tutu tutorial...FINALLY!

My friend Melissa asked me awhile back how I made my tutus and I told her I'd post a tutorial. Being the horrible friend that I am I've taken forever to get it posted but finally here it is!

Supplies:
tulle
ribbon
scissors
measuring tape

First off you will need to take 2 measurements-around your child's waist and then starting at her waist measure down the length you'd like the tutu to be. For Harleigh I'm using 21 inches around and 15 length.

Take your waist measurement and double it and then cut your ribbon to that length. At the end you might want to trim the ribbon down but this will ensure you have enough to tie a good bow. *I'm actually doing something slightly different with the "tutu" I'm making in these photos so I'm using a piece of fabric*


For tulle you can either use tulle yardage or a spool of tulle. The color choices are better if you go with the yardage but if you use a spool there are less cuts to make. I'm not sure on the price difference. This is the first time I've used a spool and it was given to me.


Now you need to take your length measurement and double it (mine will be 30) and start cutting your tulle. Since I'm using the spool this is fairly easy. If you are using yardage you will have to figure out how wide you want your strips. My spool is 6 inches wide but in the past I've done strips that were more like 2 inches. It's really up to you. Don't worry about cutting straight lines because truthfully it's going to be hard to tell on a moving (most likely twirling) little girl. Start cutting and cut and cut and cut some more. I can't really say for sure how many you will need b/c it varies depending on the size of the child and on how full and long you make your tutu. *I used about 16 on this one to give you a very faint idea. Yours will probably be much fuller than this though.*


Now it's time to start knotting the tulle to your ribbon. Take a piece of tulle and fold it in half and lay it on top of your ribbon.


Then you are going to take the ends of the tulle and curl them up behind the ribbon and loop them across and through the top of the tulle where the fold is.


Tighten it down. Your ribbon will probably curl and twist some. It's ok just straighten it out if does.


Continue knotting all your strips on in this manner. If you want a really full tutu then slide each piece together really tight. *Mine are spaced around an inch apart*


For an idea of what a full tutu will look like here is one I've done in the past.


That's it! Just tie it around your kiddo and they will be off into a ballerina blissfulness!

I also made a tutu dress for Harleigh Rae's first birthday. To do that I grabbed one of the extra wide crocheted headbands and knotted the tulle into the bottom 2 rows of holes on the headband...like this...


Then to strung a piece of ribbon through the middle hole on the top front and tied it around her neck. You can't really see it in the picture though because I embellished it with a flower that covered up the ribbon.


And here is a sneak peek of my next project that I'm so very very excited about!!!