So excited to have Cami from “Tidbits” back today, sharing her darling Holiday Tulle Skirts that she made for her little girls! The fluff is amazing, the elastic waist band is comfy, and since tulle is so inexpensive…..it’s the perfect holiday skirt!
-Ashley
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Hey guys, it’s Cami from Tidbits, back again! It’s that time of year again – and it’s happening just as I had predicted it would. It is the season of gift giving – and I am writing down lists and lists of all the things I plan and hope and dream of making for the loved ones in my life. Not to mention all the new decorations I want to create, and crafts I have to try with my kids, and parties I should throw . . . and . . . and then reality hits. And I have an anxiety attack. And I realize, that if I am lucky, 5% of that list will actually happen. So I start crossing things off and simplifying. And I can breathe again. But some things on that list, I just can’t seem to cross off. Even if I have to stay up until the wee hours of the night, I just have to get it done. These skirts for my daughters was one of those. They are poof-y, and twirl-y, and spin-y, and quite possibly the perfect festive outfit for when Christmas rolls around. Actually, I am pretty sure your little girl will think they are perfect for any time of the year. Come to think of it, I am also pretty sure you don’t need to be a “little girl” to enjoy a skirt like this.
However, I couldn’t resist some crushed tulle, once I ran my hand across it. So soft and it lays so nice.
And my girls love to prance around in their Christmas skirts. They were so upset when I told them they had to wait until the Sunday before Christmas to wear them out in public. Little do they know, I probably won’t be able to wait that long either!
If you know me, you know I have another little daughter in the middle of these two. She is getting the same type of skirt to go with it, I am just changing out the design a bit to spice things up. Feel free to check on my blog to see how you can vary the style!
If so, go buy yards and yards of tulle and keep reading because I’ll show you just how to make it!
A little note before you begin: There are probably many ways you could make this type of skirt. I show you the method I used which made the most sense in my head. Also, I was going for the easiest way possible to deal with so much fabric and bulk. I’ll try to give you as many tips as I can that helped make it easier along the way. Keep in mind, you can easily make size adjustment to this skirt. I will give you the yardage and measurements I used for my 8 and 3 year old to help guide you with how you can adapt it to your needs. But just know, tulle is very forgiving and adapts well. I wouldn’t fret too much about exactness in yardage. You can just gather it up as tight or as loose as you need, to get the look you are going for.
Before you go and buy your fabric, it is best to measure your child. Get the following measurements:
- Waist measurement – because it will sit higher than most waistlines, measure your child around their stomach at the belly button.
- Length measurement – this will be the length of the skirt. Start at the belly button and measure down to where you want the hem to sit. I did it about an inch below the knee.
Materials:
Wide Elastic – Select the color and width of the elastic you wish to use. Make sure you have the length of the waist measurement plus a 1/2 inch. (The black elastic I used was 2 inch wide). You actually need double that, as you will be using 2 layers of elastic.
Lining Fabric – You will need 2.5 times the waist measurement for the width of the fabric and the length of the fabric will be the length measurement (from up above) plus 1 inch. For example: My 8 year old’s waist measured 23 inches. I added 23 + 23 + 11.5 = 57.5, to figure how much width of the lining fabric I needed. Then her length measurement was 19 inches, so I made sure I had that much length, plus 1 inch to work with.
Tulle Fabric – You need a lot! I used 10 yards of tulle for my 8 year old and 5 yards for my 3 year old. This was what I used by gathering the tulle as tight as I could for the most fullness I could get. It is kind of guess work, but use my yardages to help estimate how much you need. If you get too much, it is easy to cut it down. If you don’t get quite enough you can just make your gathers looser rather than tighter. (quick tip: ask the workers at the cutting table to provide you with an empty bolt and wind your tulle back up onto that bolt, rather then trying to fold up a mess of fabric.)
First make the lining: Cut the lining to the dimensions mentioned above.
Decide which edge will be the bottom of the hem. Turn the raw ends over, 1/4 inch twice, and stitch the hem, enclosing the raw edge inside.
Press this seam open.
| (I know, it is white here. I decided later I wanted black) |
Stitch the ends of each elastic piece together, 1/4 inch away from the edge. Insert one elastic piece inside the other with wrong sides touching and matching at the end seams. Pin it together evenly if you need too.
| You might be confused by this picture as well. One elastic piece end is sewn together with a french seam and one is not. Do not do the french seam unless you are using only one layer of elastic. I figured out later it would look better with 2 layers of elastic. |
I chose to leave the full length of the tulle on the bolt, and I cut it to the correct hem while it was on her body after I sewed it all together. But you could also unwind the tulle and cut it the correct length you need before, and then wind it back up. Below I show you how I use the pre-folded edge of the tulle (which is at the top of the bolt of fabric) as the top edge of my skirt. This makes it simple to keep the 2 layers of tulle I need together and even. But you can choose to cut 2 layers the same length and width if you want to preserve fabric better. I was going for ease. :) With the tulle still wound up on the bolt, start sewing a gathering stitch 5/8 inch away from the edge, on the folded edge of the tulle. Leave your thread tails. (more on gathering here)
Unwind the tulle as you go, giving you enough slack as you sew. Sew for approximately 2 yards of length and stop and pull it all out of the machine, leaving long thread tails. Pull the bobbin thread until you have the desired gather on the top edge. I bunched it as much as I could. Tie tight knots at the beginning and end of the gathers, with your thread tails you left behind. This will make it so your gathering does not move or become un-gathered as you sew more.
