How to Make Your Own Tutu to Play Dress Up

Little girls are known for spending hours playing dress up, lavishing themselves with fancy clothes and costume jewelry and pretending that they’re everything from princesses to fairies. However buying the perfect dress up clothes can get expensive. Why not try making your own? To transform your little girl from a regular kid to a princess or a ballerina all you need to do is make your own tutu that is unique to her style.

To make your own tutu you will need the following supplies:

• 1 ½ inch wide satin ribbon (40 inches longer than your child’s waist)
• 4 yards of tulle (for a child’s tutu)
• Scissors
• Ruler

Start by measuring your child’s waist. For example, say that Sally’s waist is 22”. You will need to add 40 inches to 22 and cut your ribbon at 62 inches. Find the center of the ribbon and measure out 11” from the center one way and tie a knot in the ribbon. Now go back to the center and measure 11” the other way and tie a knot. This 22” section is where you will be putting the tulle. The 20” on each end are used to tie the tutu on. The bow can go in the front or the back.

Now it’s time to cut the tulle. Unfold the tulle to the point where there is only one fold line. Put the folded edge on the table facing toward you and straighten the rest of the tulle, then start rolling or folding the tulle over and over, making sure to keep the strip neat. Trim off the end to make sure all of the layers of tulle are lined up and together. Now cut through the rolled up tulle every 3” using the ruler. Cut up all of the tulle in this manner. You can use all one color tulle or you can get a yard of 4 different colors of tulle, or whatever other combination you like. Open up the strip that you’ve cut of tulle and then cut it where the fold is so you have two equal halves.

You are ready to make the tutu now. Fold the strip in half and lay it over the ribbon on the inside of the knots. Take the loose ends and bring them around the ribbon and through the loop end and pull. Now that strip is tied onto the ribbon. Push that first strip over to the knot and continue attaching strips in this manner. You can create any pattern you’d like. If you have 4 colors you might want to attach 4 blue, 4 pink, 4 white and 4 green strips and then repeat the pattern until the ribbon is as full as you’d like.

If you’d like to make a tutu for an adult you will need to measure the waist as per the instructions for the child’s tutu and knot the ribbon. You will need about 8 yards of tulle. Create the strips as before, but now leave them the full length instead of cutting them in half. This will allow the tutu to be long enough for an adult.

Put this tutu over a leotard with some ballet flats and you have a fabulous dancer dress up costume. If you add a tiara you could be a princess. Try adding wings and you could be a fairy. The possibilities are endless.

Tutus aren’t just for dress up anymore. You can take a T-shirt and put on an iron-on of some ballet slippers. Next, create your tutu, but instead of leaving it separate you can sew the ribbon onto the bottom of the T-shirt. The ends of the ribbon can be tied into a bow and sewn or you can tie it every time you put it on. These little tutu outfits are great for babies and toddlers. Just adjust the size of the tutu based on how big the girl is that is wearing it.

To further dress up the tutu you can glue on sequins using fabric glue. Add the sequins randomly all over the tulle to add a bit of sparkle. If you’d like, you can also add fabric flowers to the waistband in the same manner. Thin widths of satin ribbon tied here and there between the tulle give the tutu a whole new look.

Taken From Babysitters