St. Patrick’s Day NO-SEW Tutu

 

Seriously, this is as easy as the name suggests…..I love it!!!

This is the perfect NO-SEW tutu to make for any occasion. It is perfect in black/purple for Halloween, yellow for Easter, pink for ballet or I as I have made it, for St. Patrick’s Day. I went into Cork City with the intention of getting just green tulle but that changed when I saw one in the green, white and orange on a mannequin.

As the bag suggests, my first port of call was Guineys on Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork.  The tulle is readily available in all fabric shops but for me Guineys has always proved very good value…..I love a bargain!!! The quantity you need will depend on how long you wish to make the tutu. I was making one for my 12 year old to wear over leggings so we were going for short….

What I bought:

1/2 Yard Orange Tulle @ €1.95 per yard

1/2 Yard White Tulle @ €1.95 per yard

1/2 Yard Green Tulle @ €1.95 per yard

1 Yard of 1/2 inch wide elastic @ €1.35 per yard

1 Yard of 1 inch green ribbon (optional for bow) @ €1.00 per yard

Total Cost was less than €5.  Happy Days 🙂

 

So now I had all my bits,where to begin……..

 

Step 1:

1. Keeping each piece of fabric on the fold, cut the fabric length-ways in half along the fold.
2. Fold the cut fabric in half.
3. With the fabric folded, cut from the bottom up, toward the ‘new’ fold in approximately 3 inch width strips.

 

Step 2:

1. Measure elastic loosely around the waist and cut accordingly.
2. Pin top of elastic to a surface to hold it in place.
3. Take a piece of cut tulle and, with it folded as cut, hold it to the back of the elastic.
4. Turn the folded part down over the elastic & pull the remaining tulle through the loop of the fold.
5. Pull from the bottom & tighten it.
6. Continue with this for each piece of tulle, pushing them together to create the waistband effect as seen in the top picture.

 

Step 3:

1. When all tulle is in place, knot the elastic to the size required.
2. At any stage you can add more tulle to the tutu by randomly squeezing in cut pieces wherever you wish.
3. Adding a bow is completely optional but is very easy. (Warning – requires a needle & thread)
4. Cut the ribbon and make the bow.
5. This can be safety pinned on or should you have a needle it can be sewn on (we did that!!)
6. And that’s it….TaaaDaaaaa 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this very basic tutorial & I hope you give the No-Sew Tutu a try. It really is great fun to make. Its fast, It’s very simple & it is also very easy for small(er) hands to help with.

 

Happy Tutu making:)

Til next time.

Mairéad

xxx