Easy No Sew Tutu

Materials needed:

60" 7/8" grosgrain ribbon, or elastic (measure to fit child's waist)
2 6" spools of tulle
lighter or fray check

NOTE: Cut the tulle using my Quick and Easy Method! I cut my pieces 15" long, that makes my finished tutu 7 1/2" long.  I had enough tulle to make a tutu that will fit children 2-5 years old.


Begin 15" from the end of the ribbon. This gives you room to tie the ribbon into a bow when you put the tutu on your child. Also, I like to tie the end of the ribbon to something (like a desk, chair, bar stool, etc.) while I'm making the tutu. It's so much easier to cast on the tulle. You'll understand what I mean when you start making one.

Okay, now you're going to "slip knot" each piece of tulle onto the ribbon. To do this, take a piece of tulle and fold it in half. Place it under the ribbon with the loop on the right and the "tails" of the tulle on the left. Refer to the picture.
 
Bring up the tails and pass through the loop. Pull the slip knot tight, making sure your tails stay even. Pulling the slip knot tight will make your tutu full. You can slightly scrunch the tulle pieces up next to each other on the ribbon to make the tutu look fuller and fluffier too.

Continue casting the tulle onto the ribbon until it fits around your child's waist or hips (I have around 17" of tulle on my ribbon). You should have a long piece of ribbon that's 15" (or longer) left over to tie into a bow.

Try the tutu on your child, tie the ribbon into a bow, and cut off any excess. Use a lighter or fray check on the ends.
 

All done! With basic care it should last years! My daughter wears her tutus inside, outside, to the store - everywhere actually, and I've never had a problem with the tulle coming off the ribbon. It takes about 30 minutes to make this type of tutu, and it only costs around $7 (or less)!

NOTE 2: Remember for older children you'll have to cut a longer piece of ribbon and you'll use more tulle - at least one more spool of tulle. Here's a tip: as your child grows you can "un-scrunch" the tulle pieces to make the tutu fit longer!

DIY: Satin Wrap A Tutu

Here's how I satin wrap a tutu. But this is just to give you the basic idea of how it's done, you can wrap whatever way is easiest for you. This is an easy, inexpensive do-it-yourself project instead of buying!

 
 Materials:

A completed tutu:

3 yards of 7/8" satin ribbon (toddler size)
Hot glue gun
lighter

Start by leaving a long "tail" of ribbon for the bow. In the picture below, The right hand is holding the "tail" and she'll begin wrapping using the ribbon in her left hand. Wrap from the inside-out. I like how this tutu looks wrapped this way - but it's totally up to you which direction you decide to wrap.

You'll need to get a good grip of the "tail" in your right hand, while wrapping the ribbon with your left hand. After you've made a few wraps, you can let go of the "tail".

Wrap the ribbon between every two pieces of tulle, but if you want to change the look, try wrapping it differently.

Keep wrapping the ribbon until you've worked your way back around to the beginning. Make sure you don't pull the ribbon too tight as you're wrapping.  Tie a pretty bow. Cut off the excess ribbon.
 

I use fray check to seal the ends of the ribbon.  Also, if you'd like to add ribbon streamers to your tutu, cast them on the same way you did the tulle, using a double-knot or slip-knot method! Easy!

Feels Like Home http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/ has a great picture tutorial that will show you how to make a slip-knot tutu on elastic.

How to Cut Tulle for a Tutu ~ QUICK and EASY!

I think making tutu's is so much fun!  Here are some ideas: 

Let your daughter or grandaughter host a tutu making party, birthday, slumber, Easter, Christmas, Halloween, etc...let all of them make their own tutu's.  They will have a blast and learn a neat new project!
Another idea....Princess Packs for a Birthday Party, make tutus for the little party guests as part of the Princess Packs. I

Here's My QUICK and EASY Method:

Cut out a piece of cardboard 15" long and about 7" wide.  The width doesn't have to be exact, but the length does.  I like to use the flap from a cardboard box. You're going to need two rubber bands too. When making a baby or toddler tutu or even a super short tutu for tweens & teens, I cut my pieces 15" long. You can make it however long or short you prefer. Remember to cut the cardboard about twice the length you'd like your finished tutu to be. My tulle pieces are 15" long so my finished tutu is around 7" - 7 1/2" long. I like to label my cardboard pieces too.

Next, wrap your tulle (I use the 6" spools) around the cardboard evenly. Make sure you're not wrapping too

tight - if the cardboard is bending in the middle, then it's way too tight.    Once you've finished wrapping

(I usually wrap the entire roll so I don't waste tulle - I'll show you how to store leftover tulle in a minute),

 secure both ends with the rubber bands.

 

Carefully and slowly, cut the ends of the tulle using the edge of the cardboard as your guide. Make sure you don't pull up on the tulle while cutting it or it'll be shorter on one end.

Pull the tulle off the cardboard, and ta-da! You're done! Perfectly cut pieces of tulle - quick and easy!

Here's the pieces I cut for a Snow White tutu:
 

Store any leftover tulle pieces on the cardboard. All nice and neat and tidy!

Here's my finished tutu! I usually use a slip knot when I make tutus, but this time I tried a double knot for the
first time. It came out pretty good and it was quicker to make. This is also the first time I used a satin ribbon to wrap the waist of the tutu. I really like how it turned out!  The tutu may look a bit uneven in the picture because of the hanger, but it's not.
 

   
Making a satin wrapped tutu is easier than you think - for sure easier than I thought! I used 3 yards of ribbon, but it all depends on how big of a tutu you're making. I'm sure people do it different ways, but I wrapped my tutu like this:


Leave a "tail" of ribbon at the beginning (to tie into a bow), and wrap from the inside-out, threading the ribbon between every two pieces of tulle until you've work your way around. Be sure you don't pull the ribbon too tight as you're wrapping. When you've finished wrapping, tie the ribbon into a bow, cut off the excess, use a lighter to seal the ends, and hot glue the bow in place so it won't come undone.