Making a tutu skirt for girls is an incredibly easy and quick DIY project. Learn how to make a fun no-sew tulle skirt in less than 30 minutes, even if you don’t consider yourself a creative or crafty person.
A cute little girl in a tutu skirt will brighten up anyone’s day!
My toddler daughter loves dressing like a princess every single day. She picks the most adorable clothes and combinations – and by this, I mean one or two dresses PLUS one or two skirts – she goes by „more is more”.
Being able to create and find joy in everyday life is truly amazing.
In case you have some tulle fabric at your fingertips, maybe you can surprise your little princess with a cute and fluffy tutu skirt made by yourself.
I love creating beautiful tulle skirts, but occasionally I enjoy simple and quick projects that can be done without a sewing machine. To make this easy tutu skirt for my 2.5-year-old daughter, I spent half an hour in the afternoon.
Related: The best scissors for sewing
Looking for a fun and educational activity for your little ones? Try this free maze generator – customizable mazes that will entertain and engage young minds!
Before you start making your own tutu skirt, you might want to check this tutu size chart for children. The chart is based on estimates, so it’s always best to accurately take your child’s measurements.
The length of your tutu skirt is entirely up to you – you can make it shorter or longer, there’s no wrong or right length. These measurements are for (approximately) above knee tutus.
Because I had tulle fabric in multiple colors, I also made this rainbow no-sew tutu skirt for my daughter. I used 10 different colors, and approximately 6 strips of tulle from each color. In total there are about 60 strips of tulle fabric.
Here’s how to whip up a simple no-sew tutu skirt that will make any little girl feel like a princess.
Step 1
First, decide how long or short you want the tutu skirt to be. Then, take the desired finished length and multiply it by 2. Next, add 1.5 or 2 inches to this number to get your strip length.
I used 118-inches wide soft tulle fabric, so I folded the yardage 3 times. This way, the width of the fabric becomes approximately 14.7 inches. The fabric piece in the picture below has 8 layers of tulle. Now, you can easily cut the tulle with a rotary cutter or scissors.
The desired length for my tutu is 10 inches, and the strip length is 24 inches.
As a result, I cut two such fabric pieces – each 24 inches long and 118 inches wide.
This is enough to make a tutu skirt in 3T size.
Important tip! Please notice that the tulle fabric stretches in one direction. You must cut the strips along the direction with hardly any stretch.
If you use tulle from spools, you’ll need about 2 to 6 25-yards long rolls of 6-inch wide tulle for the tutu skirt, depending on the person wearing it. It’s a good idea to buy more tulle than you need.
Most tutu skirt are solid colored, but feel free to mix different colors of tulle to create something fun and unique.
Step 2
Next, I folded one of my fabric pieces (118 x 24 inches) in half lengthwise, then folded in half widthwise – so I ended up with a rectangle 59-inches long and 12 inches wide. Then I started to cut my tulle strips.
I chose to make each strip 4 inches wide.
After each cut, I got two tulle strips 24 inches long and 4 inches wide.
Each tulle fabric piece gave me 28 such strips.
Now that I’ve finished cutting the tulle, I ended up with 56 strips of tulle fabric, waiting to be tied into a cute tutu skirt.
Step 3
So, now we prepare the elastic waistband.
If you want this project to be a total no-sew, you can glue the ends of the elastic together, but I wouldn’t really recommend that – it feels a little bulky. I chose to sew by hand the ends of the elastic, and finished in less than 1 minute!
You can use a ribbon instead of elastic for the waistband, but I prefer elastic because this way it’s easier for the child to put on the skirt without any help.
Step 4
Now let’s have some fun.
I put the elastic around my leg so it’s easier to tie the tulle strips.
Take one strip of tulle and fold it in half. Grab the two ends of the tulle strip and bring them up through the loop.
After that, pull the tulle strip tight, securing it around the elastic.
Repeat this step with all the tulle strips until the entire elastic is covered.
Step 5
Lay the tutu skirt on the floor and use your fingers to comb through the tulle from the waist down to the hem. Trim some tulle strips if needed.
And that’s it!
These tutu skirts are perfect for pretend play, lightening up the mood, spontaneous parties, and can help create the most amazing photos.
With basic care like hand-washing, storing the tutu on a clothes hanger and ironing on a low-temperature, this tutu skirt should last for years. As your little girl grows, you can untie a few tulle strips and then add elastic to get longer wear from it!
