Super Easy, No-sew Tutu

Hi, my name is Leslie, and I'm a craft-a-holic. Ever since Clarissa started this blog I've been begging and pleading to do a guest post. When she did her trunk I was going to finish mine, but I still haven't started it. And then I thought about doing a curtain tutorial, but since those aren't done either I was able to convince Clarissa to let me post this terrific tutu. But, before I get too ahead of myself (Oops, I might have done that already), let me introduce myself. My name is Leslie, and I've been married for four years to Clarissa's husband's (Rod's) cousin. I have two kids, Abigail, who just turned three on the 22nd, and Bryant who is one today! Wow! In my free time (if I had any) I like to read, sleep, eat homemade caramels (waaayyyy better than store-bought), digi-scrapbook, and play Settlers of Catan. I also am a Master Gardener, though my yard and garden need serious help right now, as they've been slightly neglected due to being pregnant and trying to keep track of a toddler last summer, and trying to make sure my little man doesn't get into things he shouldn't this summer. Oh yeah, and Clarissa and I have never met in person, owing to the fact that we haven't ever attended the same family reunion, I live in Idaho, and she lives in Texas. No humidity for me thank you. And...Clarissa and I went to the same high school, but I graduated a year before she moved there. However, we are kindred spirits (at least I like to think so). So, without further ado, the tutu:

To start off, you will need the following: an elastic headband, at least 8 yards of tulle, some ribbon and other embellishments (I've seen ones with pom poms glued to them), scissors, and a pattern (there are ways to enlarge the one I used, I'm sure, but I just drew mine free-hand). A few pins might be helpful too. By the way, that ruler is two feet long, by 16 inches wide. So the pattern is approximately 9.5 inches wide by 14 inches long.

To start, fold the tulle in such a way as to not waste much fabric. I have no idea how mine was folded. We just kept folding until it was a nice size. The pattern will have to be flipped over halfway through, unless you want to cut through double the layers of tulle. I don't have a picture pre-cutting, but I do have one post-cutting. After the fabric is cut, very carefully take four layers of tulle at a time and loop around the headband, like so: Then pull it somewhat tight, but not too tight, as this tends to stretch the headband out, and then it's too loose to fit around your little girls waist (unless she has a waistline like an adult). Continue to loop until you are out of tulle. I used seven yards (one more yard would have been nice) and ended up with 14 sections. Eight of one color (four yards) and six of the other color (three yards). The pattern I "borrowed" this idea from used somewhere around 11 yards, and was very full. I think this one turned out quite full enough though.

Once all your tulle is attached to the head band, add ribbons, etc. I tied the ends on each of my ribbons, so they wouldn't fray too bad, then looped them around the head band the same way I looped the tulle. All in all, this took maybe an hour to do. I accidentally bought the expensive tulle (although I used a 40% off coupon), so the price came out around $10. A little bit more than I had hoped for, but I did buy three yards of fancy beaded ribbon which was a dollar a yard, at the Dollar Tree. If you have lots of ribbon lying around you will save some money. I did have the silver and plain white already. If you used wired ribbon, pull the wire out beforehand, so you don't have to worry about it scratching a child. Although you can probably buy a tutu for cheaper at the store, this one is so much cuter, and tailored to your child's personality. My daughter loves the blue, and I do too. But pink, purple, yellow, orange, red, etc...all would be way cute. Usually you can only find pink tutus at the store, and I don't do pink.