My easy tutu tutorial was originally posted it in 2009, and it has been viewed and shared all over the world as parents make tutus for their little princesses, fairies, and ballerinas. This easy tutu tutorial will help you to create your own No-Sew Tutu skirt for children or adults! Check out the step by step instructions with lots of photos below.
For her second birthday, I made Grace a no-sew tutu. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen.
You know we're anti-princess around here, but I thought a tutu would be a perfect dress up piece. Tutus are all about imagination and whimsy. Tutus can work for ballerinas or fairies or special birthday girls.
It was the perfect project for a momma who was injured and lying on the couch. It's very simple and most of it can be done while lying down.
How to Make a Homemade No-Sew Tutu
Tutu Materials
- Tulle - I used about 10 yards of tulle, sold by the yard. You should be able to get rolls of 4" or 6" tulle, but I couldn't find any. I allowed Grace to choose her colors, and she picked purple and yellow. I bought 5 yards white, 3 yards purple, and 3 yards yellow, but if I was starting over, I'd just do half purple and half yellow. The white diluted my colors more than I would have liked.
- A length of ½ inch elastic or ribbon
- Spools of matching grosgrain ribbon
Measure Your Child
- Waist - If you're going to use elastic, cut a length of ½" elastic that is 2 inches shorter than your child's waist. If you're using ribbon, you will need to cut her waist measurement plus 2 feet or so, enough to tie the tutu onto her body.
- Waist to knee - This one is simple. How long do you want the skirt to be? I think Grace might have liked her tutu even more if it was shorter. I made it knee-length, but I'm thinking about cutting it off at the bottom.
Instructions
- Joe did this part for me. Cut the tulle into strips that are 4" to 6" inches wide and twice the finished skirt length. I made my tutu 18" long, so my strips needed to be 4" by 36" wide. I had more strips than I thought I'd ever need. That's just about the right number. (Note - 18" is far too long. Go with 12" or even 8" instead. The longer tutu got really scraggly over time and overwhelmed my little girl.)
- If you're using elastic, overlap the ends and sew. I couldn't use my sewing machine, so I did it by hand. I would have preferred my machine. No matter.
- Grab 3 pieces of tulle and stack it nicely.
- Fold it in half. Loop the center point under your waistband.
Next, pull the ends down over the waistband and tuck them into the loop. Pull the ends so that the top makes a loose knot.
- If you pull the knot too tight, it will curl and stretch the elastic, be difficult to work with, and need to be loosened later. I'm just saying.
Good. Not too tight and not too loose.
Too tight. I had to pull these all out a bit.
- Repeat that process another thirty or thirty-five times. I started out with a pattern, but I abandoned it in favor of whatever looked nice. I ended up with 38 knots, and my tutu is sufficiently fluffy.
- If you're going to use ribbons, you can tie them over top of the tulle in the same way. Alternately, you can tie them in shoelace-type knots over top of the tulle. Either way would look nice and leave long tails hanging down in the tulle.
- That's it. Your tutu is finished.
- I considered a waistband to finish off the top and make the whole thing less scratchy. I also considered gluing some little flowers or some glitter onto some of the pieces. Both would be nice additions.
Alternate uses for a homemade tutu
If your husband spends two hours cutting tulle, and then you spend four or five hours tying knots in tulle, and your child refuses to even put her feet in her tutu, you will find alternate uses.
- Tulle makes nice scrubbies for the shower. I didn't take it apart. I was hoping that some day, she would change her mind (and she did!).
- All of those panels would work nicely for dusting knick-knacks.
- You can play peek-a-boo with a tutu around your neck.
No Sew Tutu Cost
- I bought tulle at 99 cents a yard.
- I bought two small rolls of ribbon, each for 99 cents.
- I had elastic in my sewing stash already.
