If you’ve ever wondered how to make a tutu for your little one that is soft on her skin and simple to sew, this is the tutorial for you. Tulle is inexpensive, hence making this a cheap sewing project, but the satisfaction of being able to sew a tutu skirt for your little one is invaluable!
I’ve made a tutu or twenty in the last few years. They’re great for dress-up and also serve as a nice pettiskirt under big, fluffy dresses. I needed to make a new one in a bigger size to go under Olivia’s costume for the Nutcracker, so I took a few extra minutes to snap some pictures of the process.
Tutus are inexpensive to make , but take a little time since you’ll be gathering quite a lot of tulle to get the desired puff effect. I finish the gathered skirt with a soft lining and knit waistband so that the tulle isn’t scratchy against the kids’ skin. Have someone in mind that would like one? You can use this same set of instructions to make a baby tutu and even a tutu for an adult. I’ll show you how to make a tutu for anyone right now!
Supplies:
5 yards lightweight tulle
1/2 yard lining fabric
1/4 yard thick knit
1 yard 3/4″ elastic
Begin by cutting your tulle into at least 10 sections. For this longer tutu, I cut each section 18″ long, giving me exactly 10 lengths from the 5 yards of tulle. The length to cut the tulle will depend on how long you want the skirt – measure from your child’s waist to the desired finished length of the skirt and cut all lengths of tulle according to this measurement. Fold the tulle on your cutting mat, matching selvage edges and then folding one more time – this makes it easier to cut with a rotary blade. Use a rotary cutter for the smoothest edge on the tulle.
Next, gather each section of tulle along the long side. Feed each piece of tulle into your sewing machine right after the previous so they’re all connected. I like to use a ruffling/gathering foot
(affiliate link) to gather the tulle quickly – if you don’t have one, you can set your machine to a long, loose stitch length and then pull the bobbin threads when you’re done to gather the tulle by hand.
Regardless of the method, gather all of the tulle as tightly as possible. Next, we’re going to fold the gathered length of tulle back and forth on itself to make one skirt piece. Measure your child’s waist and add 7″ to find the skirt width. Fold the skirt back and forth on itself to make one skirt piece equal to this determined skirt width and stitch the layers together across the top.
Cut one piece of lining from selvage edge to selvage edge and about 3/4″ shorter than the tulle layers. If you’re going to hem the lining (e.g., if the fabric frays), cut the lining piece the same length as the tulle layers and hem with a narrow hem so that it’s just slightly shorter than the tulle. Join the short ends of the lining and stitch together to form a tube. Sew a gathering stitch around the top of the lining and gather it until it measures your child’s waist measurement + 7″.
Stack the lining under the tulle and stitch the two together around the top.
For the waistband, cut two pieces of knit 5″ wide by 1/2 the waist measurement + 4″. Sew the short sides together on one side with a 1/4″ seam allowance. On the other side, sew 3.5″ down one side, leave a 1″ opening, and sew another .5″ to the edge. This is the opening we’ll put the elastic through later.
Now, fold the waistband wrong sides together and press a crease into the top.
Open the waistband up, match the raw edge and right side of the the waistband to the raw edge of the right side of the tulle/lining skirt and pin. Be sure that the side of the waistband with the opening is further away from the waistband (so that it will end up on the inside of the skirt when finished). Stitch the waistband to the skirt using a straight stitch and 3/8″ seam allowance.
Turn the waistband up and to the inside along the top pressed fold. The raw edge of the inside waistband should fall over the stitch lines on the inside of the skirt. Pin if needed. From the TOP of the skirt, use a zigzag stitch to finish the waistband, being sure to catch the raw edge on the inside of the waistband. Remove the gathering stitches from the tulle if you wish.
Measure a length of elastic equal to or 1″ shorter than your child’s waist measurement. Use a safety pin to feed the elastic through the opening on the inner waistband.
Join the two ends of elastic together and stitch with a zig zag stitch back and forth over the elastic several times. Pull the waistband to slip the elastic back into the opening and you’re done!
