How tu-tu

I made this girly little tutu as a Christmas gift for my girly little 3-year-old cousin.  I'm so excited for her to open it!

There are dozens of tutu tutorials around - I've made the no-sew version before and they're cute.  I wanted to use tulle, but have a similar look to these pettiskirts from Martha.  I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I ended up making up my own pattern.  I thought I'd make a how-to (which I haven't done before) in case anyone wanted to try my way. 
 
Here's what you need:
about 8-12 yards* of tulle
about 1/2 yard of matching lining
9-12 yards* of ribbon
3/4" - 1" wide elastic
matching thread, scissors, pins, ect.

*The lowest yardage is what I used for a 3-year-old size, but I added the higher yardage for older kids.

 . . . and here's what you do:
Skirt
1. Take waist measurement and add 1" seam allowance for width; measure for desired length and add 1" seam allowance.  Mark measurements on lining and cut out.  Fabric will be a large rectangle.

2. Place elastic along top of lining & mark 1/4" below.

3.  Fold along marked line and stitch to form elastic casing.

4. Fold fabric in half widthwise and sew with a 1/2" seam allowance to elastic casing.

Finish seam with your preferred method.  Hem bottom of skirt to desired length.  Set skirt aside. 



Tulle
1. Fold tulle in half lengthwise and pin ribbon along the folded edge.

 

2. Stitch ribbon in place along the top and bottom edges.  Do this for all the tulle.

3. Cut tulle in half lengthwise.  This will leave you with two long pieces of tulle, approximately 10" wide - you will be using both the ribbon-edged tulle and the plain tulle.

4. Sew long gathering stitches approximately 1" from the end of tulle.  Leave a long thread tail.

5. Pull the thread & gather tulle.

Tutu
1. Pin in place around the bottom of the skirt for the first layer.

Stitch in place, then reinforce with a second row of stitching about 1/4" below.  Trim excess tulle along stitch line.

2. Alternate ribbon-edged tulle and plain tulle layers to the elastic casing.  The closer together you place the layers, the poufier your tutu will become.

Note: you may need to readjust the length of the tulle as you get to the top layers.

3. Stitch the last ribbon-edged tulle layer along the elastic-casing stitch line.

4. Pin ribbon over the stitching & stitch along top and bottom of ribbon to secure.

5. Make bow - or other embellishment - and stitch on.  Be careful to stitch through only the top layer of the elastic casing.

6. Cut elastic at two inches less than the waist measurement.  Insert elastic, stitch elastic ends together.

7. Stitch the opening shut.

Ta-da!

You're done!