- Total cost - Under $13
Try these other simple and easy crafts:
- Washi Tape Butterfly Magnet Craft
- Washi Tape Heart Suncatchers
- How to Make No Sew DIY Lavender Sachets
- Step by Step String Art Tutorial for Beginners
This easy no-sew tutu was a huge hit for years after I made it! I made many more using this same tutorial, and they all came out wonderfully puffy and full of fun. I did make the tulle 16" long in subsequent tutus so that the finished piece was only about 8" long. That was a lot less overwhelming for my little girls.
Flowersbyfarha says
I wonder if it was too scratchy for her overall?
Or, if she never even put it on, maybe it was just scary to her?
Or, maybe she just didn't get it.
I bought my g'toddler an apron when she was going on two and she wouldn't put it on. She wanted everyone else to put it on. Finally realized since she couldn't see it on her, she just didn't "get it." So, trotted her over to a mirror and held it up to here and bingo! Now she doesn't cook until she puts on an apron (and washes her hands).
And some kids just don't enjoy play-acting or dress-ups. (Is she a Taurus by chance?)
Jen L. says
Oh, my word, that is adorable! I'll bet Grace never wants to take it off. I especially enjoyed the alternate uses. 🙂
Jen L. says
Oh, my word, that is adorable! I'll bet Grace never wants to take it off. I especially enjoyed the alternate uses. 🙂
Tara says
Jen - Actually... Grace won't touch it. She refuses. Joe put it in her closet today because I finally resigned myself to her tutu avoidance.
Tara says
Jen - Actually... Grace won't touch it. She refuses. Joe put it in her closet today because I finally resigned myself to her tutu avoidance.
Mum-me says
Maybe if you borrow some classical ballet videos from the library and show Grace some of the scenes with the pretty ballerinas she might like to try it out for dancing?
Isn't is frustrating when your child dislikes something you've spent ages making just for them?
Mum-me's last blog post..Sun Sparkles
Tara says
Mum-me - That's a great idea! I think I've even seen episodes of Sesame Street where Zoe wears a tutu, too. I'm going to look for both.
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us '0 which is not a hashcash value.
Flowersbyfarha says
I wonder if it was too scratchy for her overall?
Or, if she never even put it on, maybe it was just scary to her?
Or, maybe she just didn't get it.
I bought my g'toddler an apron when she was going on two and she wouldn't put it on. She wanted everyone else to put it on. Finally realized since she couldn't see it on her, she just didn't "get it." So, trotted her over to a mirror and held it up to here and bingo! Now she doesn't cook until she puts on an apron (and washes her hands).
And some kids just don't enjoy play-acting or dress-ups. (Is she a Taurus by chance?)
Mum-me says
Maybe if you borrow some classical ballet videos from the library and show Grace some of the scenes with the pretty ballerinas she might like to try it out for dancing?
Isn't is frustrating when your child dislikes something you've spent ages making just for them?
Mum-me's last blog post..Sun Sparkles
Tara says
Mum-me - That's a great idea! I think I've even seen episodes of Sesame Street where Zoe wears a tutu, too. I'm going to look for both.
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us '0 which is not a hashcash value.
JoAnne says
Really enjoyed your tutu post--it was not only helpful to prospective tutu-making Moms, but hilarious--especially the alternative uses for a tutu. Would it be OK for us to use a couple of photos to let our readers know about it, with full credit and links to your blog? Thanks for getting back to me! Just adorable!!
JoAnne says
Really enjoyed your tutu post--it was not only helpful to prospective tutu-making Moms, but hilarious--especially the alternative uses for a tutu. Would it be OK for us to use a couple of photos to let our readers know about it, with full credit and links to your blog? Thanks for getting back to me! Just adorable!!
Mariana says
So cute! A year or two from now, Grace will be wearing that tutu everyday. Just wait 🙂
.-= Mariana´s last blog ..The day the music died… =-.
