:
- Strip of non roll elastic (please see my chart for waist sizes) 
- Approx 20 standard plastic grocery bags (I stuck to plain white, Target and Trader Joe plastic bags - a red and white color scheme)

1) Cut the handles off your bags.

2) Cut the bags down the middle in half.

3) Cut up the edge seams.

4) Using the same knot as I used in the No Sew Tulle Tutu knot your elastic bags onto your elastic.

(Image from http://www.craftster.org/)

5) Fluff, scrunch and fiddle with your plastic bags to get maximum volume on your tutu.

I can see some really cool Halloween outfits being made using black trash bags!

Previous Tutu Tutorials: No Sew Tulle Tutu

                                        No Sew Tutu with Crochet Elastic Ribbon

Stay tuned for my next posts:
- Tutu using Fabric scraps
- Basic Sewn Tutu

Tutu Tutorial (Part 2): No Sew Tutu using Crochet Elastic Ribbon

Again for this type of tutu I have used the same knotting method as you would make a No Sew Tulle Tutu - but instead of using any type of elastic or ribbon as a waist band you use crocheted elastic.

You will need:
- some crochet elastic ribbon or a pre-made crochet headband
- strips of tulle or some other fabric
- ribbon or other optional decorations

1) Cut and secure your waist band. 
I used 2 1/4 inch crocheted elastic cut from a spool for this project - but you can buy pre-made crochet headbands at most drug stores. This stuff is VERY stretchy - you need to make your waist band much smaller than you think e.g. I made my waist band about 6" smaller than I needed.

I roughly tied the elastic together with a scrap piece of tulle before I started knotting. Once the tutu was finished I braided the join with satin ribbon and tied a bow. 

2) Cut your strips of Tulle
I chose to buy bolts of tulle and I cut them into 6 inch strips with my rotary cutter. This was much cheaper than using tulle ribbon on spools  and it was very quick to cut it this way.

You need to cut your strips twice as long as you want your tutu to be. I cut 26" strips for this tutu. Each round took approx 40+ strips. I knotted 2 rounds of tulle strips - so estimate you will need approx 55-60 yards of 6" tulle for this project. The finished tutu is extremely full. I have seen some tutu's made this way just using one round of knots - so this could be an option for you too.

3) Tie your knots into the elastic

(Image from http://www.craftster.org/)

Wrap the elastic band around something big (I used a sofa cushion) and start knotting. I started to tie my knots into the second row of the crocheted elastic. Use one strip of tulle for each knot.

Continue tying knots until you have completed the first round. Start tying knots for your 2nd round - each knot will sit between the knots on the row below. I think 2 rounds of knotted tulle yields better results that just one round - you could do more rounds - but the fluffiness does get a little out of control!

4) Fuss, Fiddle & Enjoy
The more you separate the strips and tulle and fuss with the tulle - the fluffier your tutu will be.

Previous Tutu Tutorial: No Sew Tulle Tutu

Stay tuned for my next posts:
- Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu
- Tutu using Fabric scraps
- Basic Sewn Tutu

Tutu Tutorial (Part 1): No Sew Tulle Tutu

I ordered too much tulle for decorating Baby Bunny#1's birthday - and as she and her sister just love to play dress up and dance I decided on embarking on making some tutu's. I couldn't find any tutorials for a sewn tutu - lots of other tutorials for no sew tutu's. My next four (possibly five) posts will be all about different ways to make tutu's - I hope not to bore you or reinvent the wheel! And I really hope my notes on tutu making will help you make your own.

Knotted Tulle Tutu
Here are some great tutorials that will give you a tutu with similar results:
Paige and Brooke Tutu Tutorial
Treasures for Tots Tutu Tutorial - a piece of ribbon is used instead of elastic
Ribbon Treat Tutu Tutorial - this lady uses a different knot to encourage tulle to go in more directions and therefore give you extra fluff

You will need:
- Elastic
- Strips of 6" tulle

1) Cut and secure your waist band. 
I used a 1" no fold elastic - which is quite sturdy stuff so I sewed the two ends together (does that mean I cheated on this no-sew tutu?). If you chose a thinner elastic or a ribbon you could just knot it. If you are using elastic you will want to make your waist band about 8% smaller than the persons waist. Here is a chart to help you.

Waist (inches)	Elastic (inches)		Waist (inches)	Elastic (inches)
15	13 3/4		23	21 1/4
16	14 3/4		24	22
17	15 3/4		25	23
18	16 1/2		26	24
19	17 1/2		27	24 3/4
20	18 1/2		28	25 3/4
21	19 1/4		29	26 3/4
22	20 1/4		30	27 1/2

2) Cut your strips of Tulle
I chose to buy bolts of tulle and I cut them into 6 inch strips with my rotary cutter. This was much cheaper than using tulle ribbon on spools  and it was very quick to cut it this way.

I used 3 strips of 6 inch tulle for one knot - this gave the tutu's great volume. You need to cut your strips twice as long as you want your tutu to be (e.g. 22" strips will yield a 11" long tutu). I used 36+ knots for this tutu. (Which means I used 66 yards of 6" tulle strips for this tutu.) I wrapped the same cutting board I used to make my tulle pom poms to make strips for the tutu. 

I cut the strips at an angle at the bottom of the board only. The angles at the end of the tulle give the tutu a lighter more flouncy feel. Don't worry about the strips being slightly different lengths. The different lengths will also help to give the tutu more volume.

3) Tie your knots

(Image from http://www.craftster.org/)

I used the first knotting technique shown above to knot my strips of tulle around the elastic. The second knotting technique is used in Ribbon Treat's Tutu Tutorial. Continue knotting until you think you have no more room.

Once you think you have no room left - wiggle and tighten the knots a little - try and squeeze in some more strips. You really want to pack them in as tight as possible.

4) Fuss, Fiddle & Enjoy
The more you separate the strips and tulle and fuss with the tulle - the fluffier your tutu will be.

You can tie ribbon/bows, stick on pom poms, sew on flowers etc - the options are endless.

Stay tuned for my next posts:
- Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu
- Tulle Tutu (using Crochet Elastic)
- Tutu using Fabric scraps
- Basic Sewn Tutu