You guys, I\’ve been wanting one of these since I first saw that we\’ve all decided that it’s socially acceptable for adult women to wear tutus. I love tutus. And like all of my sewing projects…I\’ve had the plan to make one of these for over a year. FINALLY, it happened. I used a mixture of tutorials and patterns-what I\’ve come up with is unique because it feels like the comfort of a maxi skirt, but has the fun flair of a tutu. This tutorial is the one that I followed the most closely if you want to take a look. I didn’t want to bother with an elastic waist, so I used stretch knit to have a more maxi-skirt like waist band that is SUPER comfy.
I used:
- 1 yard of stretch knit
- 6 yards of tulle or netting. Mine is netting which stands out more, Tulle will lay down more-chose which flavor you want.
- stretch needle (I can’t say this is NECESSARY, but I do think it’s helped me when working with stretch knit.
Step One: Decide how long you want your skirt to be. Because I only bought a yard of stretch knit, I\’m doing a more laid down underskirt. If you want a fuller underskirt (a full circle) you\’ll want more stretch knit (we\’ll come back to the knit). Once you\’ve decided the length, cut your netting/tulle into squares that are double that size.
Stack all of those squares on top of each other-lining up all of the folds (I was able to get 5 layers-you can make more or less depending on how big you want your skirt to be).
The way you determine the inner circle’s radius is this formula: circumference of your hips divided by 3.14 divided by 2. Make sure you do your hips and not your waist! You need this hole to fit over your hips so you can pull your skirt on. We\’ll gather the waist more later. If you want a fuller circle underskirt, this is how you would cut your stretch knit as well. If you’re looking to do it like mine, I cut a rectangle the same length as the rest of the skirt and sewed one seam, leaving me with a tube.
After stacking all of your tulle/netting on top of each other your circle will ideally look something like this-you should be able to climb into it and easily slide it over your hips. Baste all of the layers together.
To make a waist band, measure how wide you are where you want your skirt to sit. Subtract 4 and that is how long your stretch knit waistband should be. You also need to determine how wide you want your waistband to be-I like mine to be around 7 inches wide so when it’s folded in half it’s around 3 inches tall finished. Sew your waistband together and fold it in half-pretty sides on the outside. Match up the back seams of the waistband and the underskirt and put the tulle layer in between the two, pretty sides together. You\’ll want to gather a bit as you pin and be aware that you\’ll want to stretch your waistband as you sew too so it gathers everything.
I\’ve learned the trick with stretch knit is to always sew using a slight zig-zag. The B setting on my machine is perfect for this.
Finished product! All 3 layers should be put together! If I had a serger I would serge them together as well to finish it off.
All I had to do was hem the underskirt and I was done and ready for date night!
Adult Tutu was a huge success! I had little girls left and right telling me how pretty my princess skirt was, and was I Ariel? It was my favorite.
Have questions about this tutorial? Comment below and let me know if I can help!