Comments & Reviews
TerriSue says
Stef,
This has got to be the best tutu tutorial I have ever seen. I love how you line it and the waist band is inspired. No rough tulle ever to touch their delicate skin. I can’t wait to make one up for my granddaughters birthday at the end of this month. Thank you so very, very much.
girlinspired says
Aw, thanks Terri, you’re too kind. Yes, my girls don’t seem to mind when I make the tutus this way – they’re so soft on the waist and inside. I bet a knit lining would be really soft, too. Your granddaughter is one lucky girl!
Raven says
would this be good for a petticoat?
girlinspired says
Yes! This is what I use for petticoats for my girls’ big dresses.
Charity says
I love that this has a knit waistband and is lined! Beautiful.
girlinspired says
Thank you, Charity! I love the knit waistband, too, makes it so soft!
Tone says
Thank you for a great tutorial!
I just remembered I ordered a huge amount of tulle from etsy right before christmas! Hope it arrives soon! (can take a while though all the way to Norway…) But I will be shure to look back on this tutorial! I just love the simple rIbbon band to! Super cute:D
girlinspired says
Oooo! That’s exciting – I love forgetting things that I’ve ordered and having them arrive in the mail!
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Love love love this!! I want one…for me!
KK
girlinspired says
Thank you! You should make one for you – I think I’m too short to pull one off, but I wish I could!
Lindsay says
So pretty!!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
girlinspired says
Thanks, Lindsay! Hope you week is off to a great start!
Anne says
It’s gorgeous!! And it looks so comfortable, too! My girl is sooo picky about the fabrics she wears. I’ve linked to your tutorial here:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-tutu-for-dress-up-or-layering/2014/01/07/
–Anne
Misty says
Lovely tutorial! The lining makes it better and dresses it up since you could use any colour underneath.
Thanks!
Jaya says
this is beautiful in its simplicity. thank you for the tutorial!
DeD says
Great tutorial! I wonder if it would be even more comfy with a repurposed pair of leggings as a liner?
girlinspired says
Good idea, DeD, I think the knit would be really comfortable. You can see through the layers of tulle, so you’d probably want the shorts in addition to the skirt lining to maintain that airy blur of tulle, could enclose the whole ensemble within the waistband.
Melinda says
This looks great – forget the kids, I’d like one for me!
One question – when you say to fold the tulle back and forth on itself to the determined waist measurement, is that folding into a circle, or does the tutu end up with an opening in the tulle as it’s a rectangle? I notice the waistband and lining are made circular, I’m just not sure about the tulle?
Thanks.
girlinspired says
Hi Melinda – Great question. You could do it either way – the tulle is so fluffy, you don’t really see the opening when it all comes together if you fold it back and forth into a rectangle, which is what I did here. You can also wrap it into a circle – it just gets a little more finicky to measure and sew (and explain in a tutorial ;)), but I’ve done it that way, too, and it works just as well! Have fun! I’d like to see a pic when you make yours!
Nicki says
I didn’t understand this at first and I had to go back and read the comments and then the directions. So I’m commenting for those who didn’t get it (like me) – so she creates one LONG LONG LONG piece of gathered tulle – THEN she folds in in thirds or 4rths or whatever works so you have a folded piece of tulle with a final waist lenght measurement (which is waist plus 7 inches).
Corina Duarte says
Thank you. This couldn’t have come at a better time! I have to make a bunch of these for a party and yours sounds the most comfortable and the easiest to make.
girlinspired says
Yay! That sounds like a dreamy fun party!! Good luck!
Debbie says
I thought I posted a comment a couple of days ago, but don’t see it. Trying again.
This is an excellent tutorial. I’m interested in making this sort of thing, only floor length, for my daughter. She’s age 10 and 5 ft. tall. How long and how many layers is your’s? I ask so that I know if I need to add more fabric for purchase.
girlinspired says
Hi Debbie,
Sorry for the delay! My skirt ended up being about five layers and hits my daughter about mid-calf. She’s 8, but very petite – probably closer to a typical size 5-6. Tulle is so inexpensive, I would probably purchase a few yards extra just to be safe! Have fun!
Debbie says
Thank you.
