Tutu easy

My baby girl is turning 1 next week. Yes... very bittersweet. I am however tickled pink (literally) to throw my very first girly birthday party! But since we are on a budget, I am forced to be crafty.

YAY!

Even though many of my crafts or d.i.y. projects LOOK homemade, I still get a strange sense of pride, just knowing that I DID IT!

So anyway... back to the party!

I have been doing a lot of online window shopping to compare prices on tutus, because I so desperately want my little darling to wear a tutu on her birthday. Don't ask why... I don't know! It's just girly! Well, remember that part about being on a budget?? Yep... there was no way my baby was going to be in a tutu, on the budget I've set, but since I already had the idea, I was determined to find a way!!

After all of my research on tutus, I discovered LOTS of people making their own no-sew versions, and selling them on Etsy, Ebay, and other online venues, and I thought to myself...

"If they can do it, so can I!"

I began tulle shopping, and discovered why everyone and their dog is making these tutus... tulle is incredibly cheap! (I would like to say sorry to all of my friends out their who are trying to make a living off of tutus... I'm quite sure yours are worth the asking price and much more polished and finished than my own.)

I quickly bought 2 lovely shades of pink, 6 inch wide, spools of tulle. Altogether with the shipping and handling, it was a whopping $6!!! My budget was loving me!

I originally bought ribbon to tie it onto, but before I opened it, I thought really hard about any way I could simplify the steps, and of course... try to use something I already have. I LOVE it when I can repurpose something I already have!

Too save time trying to measure my squirmy little red-head's waist, and trying to figure out the length needed to create and fasten the ribbon or elastic, I grabbed a stained pair of elastic waisted pants that were way to short for her now, and simply cut the waist band off, leaving me with an easy on-and-off, perfect fitting waistband.

I then cut 1 ft sections of the darker "rose" colored tulle, and 18 inch sections of the lighter pink. Why? Because I like to complicate an already simple thing. :)

I started a pattern as I knotted them around the band. I would tie on 2 of the shorter rose pieces with the knots centered on the outside of the band, then 1 of the longer light pink ones, with the knot going straight down on the bottom edge of the band. This way the shorter darker ones create a puffier tutu around the waist, while the light pink falls beneath in more of a skirt like tutu.

Some of you may like it more simple, and can use just one of the techniques, to acheive whatever affect you are looking for.

But I am more than satisfied with my end result for the purpose and price that I was aiming for.

I used:

-2 shades of tulle

-old elastic waistband from some cotton pants