How to Make a Baby/Toddler Tutu

I am so excited to share this tutorial!!! It turned out so darn cute!!! Now that I have you all wondering what I'm all excited about...... TAKE A LOOK!

 Caitlin, her sister Becky (Miriam's Mommy), and I made a baby tutu for Miriam! Even though she looks pissed off in the picture, she loves her tutu! 

The supplies you will need for the tutu is:

1. Tulle - I used tulle that was 6 inches wide and came in a spool that was 20 yards long. I did not use all 20 yards on the tutu. How much tulle you use depends on how long you want the tutu to be and of course the size of the baby, toddler, or child you are making it for. I bought my tulle at Michaels and off ebay.
2. A crochet headband - I used one that is meant for an adult, for a new born baby you can use a baby crochet headband, for older kids and toddlers I would suggest buying elastic and then using that as the part for around the waist. I bought the crochet headband at Sally Beauty Supply for $.99.

Step 1: Cut the Tulle
We cut the tulle 12 inches in length, we cut enough beforehand to do the complete tutu. This is not an exact science, we just eye balled it and ended up with a couple left over in the end. Remember that since we will be using the slip knot, the finished tutu will only end up being 6 inches long. You do not have to use the same length as us, if you are making the tutu for a brand new baby go shorter, for a toddler/child go longer.

Step 2: Steady the Crochet Headband
I placed the one we were working with on a giant jar of peanut butter. It was the perfect size. 

 

Step 3: Slip Knots Galore!
We decided to make the top layer of our tutu baby pink of course! To create the top layer take one piece of your cut tulle and fold it in half (picture 1), then put the loop through one of the loops of the crochet headband (picture 2), now take the end of the tulle and put it through the loop and pull tight (picture 3), the slip knot once it is completed will end up looking like picture 4. Keep doing the same thing over and over with the tulle you cut until you have completed the whole first layer (picture 5).

 

Step 4: The Second Layer
We went for a nice light yellow for the second layer. You will basically do the same thing you did for the first layer. However, since you are using the second row of the crochet headband there is a slight adjustment on how you will put your tulle through the headband. As you can see from pictures 2 and 3 you will need to put the loop through one hole and then back out the hole directly above it. Then you would use the end of the tulle put it through the loop and pull tight just like before. Keep doing that until you are done the whole second layer. Once your have completed the second layer you are done and ready to dress up your favourite little girl!

Here is a picture of Becky working on the tutu and Caitlin smiling for the camera! (this is a cell phone pic)

 Here is another picture of Miriam LOVING her tutu! The flash was really bright so I got more deer in the headlights pictures of her instead of ones where she is actually smiling.

A couple of things to take note:

1. You can do solid layers like we did, or you can mix it up by alternating one pink and yellow on the same layer.
2. You don't have to stop at two layers, you can actually put up to 4 layers on the crochet headbands (depending on the one you get of course). We stopped at two layers because we were worried it would be too much for Miriam when she was crawling if we did more.
3. For older girls you can always glue on sequins, rhinestones, flat pearls, etc onto the tulle to decorate it. We obviously didn't do that cause little objects and babies don't mix well.  

How did your Tutus turn out? What colours did you use?

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen
http://craftsandnails.blogspot.com