Mariana says
So cute! A year or two from now, Grace will be wearing that tutu everyday. Just wait 🙂
.-= Mariana´s last blog ..The day the music died… =-.
nicole says
OH MY GOODNESS. You are a godsent for posting this. I am going to make my 3 yro daughter a tu-tu & a long sleeve leotard w/ my little pony on the front. This is exactly what I need to walk me through the process. I love how you put this together. Grace is so lovely.
Thank You so much for the tutu tutorial & info. I hope I can do this. (my daughter will probably put it on & try to go out to play basketball.)
nicole says
OH MY GOODNESS. You are a godsent for posting this. I am going to make my 3 yro daughter a tu-tu & a long sleeve leotard w/ my little pony on the front. This is exactly what I need to walk me through the process. I love how you put this together. Grace is so lovely.
Thank You so much for the tutu tutorial & info. I hope I can do this. (my daughter will probably put it on & try to go out to play basketball.)
Christine says
Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial! I used your directions to make my 3-year-old a tutu for her new dance class. The tutu came out beautifully and she loves it!
Christine says
Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial! I used your directions to make my 3-year-old a tutu for her new dance class. The tutu came out beautifully and she loves it!
Danielle says
Thanks for the great tutorial! Made making the tutus so easy. I tackled my first one last night and my dd loves it. She just happened to pick the same colors are you daughter. Now, I have 7 more to make. They are going to be party favors. The girls are going to love them.
Thanks!
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..DSC_0058 - Copy =-.
Tara says
I'm so happy to hear it! They are so easy, and they're not expensive at all. You'll have to take pictures of all of them together.
Danielle says
Thanks for the great tutorial! Made making the tutus so easy. I tackled my first one last night and my dd loves it. She just happened to pick the same colors are you daughter. Now, I have 7 more to make. They are going to be party favors. The girls are going to love them.
Thanks!
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..DSC_0058 - Copy =-.
Tara says
I'm so happy to hear it! They are so easy, and they're not expensive at all. You'll have to take pictures of all of them together.
DeAnna says
Thank you so much for posting this! I'm actually going to use this technique for myself for a Halloween costume at work (I'm going as the Tooth Fairy)! This is so easy and so cost effective. Thanks again!!!
DeAnna says
Thank you so much for posting this! I'm actually going to use this technique for myself for a Halloween costume at work (I'm going as the Tooth Fairy)! This is so easy and so cost effective. Thanks again!!!
Leigh Ann says
ahhh!!! I'm so excited!!! I wanted to make my daughter one so bad but was NOT sure where to even begin! This is absolutely adorable and looks fairly simple!!! She'll be so excited! The 'toothfairy' made her a fairy wand with a tulle tutu...that was a little different than a child size tutu though. So she hasnt quite gotten that yet...she's waiting to lose that first tooth but it's the only thing she wanted from her!! I thought it reasonable considering it's the first one! 🙂 So yes!!! Thank you sooo much for posting this! You're amazing!!! Absolutely fabulous!!!
Leigh Ann says
ahhh!!! I'm so excited!!! I wanted to make my daughter one so bad but was NOT sure where to even begin! This is absolutely adorable and looks fairly simple!!! She'll be so excited! The 'toothfairy' made her a fairy wand with a tulle tutu...that was a little different than a child size tutu though. So she hasnt quite gotten that yet...she's waiting to lose that first tooth but it's the only thing she wanted from her!! I thought it reasonable considering it's the first one! 🙂 So yes!!! Thank you sooo much for posting this! You're amazing!!! Absolutely fabulous!!!
Tom McComb says
Wow! You just saved us!!! 6 grown men, going out for halloween together. None of us sew, and you just saved our lives. Our tutus will be fabulous with our tights!!!
Happy Halloween!
Tom McComb says
Wow! You just saved us!!! 6 grown men, going out for halloween together. None of us sew, and you just saved our lives. Our tutus will be fabulous with our tights!!!
Happy Halloween!
Jessica says
These steps are so simple..and your pictures are great! I may not be 3 years old....but me and my best friend are 21 and are making tu-tus as part of our Halloween costumes! Thanks so much for the help!