A Valentine Tutu

There seems to be a lot of pink and red fluff floating around these days, and because every little princess and ballerina and granddaughter needs a special tutu for Valentine’s Day, I got busy and created one for the little princess and granddaughters I love so much.

This tutu is an {almost} no-sew project. The only sewing I did was to hand-stitch the elastic ends to hold the skirt together and add a bow. Let’s see how:

You will need:

• 1 1/2 yards tulle or netting – any color – I used 1/2 yard each of red, pink and white
• scissors or rotary cutter & mat
• measuring tape
• elastic for waistband
• ribbon for embellishment

1. Cut tulle into 4 or 5 inch strips. I folded the fabric over a couple of times and cut through multiple layers. I was able to cut each strip in half, leaving each strip 24″ or so, which was perfect length for my little granddaughters. You don’t have to be too exact, but the length of your strips must equal the length you want the tutu to be plus half again as much or double. I wanted mine to be approx. 18″ long, so my strips were 24 or 25 inches long.

2. Measure the waistline. Subtract 2″ and your elastic to that length. Stretch elastic a good deal. Again, this isn’t rocket science, I wasn’t exact, just pull it out a bit, which makes room for the fullness of the tutu. Pin the ends of the elastic to a cutting/pinning board or the carpet (as I did) or an ironing board. This keeps is secure while you attache the tulle strips.

3. Fold each strip. I took my 25″ strips and folded them to be 18″ long, which left an overlap of 7″. If they were 36″ long I would have had a double layer.

4. Place the folded end of your of your strip under the elastic. Open the loop made by the folded end, bring the loose tail ends of your strip up through and pull tight.

 5. Continue add strips until you fill the elastic. It is alright to leave a bit of elastic showing between knots. They scrunch up and fill in when you ease up the elastic. I ended up using 28 or 30 strips, but could have squeezed in more.

6. Unpin the elastic from your board(carpet). Hold on to the 2 ends – It will spring back a bit, creating the fullness of the tutu. Bring ends together and tack securely with needle and thread. (You could just tie a knot in it, but you’d have to leave extra length for this when you cut it.)

7. Add a pretty bow or other embellishments. I used the needle and thread, but you could use hot glue, fabric glue, or just tie it on.

Slip this sweet little thing onto your favorite sweetheart and she’s ready for a Valentine Tea Party!

For that tea party, you might consider:

• Valentine Krispie Treat Pops
• DIY Valentine Streamers
• All Things Valentine Link Up

sharing this post at some of these wonderful places.