Dawn says
Hello there. I LOVE this tutu and thanks so much for providing the tutorial. I was wondering what your setting were on your ruffle foot. I have one and am always unsure what settings to use to get that prefect tutu ruffle. I can’t wait to whip a few of these up for my daughter’s upcoming 3rd birthday party for favors.
girlinspired says
Hi Dawn, The tulle really gathers up pretty tightly in the ruffle foot. I’m not certain, but I think I probably had it on the setting for the least amount of gathering. The party sounds fun!!
Tonya says
This is the best tutorial I found on sewing a lined tutu! I found tutorials on “no-sew” tutus. I found tutorials on unlined tutus. But this is the FIRST I have found for a sewn, lined tutu with an elastic waist. I’m definitely making one to wear for my birthday! This should be interesting since I’ve never used a sewing machine before!
Carrie says
Wonderful tutorial! Can’t wait to make one of these for my 9 year old ballerina who always loves a good tutu to dance in! I will be making hers without the lining though so she has more freedom to twirl and do arabesques. Thanks for this!
Sherry Phillips says
After several not so great attempts, NOW I think I can make a tutu! I thank you and my great-granddaughter will thank you (as soon as she starts talking)!
Stella says
Hi,
I came across your tutorial and was very impressed that I felt brave enough to create one, almost identical to yours, for my 2.5year old daughter.
She is besotted with it and convinced age is a “princess ballerina”!
Thank you.
Aria says
I love this tutorial!!!!!
For a tutu for me, I was wondering if I would need more tulle. I am 5’8″ if that helps at all. Thank you again
Pauline says
Thank you for this great tutorial.
Pauline
Golda Adelman says
I was wondering if you could use a stretchy satin instead of the thick knit so she can wear it as a skirt with a shirt tucked in?
Justine says
Thanks so much for the tutorial Stef! It’s so clear and well written and lovely photos as well. Would you believe I had never made a tutu and I have been sewing over twenty years? Lily wanted one and I had no idea. Your tutorial guided me through it.
Ouisa says
I cannot wait to use this tutorial to make a Minnie Mouse tutu for Halloween! Thank you, this was very helpful!
Marla Mollicone says
HI,
First of all, lovely tutu and tutorial! I am a very beginner sewer and trying desperately to make one for my daughter for halloween. I tried it tonight and I definitely screwed up somewhere cutting my sections. This may be a silly question, but when you said you cut ten 18 inch sections, was those sections folded at all or just a single layer of tulle? Did you only sew together 10 sections, or was it folded a few times for 20 or 30? I did a single layer, 10 sections, and then sewed them all together one after another. It looked very long I thought I was ok. When I pulled the bobbin thread and gathered in all up, the piece was only about 17 inches long. I then looked at your next step and knew I was in trouble as my daughter’s waist is 21.5 inches and you said to add 7 inches to make a rectangle of 28.5 inches by folding it onto itself. You can see my dilemma (hehe) i didn’t even have the required 18.5 inches for one rectangle, much less folding it;)
Can you help me here? Did I really miss something?
Thanks for bearing with a very beginner sewer;)
cheers,
Marla
girlinspired says
Hi Marla, That’s so frustrating, but you sound in good spirits! Your yardage of tulle is going to be 60-72″ wide, most likely (sometimes more sometimes less), depending on how it’s sold – it will say the width on the end of the bolt – and then you have that width by whatever length (number of yards, probably 10 or so) that you buy. When you cut it, your cutting sections along the length, so each section will be (let’s say 18″) by 60″ wide. I usually fold it 4-6 times, matching the selvage edges and then folding again, so that it’s manageable to cut the section – does that make sense? Then, you’ll have 10 sections that are each 18″ long by 60-72″ wide. You gather each piece along that 60″ side so it makes a short, very gathered section, which is still the length you need it to be (18″) to drop from waist to hem. Then you’re connecting each gathered section together to get your long piece of super gathered tulle, which will become the skirt. I hope that helps!!
Marla Mollicone says
Thanks! It did help!
I tried again and it is much longer;) Made a few mistakes but all in all not bad for a first effort!
Cassandra says
This tutorial is so great. Making this for a friend, and I have one question. Why do you cut the tulle in sections? Why not just wrap it around in a circle, what is the purpose of cutting the tulle, gathering it, and sewing it back together?
