TuTu Tutorial

Here, I've been a grandmother for all of 9 weeks,

and I have yet to make my baby granddaughter a tutu -

those lighter than air, diaphonous, totally frivolous, fun, frothy skirts in which little girls delight.

 

 

So, I set out to make matters right.

 Of course, I was supposed to have been starting on her Halloween costume,

 which, by the way, is not the tutu. 

 Oh well, another day.

 

 

Tulle was not one of those things with which I had much familiarity

until girls began to happen upon the scene several years ago.

Now my workshop is littered with rolls and yards of the frothy stuff.

 

This tutu will be pink, white, and purple, since these are the colors I had on hand.

I'm interspersing the tulle with purple and white satin ribbons.

 

The supplies needed for the project are:

rolls of 6 inch wide tulle, sold at craft and fabric stores, and online

satin ribbon (optional)

a piece of elastic cut about 2 inches smaller than the girl's waist 

a needle and thread for sewing the ends of the elastic together

 a pair of scissors,

and a piece of cardboard cut about one inch longer than the length of the tutu.

The length of the tutu will depend on the height of the girl who will twirl in the tutu.

My baby girl tutu will only be about 5 inches long.

 

 

Begin by winding the tulle around the cardboard a good many times. 

 For the baby tutu in these photos, I used 22 pieces of each of three colors.  

The more pieces of tulle you use, the fuller the tutu.   

 

 

Slip a sharp pair of scissors into one edge of the cardboard and run the scissors along that edge, cutting carefully through all layers of tulle. 

 Repeat for each color you plan to use.

If you use ribbon, cut the ribbon in the same manner.



 

Lay the piece of elastic in front of you.  Fold one piece of tulle in half.  Place the fold under the elastic, with the loose ends at the bottom. 

 

 

 Bring the loose ends up over the elastic and through the loop at the top,

tightening the knot securely.

 

 

Repeat, repeat, repeat. . . .

 

 

When you have almost reached the ends of the elastic,

tack them together with needle and thread.

Then, add a few more pieces of tulle to cover the elastic.

 

 

A tutu fit for a princess!