DIY TUTU

Good evening chestnuts,

I declare Tutu Week open! I'm not hiding the fact that I've been asking myself the question, "Am I too old to wear a tutu?" Well, you see, I'm not 17 anymore, and the days of my first tutu, worn with a pair of raggedy converses, are long gone... I'm not 110 either, I know, but sometimes I think I might look ridiculous, and then I tell myself that if it makes me kiffer, the rest doesn't matter. But the "normal" part of me, sitting on my right shoulder, always makes me doubt a bit, whereas, sitting on my left shoulder, my completely crazy part usually speaks up and says: "Look at Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) in the Sex and the City credits, she's half-naked in a tutu in the middle of New York at 40, you're just a little player compared to this myth...". And a while ago I came across this tutu on pinterest and I said to myself, OK, let's do this tutu, and I'll even try to rally you to my cause, by showing you how to wear it in 4 different ways, to be continued...

You'll see, I've simplified the steps as much as possible, I couldn't reduce the number of steps involved in making this Tutu more, I hope you like it... and I've made a little treat for myself, I've made one in white too...

Hugs and kisses!

To make this tutu in size M, you'll need..:

  • - Lining (160 cm x 60 cm rectangle)
  • - Fine tulle, very fine if possible ( three 250cm x 60cm rectangles)
  • - A strip of elasticated sequins, available in any funky haberdashery, (here 59 cm)
  • - Sew-on rhinestones,
  • - Scissors, pins, thread and needle.
 To begin, use an iron to hem the entire length of your lining (160 cm) to refresh your memory of "how it's done": see this short video... Then pin this hem fig.2. Machine-stitch this hem fig.3. On the opposite length, stitch 2 parallel seams along the entire length of the lining. You've just made gathers fig.4! Too easy, I know... Now you're going to pull the two bottom threads, or the two top threads, by pushing the fabric in the opposite direction, and here you are, gathering fig.5. Now I'd advise you to take a tape measure and measure your hip circumference, if I assure you it will come in handy, let's say your hip size is X cm... Now distribute all the gathers evenly over any length X fig.6. Now pick up the tulle, and do the same with the three bands, no need to hem them, but make a first seam along the entire length of the 250cm, fig. 7, then a second well parallel to the first fig.8.

 

Once your 2 seams are parallel, start gathering all your tulle strips along the famous length X of your hips. You're now preparing the ruffles of your future tutu... fig.1. Next, lay flat your lining and your tulle ruffles, all equally long, i.e. length X, fig.2. Using pins, attach the ruffles and lining fig.3, then machine-stitch to secure fig.4. Now grab your sequin elastic band, and you're telling me I've got X cm of hips and my band is 59cm, how do I do it? Ahaha it's easy, just start stitching the band to your tutu, pulling gently on your elastic so that the belt can go up to X cm of your hip circumference. Don't worry, you'll see everything's going to work out fig.5. Finish by sewing the ends of your tutu together on the wrong side, taking care to sew all the ruffles and lining at the same time. And TA- DA you've got your tutu, now you can proceed to customize it with sew-on rhinestones. Grab the thread coordinated with your tulle and the needle, and make stitches by hand, thread the rhinestone through the needle fig.6 and attach it to the tutu fig.7, make a knot and repeat the operation for the second hole... Too easy, no? Sit back and watch a TV series (Sex and the City, for example) and patiently embroider your rhinestones! and TA-DA (the real thing) fig.8.

tutus and cats are the story of my life...

March 25, 2013
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