Tutus

At various times I have made and sold tutus for a little extra money. They are adorable for little girl dress up, they photograph well and the secret is, they are EASY (though time consuming to make).

I start with 2 yards of tulle for baby tutus, 4 yards for toddler and older. Walmart has some starting at  .99 a yard (I prefer the shimmery kind to the regular which is a bit more). Joann’s has even more colors to choose from.

I use elastic for the waist band, but I have also seen ribbon used. I measure the waist of whomever I am making it for, then tie my elastic around the back of a chair.

Then I start cutting my tulle into strips. How wide the strips are determines how puffy your tutu will be. I prefer puffy and say go no skinnier than 2". You can also buy precut rolls of tulle, which saves you a TON of time, but is less economical (about 3 times more expensive). I did this once, and found it in the wedding/cake decorating section at Walmart and Michael's instead of with the fabrics.

You just cut the tulle to twice the length you want your tutu to be (I try for knee length).  I actually vary my lengths  a little too. The unevenness helps it to be frillier and poofier!
Then you loop it over your elastic/ribbon, and tie it on in the center of the tulle.  And repeat until it is nice and full and fluffy!  That sounds more complicated than it really is!

I’ve also embellished the waist with flowers, glued pom poms on for lady bug or polka dotted themes. You can have so much fun, and it is a fun, easy, inexpensive  gift idea!


ETA: Now that my baby is big we enjoy making tutus for her "babies" together!