Thanks! 🙂
girlinspired says
Hi Cassandra, Good question. When you’re cutting the tulle, that will be how long the tutu drops from your waist to the knee (or hem). You cut it and then each piece will be like 60″ wide by whatever length you need for the finished length of the skirt. You gather each piece along that 60″ side so it makes a short, very gathered section, which is still the length you need it to be to drop from waist to hem. Once you have all the gathered sections together, you fold them back over themselves so that the skirt is a few layers thick and then it makes your nice, puffy tutu! Hope that helps!
Mac says
What a truly inspired tutorial! My three daughters regularly participate in pageants,and I sew all their dresses. Trouble is, the pettiskirts I have purchased online are either cheaply made or I end up adjusting length,which is just more work! Because my girls wear both cupcake,and floor-length dresses,I need several pettiskirts for each of them. I love a big,fluffy skirt and soft tulle lends a fairytale effect you don’t get with stiffer material. Many other tutorials complicate the steps required,so thank you for breaking down the instructions,and providing clear pictures:) Now I’m looking forward to getting started!
Jackie says
What did you use for the lining?
girlinspired says
I just used a lightweight silky lining fabric, a polyester.
Rosellen Ralph says
Since this is an older post you might not answer this and that is ok. I’m not very computer savy but would like to pin a lot of your posts especially this one! Would it be possible for you to put a pin button somewhere on the post? Maybe there is and I’m not seeing it, or maybe there is another way to pin something and I don’t know how. I LOVE your blog! Keep up the good work!
girlinspired says
Hi Rosellen! I’ll work on that! I used to have one, but it was causing some problems on my site, so I pulled it off and never put up a new one! Thanks for the reminder!
Ella says
I just used this tutorial to make three pink tutus. They came out beautiful. The only thing I changed was to use two widths of fabric for the lining, or it was too straight.
Hannah says
Hello!
This is the best tutu tutorial I have ever seen. I am just about to sew all the ruffled there together. Everything is going perfect so far! I’m so excited. I’m making this for my senior solo costume. 😉
girlinspired says
Aw, thanks! Have fun!
Wendy says
Hi
I need to attach a tu tu to a leotard for my daughters ballet show, would this still work instead of attaching to a waiste band
It looks a brilliant pattern
Thanks
girlinspired says
You might be able to make it work – be sure you use a good stretch stitch and stretch the leotard while you sew the tutu on – otherwise, there won’t be any stretch once the tulle is secured.
Amie says
It’s finished and she loves it! For next time… I need more width on the liner so there’s more give for kicks. Make sure liner is same color as tulle (I used bright blue tulle). The liner showed through the tulle way more than I thought it would. Possibly a little more tulle (my daughter wanted a 20″ length skirt). Maybe overlap the tulle 1/2″ when feeding in each new piece. I did all gather, no “fold over” and I did not stitch the gathered tulle before attaching the liner.
Stephanie says
This is great! I can’t wait to try it out. I do have a question though, would you use a white lining for a coloured tulle? I would like to do this in a blue colour to make a “frozen” dress but am unsure if I should use white or a blue lining. What do you recommend?
girlinspired says
You will likely see the lining through the tutu, so I would definitely recommend using blue if you want it all to look blue. Have fun!
Martine says
Hi!
I just found your tutorial and I’m seeking to make the skirt of this dress (http://www.cortana.es/en/novias/top-bucol-falda-peonia/) by myself. Do you think it’s doable, especially for a beginner?
Love,
Martine
girlinspired says
Hi Martine! That dress is gorgeous! I think you could follow the same basic steps – although they list “cotton tulle” and “silk organza” – the skirt of that dress is definitely not the inexpensive polyester tulle I used here. Chiffon would give you that look, too. The waist looks to be a fixed width versus elastic and it ties in the back – I think this would be easy to do, too. So very pretty – I’d love to see it when you’re done!
