Making a tutu?

[kristenk]

Does anyone know how hard it is to make a tutu? I'm interested in giving some as 3rd birthday presents for the girls in DD's playgroup and I was wondering how difficult they are to make. I tried a google search but didn't have any luck. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

[Sunshynetoo]

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cl_chi...271293,00.html

This site has a t-shirt dress added to a onesie. I would think a tutu would be similiar, just not attached to a shirt. Hope this helps. Bee (Nana-to-be)

[Sunshynetoo]

http://www.hobbylobby.com/site3/craf...all&rownum=105

On the right side is a link to a playtime tutu. I just found it.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/34433.jpg

[californiagirl]

Real tutus, not so easy. Tutus for 3-year olds: buy tulle. Buy wide ribbon. Optionally buy elastic less than half the width of the ribbon. Cut a big strip of tulle an appropriate waist-to-knee length. Or two not quite so long strips. You're going to want at least 40 inches long, especially if you have only one strip. Now you have two choices:

1) Make an elastic-waist skirt at about 20 inches (probably a bit more for 3-year olds, I did this for 2-year olds and with ungathered sequins instead of gathered tulle), unstretched, with the tulle gathered. With a serger, I gather the fabric, sew the ribbon casing, thread the elastic, and then sew the short seam that makes it a skirt. Yah, this is the cheap and sleazy way. Did I mention we did a dozen sequined toddler skirts for daycare one afternoon?

2) Gather the tulle down to about 20 inches. Cut about 30 inches of ribbon. Attach the tulle to the ribbon so you have apron-style ties. (Never tried it, but it's the advice at http://www.linkup-parents.com/halart10.htm )

If you want a cheap source for fabrics to delight toddlers, try www.syfabrics.com
http://www.syfabrics.com/mojocart/di...fm?prod_id=868
plus some elastic and ribbon or other scrap fabric for waistbands will clothe a bunch of toddlers in sequins. I'd probably use
http://www.syfabrics.com/mojocart/di...fm?prod_id=859
for "tutus" (it's not the real stuff, but a 3-year old is not going to go "hey, this is too glittery to be a real ballerina tutu")

[kristenk]

Thanks for searching out tutus for me! This link looks like it could be a lot of fun for little girls to make themselves! We'll check it out when DD is a bit older. :)

[kristenk]

Thanks! Hmmmmm...the "cheap and sleazy" way is appealling, except I don't have a serger. I think I get the general idea, though. If I can't get that to work, I can always try the tie-on version, but I think little girls should be able to don their tutus themselves without having to worry about tying knots or bows! :)

[californiagirl]

Even without a serger, it shouldn't be a big deal. With a regular machine, I'd definitely stick to tulle or similar fabrics that don't need edge finishing -- that way you can still do it in 3 seams per skirt (Seam 1 -- gathering stitches at top. Seam 2 -- fold ribbon over gathered edge, covering it and making casing all in one go [use a small zigzag, it's forgiving]. Seam 3 -- short seam.)

[californiagirl]

Even without a serger, it shouldn't be a big deal. With a regular machine, I'd definitely stick to tulle or similar fabrics that don't need edge finishing -- that way you can still do it in 3 seams per skirt (Seam 1 -- gathering stitches at top. Seam 2 -- fold ribbon over gathered edge, covering it and making casing all in one go [use a small zigzag, it's forgiving]. Seam 3 -- short seam.)

[ellies mom]

I've made tutus two different ways. Both ways are super easy but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to explain them.

First way and the easiest.
Buy tulle on a spool. It is usually 6" wide and 25 yards long. Two spools will be super full, but one will probably be plenty. Cut the tulle into pieces twice as long as you want the tutu to be, so a 12" tutu would have 24" long pieces. Take a piece of 1" wide non-rolling elastic and make a circle a little smaller than the size of the waist. It will stretch so go a little smaller than you think necessary. You can use a machine or sew the elastic into the circle buy hand, either will work. Now comes the tedious part (as though cutting all the pieces wasn't tedious enough). Fold a piece of tulle in half and attach it to the elastic using a larkshead knot. Repeat ad nauseam. If it ends up too big just push the tulle out of the way and cut the elastic and make it smaller. Then smush the tulle back over the elastic. No one will be able to tell.
http://www.kitesonline.com/other/larkshd4.jpg
The waist will look like this.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/vdrapeau/waist.jpg
It may take a bit of smoothing to make all the knots go the right way, but remember, we are talking about 3 year olds. They won't care.

Second way, and still super simple but harder to explain.
You can put flower petals in this tutu if you wanted. You need regular tulle off the bolt for this one. I used probably a 1.5 yards when I made this tutu. First, sew the "short ends" of the rectangle together so you have a tube. Then fold it so that you still have a tube but the two edges are together (insert flower petals at this point), then fold it the same way again. It should look like this (remember it is a tube though).
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/34460.jpg
Just sew around the top about 1/2 of an inch down, leaving an opening for the elastic. Insert the elastic and then sew the edges together. You can adorn it with flowers or ribbons. If you don't like to see the elastic you can hide it by sewing ribbon around the waist but as I said earlier 3 year olds aren't going to care. I know this is probably clear as mud but I'm willing to try and explain it better if you would like. Here is how my finished one looked.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54...tutuflower.jpg

[ChefGirl]

Veronica,
This is amazing. You are too good. I was trying to buy one for DD. But, it was way too much money for me to spend. How much do you think you spent on one of these. I know a lady who knows how to sew. Maybe I will try to get her to help me. I was sitll confused after reading your post. Which way is the easiest? The second one seems easier. What do you think?

TIA.