Let’s keep in touch! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Παρα πολυ ωραιος ο τροπος που μας δειχνετε !!!!! με βοηθησε πολυ για να κανω φουστα tutu στην εγγονουλα μου… να ειστε καλα….
How much yardage do you think it takes for that tutu?
Thanks, Joan
Hi Joan,
Well, it actually varies depending on what size you want, what kind of tulle you’re using, and how fluffy you want your skirt to be. For my own tutu, I used tulle that’s 118 inches wide, and I needed about 1.5 yards of it. I made it with 56 strips of tulle, each one being 4 inches wide.
Just LOVE this idea! We have to make a bunch for school and this is a way even non-sewers can help. When I got to purchase bolts of tulle, how many yards do you think each one will take to make? Thanks so much!!!
Violeta que linda eres con todas las explicaciones, Ye estoy saludando desde Bogotá / Colombia y tengo una nieta de 6 meses y voy a hacerle el tutu.
Me encantó tu energía y tus explicaciones a cada pregunta eso me parece muy lindo tomarte el tiempo de responder sin envidias, mil y mil gracias
Hola Maria,
Usted está aún más linda! Tu comentario me alegró el día 🙂 Usé google translate para escribir esto, porque no se mucho español (un idioma tan hermoso!).
Los mejores deseos para ti! Buena suerte con tu falda de tul <3
How wide is the elastic? Can’t wait to make one for my granddaughter, sweet baby girl Sophie!
Hi Kathy,
My elastic is 1″ wide, but you can use whatever you have at the ready. 1/2″ wide elastic is fine too, especially for a baby tutu skirt. Please see the answer I gave to Darlene below to get a grasp of how to cut your elastic piece.
Hi. I like your Aweeesome!! 👍🏽Tutorial👍🏽and you have Inspired me to Try and make one for the First time for my 2 yr old Granddaughter🥰Princess👸🏽Aaliyah🥰 so What would you Recommend the Best tulle to use? and I’m kinda Confused about the Elastic size for a 2yr old bcuz I’ve seen Charts that say 17″ Waist and then to Cut off an Inch bcuz the Elastic will Stretch
Signed
#ConfusedGrammie🤔
Hi Darlene,
You’re so sweet, thank your for your kind words!
The best tulle for tutu skirts is soft tulle fabric, in my opinion. There is a cheaper type of tulle, that is stiffer, scratchy, and itchy and I don’t like it on my skin either, not to mention my kids’ skin.
Anyway, don’t overthink this, just observe the way the fabric feels when it is touched. If you like it, it’s all good!
As for the length of the elastic, there’s no single formula because there are so many different types, and some are more or less comfortable when stretched. It’s best to try on the elastic before.
How do you do this? First, try on a piece of the elastic yourself – how does it feel if you cut it at waistline measurement? If it’s comfortable, use that measurement. If it’s too loose, you need to subtract 1 or 2 inches, if it’s tight add some more. You’ll have to do approximately the same thing for your granddaughter’s elastic piece.
Anyway, in the end, I always fold my elastic into a loop and overlap the ends by 1/2 inch – then I take that loop and put it against the cutting mat and try to evaluate the situation by stretching it a little. Back in the day, I used 5-liter water bottles to put my tutu skirts to the test. 😊
I love this. However my tulle had lots of static doesn’t look as flat and pretty. I tried static gaurd, ironing on low with a mist of wzter. It didn’t help. Any tips how to help with the static. I’m totally frustrated by it.
Hi Stephanie,
The quick solution is to spray your fabric with water and a little bit of fabric softener – I tried it, it really works, but I don’t like the way the skirt wrinkles afterward…
The better solution (in my opinion) takes more time and effort – you have to humidify the air in your sewing room. Maybe use a humidifier, or place a bowl of water near a heat source. For quick results, just bring a pot of boiling water into the room. The indoor air is quite dry in the winter. Good luck!
What length of elastic do I use for 0-3 months? I’m also wanting to make one for a toddler is their a size chart that you use for bigger kids too??
Do you mean fold into 3rds? I’m very confused.
Hi Susan,
The whole idea is to end up with approximately 56 tulle strips 24 inches long and 4 inches wide.
How you do that – well, that depends on your tulle fabric… mine was very very wide (118 inches) so I folded it in half three times until the width of the fabric became 14.7 inches (118:2, then 59:2, then 29:2).
If you have 54″ tulle fabric, it’s enough to fold it in half two times.
This step is only for convenience purposes, this way it’s much easier to cut the desired tulle pieces.