Robin says
Thank you very much for this tutorial. My daughter does not like tulle to touch her skin. This was a great tutorial and it was exactly what I wanted. I was just extremely frustrated with wrestling 12 yards of tulle. (my daughter is 9 and wanted it very fluffy). My gathering stitches kept breaking while I was serging the tulle to the underskirt. I totally missed the line where it said to stitch the tulle together after gathering so I just tried to stitch it to the underskirt while gathered. PSA: this does not work out and causes much cursing. I stopped, seam ripped the liner from the tulle, re-gathered, and serged the tulle together, then I serged the underskirt tulle, and waistband in one step. That worked out great. I topstitched the waistband with my regular machine. It was a bit wavy, but that’s ok since it’s going under a costume. I know more than I did for next time….if I ever decide I’m crazy enough to wrestle tulle again.
kassie says
i just LOVE how the tulle just flows like a graceful river
Luna Merza says
so beautiful. I want to make one for me and my baby!
Kathryn says
Hey!
I’ve been looking EVERYWHERE for a good tutorial on how to make one of these that actually looks nice! Every year for Halloween, my mom and I make my costume and next year I wanted to be the black swan (portrayed by Natalie Portman in The Black Swan). Since I’m 16, I’ve never actually dealt with tulle before because my mom says it’s awful to work with, but with the way you explained it, it doesn’t seem all that bad 🙂 Thank you so much!
~Kat
Anna Kroijer says
This is such a wonderful tutorial!
I can not wait to make one for my twin, she will love as an aspiring ballerina.
Lea Armbruster says
Thank a lot for sharing this one. Loved it very much!! Glad that I learned it here how to make tutu. Now is the time to make my own. Thanks for the idea and really loved it.
Beautiful tutus for babies. So loved this one. Nice colors and very adorable.
Tracy says
Thank You, My direction comprehension isn’t the best but I have been trying to find a good way to make a waistband for a ‘Princess skirt”. I am not seeing where you sew the tulle together at a side seam. Are there no side seams except on the lining? Thank You.
Pat C says
Thank you for the great tutorial!!
My daughter is getting married, and I am in charge of making a flower girl dress for my granddaughter/her niece . She will be 13 months at the time of the wedding. And your tutorial is perfect! I love that the tutu is lined and you have enclosed the elastic. It is going to be perfect!!!
Octoberlove says
This is perfect!! Ive been looking for a tutorial for a tutu that i can attach a bodice to and this may work. Your tutu look so neat and pretty.. im glad i came across your blog,years later..lol.
Savannah says
I’d love to have this tutu for a party, buuuuuttt…I do not own a sewing machine and I’m not sure I’d have time to make one if I did seeing that I haven’t used one since high school and it was under the supervision of my grandma to ensure I didn’t ruin anything. Is it at all possible I could pay for two of these to be made?
Virginia says
LOve this tutu tutorial !! It’s so fluffy !! So full !!! …the amount of material would be good enough for an adult ?
Theodosia Ventour says
Hi there I love the tutu tutorial but just in case as I’m quite new to sewing. But once you gather the tulle do you sew the seams together or do you leave it open? Sorry if it’s a silly question. 😳
girlinspired says
You just leave it open! It’s gathered so closely together, you won’t notice the separations.
Rajeswari says
Hello, lovely tutorial.is it possible to make 20″ long skirt by using 6″ wide and 25yards roll? If not which roll I should buy like 18″/54″ roll?
claire says
This is a beautiful skirt.i really want to try to make it for my daughter’s 4th birthday.
One question, with the method you use, how is there not a big split all the way up the skirt from top to bottom? You fold over the long gathered piece so it’s (waist + 7″) by 18″ and then sew it to the waistband. But you don’t mention sewing together to short 18″ seam to create the circle of the skirt. I k in I’m missing something but I can’t see it.
girlinspired says
No need to sew the ends together! It doesn’t gap.
Christine Philippart says
Enchantée d’ avoir de vous avoir découvert ,je cherchais comment faire un tutu simplement ,c’ est chose faite je m’ abonne ,bonne continuation à bientôt
Kris Amoah says
I wish I had a maple tree in my garden, Id enjoy maple syrup on my cereal every day. Unfortunately I dont live in Canada. Anyway, the maple roses look lovely
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