My fondness for tutu-style skirts is no secret, so I’ve been wanting to attempt to save some money and create my own.  I finally threw together my first skirt last week for New Year’s Eve without a pattern which was a little nerve-racking.  Luckily, it turned out how I’d hoped, so yesterday I made another one in red to share for a tutu tutorial.

{Gap button down top and gold flats; Forever21 stud earrings; vintage necklace; handmade skirt}

Click “Continue reading[...]” to see my tutu-orial.

You’ll need a good amount of tulle fabric depending on how full and sheer you’d like your skirt to be.  {This red one required half a bolt — roughly 20 yards.}  I went on a hunt to find affordable tulle and stumbled onto this site selling bulk tulle fabric at prices that seemed too good to be true, but I took my chances and was pleasantly surprised when it shipped quickly and was a great quality.

Start by measuring and cutting your fabric. I’m sure most of you already know that fabric generally comes already doubled over so leave it that way.  I cut 15 pieces of fabric, each 48 inches in length.  Choose your length and then double it because you are going to be folding your cut fabric in half eventually.  I recommend initially making your skirt longer than you may intend; you can always go back and cut it shorter later, but you won’t be able to easily make it longer again.

A handy tip to keep in mind — tulle is fairly foolproof so don’t worry about having every piece exact or perfectly cut because you won’t be able to spot minor flaws in the end product.

Next, organize your pieces. Taking 12 of the 15 pieces of fabric, I made three piles of 4 pieces of fabric each, knowing that was how much I needed to reduce the transparency of the tulle to my personal liking for this project.  You may also need more piles depending on the fullness you’d like your skirt to be.  I set the remaining 3 pieces of fabric aside for now.

Take each pile individually and fold it in half and place a row of pins about 1 1/4 inch from the fold. I used non-roll elastic that was 3/4 inch wide, so you may need to adjust your pinnings accordingly.  I utilized a yard stick to both keep the tulle from sliding and to help gauge where my pins should go.

Sew along your pin line. Repeat this with each pile of fabric.

Feed your elastic through the tube you have created in the sewn tulle.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll take one of your remaining pieces, folding it first a second time lengthwise, before folding it horizontally like you’ve done with the previous fabric piles. You’ll be sewing this fabric over top of the gaps between the three fabric groups on your elastic instead of the hassle of making a seam.  This will help join all the pieces together, and cover any gaps/slits in your skirt.  Fold this piece of fabric over the elastic and pin it in place.  I use large safety pins at either end of the elastic strip so it won’t sneak back through.

I swear I’m wearing pants. {American Eagle corduroy jeggings}

After you’ve sewn in the first piece, repeat with the next gap and piece.  Before you sew the third remaining fabric strip in place, you’ll need to obviously sew your elastic together, so this is a good time to finalize the fit on your waist.

When you’ve sewn your final fabric strip in place, covering the last gap — voila! You’ve got yourself a tutu skirt!

You can cut it shorter if you’d like; I’ll most likely be making this a little shorter eventually.  It feels like a great Valentine’s Day outfit though so I have some time to decide.  In the meantime I can have fun pretending to be a prima ballerina.