a beautiful girl's tutu


No little girl's life can be complete without a tutu.
It was one of the things that excited me most about being a girly mama.
As a child I did years of ballet dancing and plenty of shows
every time hoping that I would get the costume of choice:
the tutu.

So I set about making my little lady a tutu of her own.
There is something so gorgeous about a little girl in a big fluffy tutu
plus it might just inspire her inner dancer
ready for when she can start ballet lessons.

She has two tutus already
because they are just so easy to make.
So I thought I'd pop a tutorial together to show you how I did it.
This is a seriously easy project that I knocked up in a few of hours.
I'm already wondering if I could scale it up and make a mummy-sized one.


You need scissors, rolls of tulle and either ribbon or elastic for the waistband.
I've made one with ribbon and one with elastic
and they both work equally well.
I'd really recommend using one of those large elastic headbands if you want to go with elastic,
these worked out as a great fit on my daughter
(and my son for that matter - he's had a model of both tutus so I could see how they'd work on a toddler-sized child.)
I'd also recommend using the tulle on a roll.
You could use larger fabric and cut it into strips yourself
but I always find the cutting bit of any project the most boring bit
and buying the rolls massively reduces your cutting time.
Also make sure it is the soft tulle
and not the really scratchy stiff stuff.
These tutus puff out just fine with the softer fabric,
plus it's easier to work with
and kinder on baby skin.

I purchased lots of different pastel colours of tulle for different tutus I have planned.
But the one in this project used white, cream, yellow and a golden orange colour.
Because tulle lets so much light through, the effect it very pale
so if you wanted a brighter tutu, I'd recommend buying bolder tulle.


You need to start by measuring your child's waist,
so that you know the size to make your tutu.
I tied knots at the point where the two ends met round my daughter's tummy.
I then knew I needed to fill the gap between those two knots to make her tutu.


Then you need to cut your lengths of tulle.
Work out how long you want the skirt to be
and then double it.
This is the length of tulle that you need to cut.
It needs to be doubled as each length of tulle will be doubled over
as you attach it to the ribbon waistband.

You don't need to be really exact about your cutting or your lengths,
it won't show once the tutu is assembled.


Then you are ready to start putting your tutu together.
I found it easier to tie the waistband ribbon around a photo frame so that the ribbon was tight.
A book would work just as well,
or your own leg.
Just something to keep the ribbon still.

You fold the tulle in half
and tuck the loop under the waistband as shown in the photo above.


Then simply take your loose ends
and place them through the loop
over the top of the waistband.
This makes your knot.


Then pull your knot tight.
The tighter the knot the more you will fit around the waistband
and the fuller your tutu skirt will be.

It's also worth considering that the knots will be visible at the waistband
so try to keep them neat
and all the same way.


And then simply repeat again and again
until the desired length of waistband is full.
I used a variety of different colours
and I kind of got into a pattern with mine
so that they were mixed up
but still even.

The different effects you can achieve with the colours
is only limited by what you want to achieve.
You could do all one colour, 
alternating colours,
or a random mixture of colours.


Then all that's left to do
is find a little cutie to model your creation for you.

And if she's got great big chubby baby legs
to poke out of the bottom of it,
then even better.



Do let me know if you have a go at making your own tutu.
They really are so simple
and so so cute for photos or for special occasions.
(A certain little lady might have a special one ready for a special party 
coming up in the not too distant future.)

58 comments

  1. So beautiful! And a great tutorial. Thanks for sharing, can't wait to try this x

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  2. Oh wow - I'm so going to make one for Eva's first birthday! I had no idea it was something you could make at home so easily. I've never been one for sewing or making clothes but I'm definitely going to give this a go. After having two boys I'm now making the most of having a little girl to dress up! Thanks for sharing. x

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    1. My little lady has one for her birthday. They are so easy to do. Let me know if you make one.
      And it's definitely nice to indulge the girliness a bit after boys. x

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  3. Aaaah beautiful. I would love to say I read the tutorial thoroughly but I didn't as I have already put my order in. ;) The photos of BG are just gorgeous! X

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    1. Awww, thanks lovely. Just think how cute your girlies are going to look in their matchy ones. ;) x

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  4. How gorgeous - she looks just adorable! I made Kitty a gold tutu for her second Christmas when she was a star in the nursery Christmas play but she's long grown out of it and she's so very into her ballerinas and princesses I think she would love this - thank you for the tutorial, I think that may be tomorrow afternoon's activity all sorted then!

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    1. Oh do let me know how you get on. The advantage of making them like this, is you can keep adding more knots on as they grow so they can keep wearing it.
      A Christmas one sounds lovely. You may have just hatched an idea in my head. x

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  5. Just the sweetest! You make that look easy - I'll have a go for Kitty and she's been after a tutu for ages.
    She looks like she was born to wear a tutu here - I bet you were sad when it had to come off! x

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    1. Seriously, it's the easiest make ever. If you can use scissors you can make one. I'd love to see Kitty's if you make her one.
      And yes, she does make a cute ballerina. I keep telling my dance teacher that the beautiful girl already has a great ballet turn out. You wait she'll end up being a total tomboy and play rugby after this.
      x

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  6. It's the creases i the legs that really make it! Adorable! You and she should have matching ones!

