Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Tutu Tutorial- Happy Together's Dress Up Skirt!

Ok guys, for this week's Tutu Tutorial Tuesday I've got an extra special treat, Jessica from Happy Together has oh so graciously agreed to write a wonderful "Dress up Skirt" tutorial for the Tutu Drive! (read all the Tutu Drive details here) I'm SO excited to have her be a part of this, I'm sure you all read Happy Together but if you've somehow missed it please go take a peak (after you churn out the following project of course) it's an amazing craft/mommy blog & has been one of my favorite reads for over a year now. But enough rambling, I'm gonna let Jess take over...

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica from Happy Together.
I am a blessed mom to my daughter and wife to my hubby who gets some extra time to craft and share about it on my blog. I also have an Etsy store where I sell patterns and a few creations from time to time.

When Natasha contacted me about her tutu drive, I knew I had to help out. I have known young ones who have gone through some serious illnesses, like cancer, and I know how even the littlest thing can bring such joy to their lives.


Little things like fun dress up clothes :) So they can pretend to be pretty princesses or astronauts in space....


I decided to do a tutorial for a dress up skirt, which you can use all tulle (to make it more "tutuish") or you can add other types of materials as well. Enjoy and I hope you are able to contribute to this cause some way if you feel led to.

The Dress Up Skirt Tutorial

The Dress Up Skirt Sizing Chart

*The above chart indicates the size (I stuck to Natasha's chart she posted earlier), the length of 3/4" braided elastic needed, and the height x length that the material needs to be. For the trims, you need enough that is the length of the fabric tier.

*Suggested fabrics: The easiest to deal with will be fabrics that don't fray, like tulle, nylon chiffon, lace, etc. But I also used satins, organza, and silk for them to be fancy.

*I didn't have enough time to calculate the specific yardage, but some simple math can help out. I ended up using fabric from my stash and just had to sew some pieces together to make it long enough.

*I did several layers on mine, but you could even just do one if you like.

1. Take your piece of fabric and sew the height (short) sides together, right sides facing if applicable. Repeat for any other layers you will be adding.
*Tip: If doing more than one layer, you can make the heights differ so they are more tiered like.



2. Sew on ribbons, pom poms, lace, other trims, etc. onto the bottom of the layer(s).I found some amazing $1 spools that had plenty of trim on them for one layer at JoAnn's and Micheal's. I also had some stuff from $1 grab bags that I had bought from Hobby Lobby.

Pretty trimmed layers
Pretty Trims

*If using fabrics that fray, I suggest one of the following: -add a bit to the height so you can make a hem; -use a zigzag stitch over the edge; -or leave if for a frayed look on purpose.

3. Place layers together and pin together.



*Note: I made some layers longer in width than others, so I just kind of pleated them and pinned them on to equal the other layers length.

4. Sew 1/4" in at the top and finish the raw edge (Meaning: use a v or zigzag stitch on your sewing machine to catch the edges)

5. Turn inside out and fold top down (towards the inside part) 1 inch. Sew in place right on top of where you sewed in #3, but make sure to leave about a 1" opening for the elastic to go in.



6. Place a safety pin on the end of your elastic piece. Thread it into the 1" opening all the way around the casing you just made. Bring it out and place the ends on top of each other (make sure elastic didn't get twisted inside). Sew together.

7. Push elastic in opening and sew that opening shut.

Dress up Skirts for Tutu Drive


Imagination Quote

Thank you to all who are able to help, even if you can just say a prayer for children in these situations, you have done more than you will ever know......

Oh my goodness Jess, those are ADORABLE!!! Seriously stinkin' cute. I'm definitely going to churn some out & after the tutu drive is over you better believe Samster is going to get one like the light blue one you made! Thank you SO much for taking the time to write us such a great tutorial!

Samster readers, please go check out Jessica's blog, Happy Together, you won't be disappointed!

19 comments:

  1. I am going to make about a million of these to go with the million stuffed tutus I am also going to make. :) I LOVE all these tutus!!!!! LOVE!

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  2. Jess made an awesome tutorial! I'm SO making one!

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  3. Oh, WOW! These are fabulous!! What little girl wouldn't feel like a princess wearing one of those skirts?

    I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-twirly-dress-up-skirt-for-little-girls/2010/07/06/

    --Anne

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  4. I'm for sure sending a few of these!

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  5. Love those! I have been blogging about this tutu drive and did a little tutorial the other day with it as well. busylizzybows.blogspot.com

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  6. Those are just so cute! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Sent you an email! A tea time tutu is on it's way to you!

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  8. great tutorial, lovely project. i love seeing all those variations on a classic. truly inspirational!!!!

    so, for this reason: i am inviting you to link it up at our DIY TUTORIAL linky party http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-tutorial-linky-party-6/
    so our readers can find you and your blog!

    weekly linky, so you can come back every week with some tutorials and we’d love to feature you!

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  9. I have made several and find it is so much easier than working with tulle. Mine have turned out so cute.

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  10. My goodness!!! I love this! I have so much fabric sitting around! I think I am going to make one for my daughter later this week! I am super excited. And I will be making one for a birthday present!

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  11. These skirts are so cute. I have a little boy, so I made these for a friend's little girls. I added a stuffed tutu in the middle and it is wonderful. Thank you for sharing! :)

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  12. I love these tutus. So cute! I made two for my niece... http://dannyandginapalmer.blogspot.com/2010/08/dress-up-skirts.html

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  13. I love these tutus! My husband just made one for my daughter for Christmas. It turned out beautiful. Thanks for the tutorial, it helped a ton.

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  14. These are so cute! I linked back here from my blog (www.daisysgarden.ca). I made two out of scraps I had in my stash and plan to make more! Thank you!

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  15. Adorable!!! I have to make some as soon as possible.. than you for the inspiration!! :o)

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  16. Love this! Can't wait to make it! What kind of fabric is the top layer of the cream skirt? Is it a striped organza?

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