Take it out of your machine and gather and tie just as you did before. Continue doing this to the tulle until you have reached the same measurement as the waist measurement (from up above).
Now with your lining and tulle prepped, you are ready to sew them together. Insert the lining into the tulle, wrong side of the tulle touching the right side of the lining. Pin them together along the top and then stitch them together along the top. Be sure your seam is past the gathering stitches.
And you’re finished!
Looking for more easy and cute DIY skirts for your little girls? Check these ones out:
Ashley Johnson is a DIY sewist, crafter, costume maker and home interior designer.
Thanks for checking out my DIY Tulle Skirt…with Wide Elastic Waist Band post. Check out my full collection of DIY Sewing articles. Find even more sewing projects, patterns, and tips for beginners and advanced sewists by Liz Call, Mariah Leeson, Randi Dukes and Tauni Everett.
I was glad to find a tutorial that does not base the design on a circle skirt! Did you use tulle that is 54" wide? I see there is 108" wide tulle available that I was planning to purchase. I'm planning to make a longer skirt for an adult.
When sewing on the waistband, do you need to stretch the elastic as you go, or will the zig zag stitch allow for enough movement?
Just found this through Pinterest and love the idea of a double elastic waistband! Just ‘threw’ two fairy princess skirts together with this concept. (With glitter everywhere but that’s proof the fairies were here)
Thanks for such a helpful tute.
Hi! I have never worked with crushed tulle before – can you tell me what happens to the length? I’d like my skirt to be floor length but I’m wondering how much the tulle stretches out as it is worn. I’m thinking I probably need to make it a bit shorter than I actually want it to be… Advice would be MUCH appreciated!
Love your post!
Tracey
Thank you, for the princess tulle skirt tutorial, I know a. Little Princess that would love one!
Thank you for your DIY. I have been searching through different tulle skirt tutorials and yours is the BEST! My 16 and 20-year-old daughters are headed to Paris in three weeks and tulle skirts are a wardrobe must. I am able to make several skirts and stay within our budget. Thanks for the great details. Much appreciated!
the photos are not working!! ACK!
I didn’t print this out previously – please help!
So sorry about that, there were a few errors in the images….but they are fixed now!
I absolutely love this! I want to make one for my baby’s first bday but the pictures in the directions part are not loading for me :(
Is there any way you can email me the directions??
I would greatly appreciate:)
Jayjq2005@yahoo.com
So sorry about that….the images had a few errors but are now fixed. Enjoy!
This looks so much better than the strips of tulle that I have been doing! Looks great!!! As for the socks, my 16 (almost 17) year old says most girls wear mismatched socks intentionally, or out of not feeling like matching them, as part of her chores. :-)
Hi
This is a great tutorial, I like the idea of putting two elastics to make casing of sorts!!
Does the stitches you used on the elastics allow for stretching or did you stretch as you sewed?
I am also wondering this. I’m making a skirt for a teenager and I want to make sure the elastic will stretch. From what I’ve read, a zig zag stitch does allow for a stretch. I’m just wondering how that affects the tulle for a teen skirt since it needs to stretch quite a hit to go over her bum.
Thanks for the directions. Sounds pretty easy. Will be making one for granddaughter’s 3rd birthday.
Cami, thank you! Yes I’m going to try that now. I made one for my older daughter through another tutorial and am hoping this will be a bit simpler to manage (all the tulle gets confusing and messy). Thanks again.
Wait why am I not comprehending this? So sew a running stitch on the tulle all the way to the end of the fabric and then how does it become multi layered? Do I wrap the gathered tulle around itself repeatedly to get layers before sewing it onto the lining? Sorry, looked up multiple tutorials and can not seem to understand this part for some reason. I’m sure it’s super simple too. Thank you in advance!
The skirt is 2 layers of tulle, and one layer of lining. I made the running stitch on the fold of the tulle, thus making it 2 layers. Then it was easy to gather those two layers together, at the same time. Hope that helps!
I love these skirts! I was wanting to make a few for my daughter, and this is perfect.
And this: “I do hope I have convinced you to add a “tulle skirt” to your unrealistic list of things to make before Christmas comes. (At least I’m hoping I’m not the only one with a list like that.) ” makes me so glad to know there are others out there with a list like that! Share the insanity!
Haha! I think us crafters have a definite problem with our “lists”!
Gorgeous!!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow morning that links to your tutorial:
https://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-tulle-skirt-with-a-wide-elastic-waistband/2014/12/09/
–Anne
My girls need these in their lives!
I love these beautiful skirts! I want to make one for my granddaughter. Can you please explain “slight zigzag” stitch? What was your stitch width and stitch length? Thank you.
Thank you for your question. Let me clarify a little. Basically, my stitch is a very small zig zag. This allows for a little stretch, but doesn’t look so much like a zig zag at first glance. I believe my stitch width was around 2-3 and my length was 2.5. Hope that helps!
That’s exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you!
So adorable! Your kids are beautiful and you explain everything very well
love it!
Thank you so much!