How to Make a Tutu – Ivy’s 2nd Birthday Party Favors!

Tutus are pretty much the easiest thing to make ever. And guess what?!?! They don’t require any sewing, so this tutorial is for all my non-sewing friends out there!!! I made a super cute tutu for Miss Ivy Lynnkins to wear for her 2nd Birthday Baby Doll Party, but it can be modified to fit anyone… even an adult! (because every adult needs a tutu sometimes! LOL). I also made a bunch of these super cute tutus for all of Ivy’s baby dolls, and I went a little tutu crazy and made a bunch of baby doll tutus as the party favors for all of Ivy’s party guests to take home for their own baby dolls. So these easy to make tutus can make a cute party favor too!

In this tutorial I’ll show you the step by step process of making a baby doll tutu, and explain how I adjusted the measurements to make a super cute toddler tutu for miss Ivy Lynnkins. You can also make it even larger for an adult or smaller for a baby! Lets get started!

HOW TO MAKE A TUTU… TUTORIAL

Materials Needed:

• Different colours of Tulle (you can buy tulle in small rolls that are 5 inches wide. Wal-Mart sells it)
• Ribbon (any super cute non-stretchy ribbon will do)
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Your Fingers!!! Yay for a non-sewing tutorial!!

METHOD TO MAKE A TUTU

Step 1: Gather your supplies. I first went to fabric land and bought a few yards of their tulle, but you have to cut it into strips before you use it (which isn’t that big of a deal), but I found out that they sell tulle in small 6 inch wide roles that are perfect for making tutus with! I found mine at Wal-Mart but amazon has a great selection too (see link at end of the post)!! Get a few colours because making tutus is addicting! I was even able to make them with the kids awake!! That’s a big deal in this house!! I’m lucky if I get the chance to do anything without the kids when they are awake.

Step 2: Cut strips of your tulle. For a toddler a cut 18 inch strips and for a baby doll I cut 10 inch strips. You will need a lot of them so just keep cutting (I used 30 strips for a doll tutu and 50 strips for a toddler tutu)

Step 3: Cut your ribbon to 2 feet (24 inches) for a baby doll tutu, and 4 feet (48 inches) for a toddler tutu. (This measurement is a little long but you can trim it shorter after you tie it with a bow. I like a big bow!)
Side Note: So I tried making a tutu with a stretchy waist band and it just didn’t hold up well. because the knots on the ribbon are so tight the stretchy waist band went all wonky, that’s why I recommend a non-stretchy ribbon. Encase you were wondering! Wink!

Step 4: Tie strips of tulle to your ribbon. Like this…

First fold the tulle in half…

Then lay the tulle under your ribbon…

Pull ends of ribbon through hole!

Pull tight!

Step 5: Repeat this step over and over making sure that your knots are centered on your ribbon, so that your ribbon ends are the same length.

Step 6: Put it around the waist of your model and tie the ribbons in a super cute bow! TADA!

You can trim the ribbon at this point if you think it’s too long. I just like enough ribbon to make a big bow!

DONE!!!! See how easy that was! This is a project that can be done while sitting in front of the TV relaxing. That might be why I made A LOT of them! Make tutus for EVERYONE!!!!!

TODDLER TUTU TUTORIAL

Do the exact same thing as a baby doll tutu, just increase your strips of tulle to 18 inches, and your ribbon to 48 inches. Make 50 knots!

I added a second layer of tulle to Ivy’s tutu because she insisted that her tutu was going to made out of the green sparkly tulle that we had. This particular green sparkly tulle is a little more limp than the light pink tulle, so I made sure to add the extra limp tulle on top of the stiffer tulle. I added a green strip of tulle on top of every second light pink strip. I love how it turned out and Ivy loved it too!

I hope you are inspired by this post to create some super fun and cute tutus for all the little kiddos in your life, and their baby dolls too!! Ivy likes to have all of her babies pretty much naked. Naked except a tutu! She has style!! Love my little baby lover! Until next time, enjoy making all the tutus, and creating beautiful things!

XO JCL

P.S. Check out Ivy’s 2nd birthday party here for more baby doll party inspiration!