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    1. You really can't beat chubby baby legs! And I might have a play around with a grown up one soon, I have some orders for children's ones to do first.
      x

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  7. oh. my. days. how gorgeous! i need to make one...just because!! such a cute model too!

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    1. Haha. I keep making them... just because. Seems a good enough reason to me. x

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  8. Love Love Love!! BG looks so cute too. She has to be a dancer :) Thanks for the fab tutorial Xx

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    1. Thanks lovely. I really hope she at least gives dancing a try. It would make me a very proud mama. x

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  9. oh wowzers...

    Boys can wear tu-tus too right?

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    1. Haha. My little man has definitely like the odd run around in one. x

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  10. So cute! I'd never take her out of it!

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    1. Haha. It's not very easy for her to crawl in, or I don't think I would. x

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  11. Wow these are brilliant! And would make fab presents for people xx

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    1. They would make great gifts. I've already had friends ask for them. x

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  12. Amazing! What a great tutorial. It is such a good job I don't have a girl, she'd be in these all the time. x

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    1. Haha. You could always make one for yourself lovely!?!?!? x

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  13. I just love her little chubby legs. She's so gorgeous and you, my dear, are very talented. :) xx

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    1. Ahhh, thanks lovely. But I'm not that talented, it really isn't very hard to make.
      And I'm a sucker for the chubby legs too! x

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  14. Love it so much, Addison is such a boy she never lets me put her tutu on her, I want an adult sized one, beautiful tutu for a beautiful girl and such an easy to read tute

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    1. Ahhh, well maybe the tomboy thing won't last and you'll get to make her a tutu one day. Glad you liked the tutorial. x

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  15. This is beautiful. Where do you get your material from?

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    1. If you google "tulle rolls" then you should be able to find it. Amazon definitely sell it. x

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  16. Hi! About how many rolls of tulle do you need for one tutu?

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    1. Hmmm, it would depend on how long the tutu was and how big the child was. I'd say about two or three. x

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  17. Just saw this on pinterest! I can't wait to make one as part of my daughter's Halloween costume. I'd love to send you a picture after Halloween? What's the best way to send it and I'll add a reminder to my calendar :)

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    1. Ahhh, that's great. You can either tweet or email me a photo. All my contact details are on my contact page (bottom of the left sidebar) and I'd love to see what you make. x

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  18. Hope this isn't a repeat question - if so - I'm sorry! About how much did all the ribbon and tulle cost or how much does one tutu set ya back?:)

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    1. It depends on how many colours you use, the length of the tutu and the size of the child. I'd say that it's round about 3 rolls of tulle per tutu, plus a bit of ribbon or elastic for the waistband. I'd say you could keep materials costs per tutu under £10 without too much trouble. x

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  19. LOVE this!! I have all the supplies now I am just wondering how long did you make your strips of tulle? The one in the picture is the exact length I want. Your daughter is beautiful!! Also once you where done what did you use to connect the ends of elastic?

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    1. Oooh have fun making one, I'm hoping to make some Christmas ones soon. This tutu is 30cm long, so each length of tulle was 60cm or there abouts (you don't have to be really exact.) and I just tied the two ends of elastic into a knot and then burnt the ends a bit with a lighter so that the elastic wouldn't fray at all. x

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  20. i was about to spend $40 on tutu for my daughters 1st birthday. thank you for this. I had no idea it was so easy. where did you buy the tulle?

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  21. I so want t to try this out and best part is the NO SEW aspect! lol. for the elastic headband - do you mean those wide colored adult headbands that you can find at Walmart etc? I find those to be a bit tight..?

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    1. It was kind of a skinny headband. But any kind of elastic that fits the child would work. x

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  22. I'm trying this after my kids are in bed tomorrow night! You make this look so easy! Making it for my daughters first birthday! Cannot wait! Thank you!

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    1. My daughter looked so cute in hers on her first birthday. And I promise it was REALLY easy. x

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  23. Thank you for explaining this so well. I can't wait to try making one for my daughter.

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  24. Do you use one layer of tulle per knot? someone told me to use 2-3 pieces of tulle per knot. thoughts

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    1. I only used one. But I assume using more would make it fuller, so it could work. Although I think ours was plenty full enough with out the extra tulle because it kind of "fluffs up" as its worn. x

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  25. Do you leave the tulle width the same, or do you cut it in half? Also, do I need to make sure that the cut is straight? I tend to cut uneven 😕 lol

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    1. I left the width the same so that it fluffed up nice and full. And no, you don't need to worry too much about the cutting because it won't really show that much once it's on. x

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  26. Glad that I learned it here how to make tutu without sewing. Before, I used to buy tutus for girls from alwaysunderpay.com & loved their tutus of all sorts. Now is time to make my own. Thank for the idea and really loved it.

    Beautiful tutus for babies. So loved this one!!! Nice colors and very adorable and you a very cute baby too!

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  27. So darling! How long did you make your tule strips for the tutu in your post? My daughter is almost a year and I am making a tutu for her birthday! THANK YOU!

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    1. I bought tulle on the roll and then simply cut it to the length that I needed it to be. You could buy bigger sheets of tulle and cut into strips, but it was much easier off of a roll. x

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  28. How much Tulle to you think you need for each tu tu?? Approximately??

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    1. Can you please guide me how to stich tutu frock with top attached to it or gown in tutu style

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