DIY + TUTU

// who doesn't LOVE a good tutu?!? DIY by the fashion gal //

let's a make a tutu folks! come on DIY (do-it-yourself!!) over the weekend when i took on the Black Swan {for my Halloween costume} my main goal was to have a beautiful & SUPER-FULL TUTU! i mean, with as much volume as i could possibly have(!!!) and boy, did i have some volume! i actually had two tutu's on hand but at the last minute i thought... this is no-way enough tutu for MY costume! so i whipped up a third tutu about 2 hours before prancing out the door as the evil Black Swan! and let me tell you, that third tutu made my costume extra fun to twirl, spin, and dance in!

*see more of my spooooky Halloween costume here!

**what did you wear for Halloween? did you trick or treat with your kids or pass out any candy?! 

***OR were you the awesome house that just left a huge candy bowl on your door step for the neighborhood kids to clear out?!? i loved those people growing up!

let's make some tutus!!! 

{wear your tutu casually, ohhhh yeeah!}               {or use it for a costume, me as the swan}

what you'll need:

DIY instructions:

1. Measure your waist (or hip) depending on where you would like the tutu to sit.

2. Cut elastic a couple inches longer then the above measurement {my measurement was 34" so I cut the elastic to 36"}

3. You will want to measure your waist or hip before purchasing your fabric. Once you have your measurement, you'll want to times that number by 10 to get the correct amount of tulle. MY MATH: my hip 34" x 10 = 340" (aka: 9.5 YARDS of tulle! that's a lot of tulle!) this is MY tutu-making theory!

*You can buy the tulle at your local fabric store and it's actually very cheap. So this isn't an expensive DIY project. 

4. Take your tulle and fold it in half (the long way) and then fold it in half again. This should look like a reallllly long rectangle. 

5. Go ahead and safety-pin the corners of the tulle together, then safety pin the side that you would like your elastic to be stitched onto. 

6. Measure (and mark with a dot of white out) the half-way mark and the quarter marks as well. Example: my tulle was 340" long, so i made a little dot at the 85", 170", 255" marks. Do the same for your elastic. This will help you stay on track (and meet the dots up) while your hand sew your tutu.

7. Thread your needle, knot the end of your thread, and start sewing! 

8. While you sew a few stitches on ever couple inches, you will need to start tucking a 2-3"fold of fabric to create the volume aspect of the tulle. This takes patients and a little bit of focus to make sure you are tucking enough tulle to match up the white-out dot markers. 

9. Once you have fed the tulle through and sewed it to the elastic, you'll want to sew the edges of the elastic together (to create the circle, or waistband). 

10. Flip your tutu right side out AND you have a fabulous (and simple) tutu!!!

11. Last but not least, carefully cut along the bottom of the tutu skirt to create the layer affect that makes a tutu, a tutu!

pheeeeew! how did i do??! i hope my instructions were clear and you can now make yourself, or your kid, a fabulous and very full tutu!!!

want some more DIY's?!? well then click here or here!