The Tutu Tutorial

For Halloween this year Peter and I decided to dress as ballerinas. We searched for affordable tutus in adult sizes until finally–thanks to some encouragement from my friends at work–I decided to make one. Someone told me, “You just need it to stay together for one night! Go buy some tulle and staple it!” Peter and I are supposed to be crafty so I knew we could do better than staples! Charged with new found encouragement, I headed to the store and bought six yards of tulle. Follow along to make your own no-sew tutu.

Materials:

• One piece of ribbon long enough to tie around the hips of the tutu wearer
• Six yards of tulle (you can use more or less depending on your desired fluffiness of the tutu and the size of the person that it will outfit.)
• A pair of scissors–we used fabric scissors for good measure

1. Set the ribbon aside and cut the fixed width of the fabric in half. If you’d like a longer tutu, then you might want to leave the fixed width as is.

2. Next, cut the tulle into strips. I varied the width of the strips anywhere between two to four inches to make it more visually interesting. This is not an exact science. You don’t even have to cut in straight lines.

3. When you finish cutting your tulle into strips, tie your ribbon between two chairs or doorknobs. This will help keep the ribbon in a stable.

4. Fold each strip in half, creating a loop at the top. Then, connect each strip to the ribbon by bringing the loose ends of the tulle strip through the loop.

5. Continue tying knots in this fashion until the tutu is filled out enough to wrap around your waist.

You can also use an elastic band instead of using the ribbon. My experience was that the ribbon twisted a lot throughout this process. With a ribbon that doesn’t matter, but if I had used an elastic band, then I may have ended up with a twisted mess. See the picture below to get an idea.

Here is how the tutu turned out. I have to say that I sort of wish that I was five years old again so that it would be socially acceptable to wear it EVERYWHERE!!

My whole costume ended up costing a little under six dollars. I already had some spare ribbon, shoes, tights, and a black leotard, so the only expense was the tulle.

Did anyone else make their own costume? I’d love to hear about how it turned out.