How to make a tutu.

This project came about when a friend of mine and I were discussing our babies' first birthdays. She wanted a tutu for her little girl and sent me a picture. She complained that she couldn't find anywhere that made tutus.

So curiosity got me and I researched it. There are a lot of places in America to buy tutus and many on places like Etsy but that means Dollars and shipping and with the exchange rate being what it is I doubt she would want to pay $25 minimum for a tutu that her baby may wear once. My brain and hands said " You know, we could so make that and for a whole lot less." So we did.

I found a great site www.misstutu.com which gives you a free video lesson on how to make a basic tutu using tulle and elastic. I tried it out and made a few modifications to suit my needs. Here are a few tips and tricks I learnt:

• Tulle comes in different stiffnesses  and the hard tulle will make the tutu flair out more but is very scratchy. My material shop stocked only hard tulle but what she uses in the video is more like mesh which comes in many colours and is super soft.
• The elastic tends to stretch as you put on more strands and I found this frustrating so I switched to ribbon and simply knotted where it would tie and left some extra to tie a bow. It looks very pretty and is more adjustable.
• I varied the length of my tutus according to age and height of the child (I used the Naartjie kids clothing size guide) and used a standard tulle strip width of 10cm.

As with all the items featured on this blog if you would like to order any of the tutus or make a request for me to make something you have seen please send me an email at jen.astara@gmail.com

And here are the results:

I added some detail to the yellow and pink tutus:

 

And I thought I'd share how to make these embellishments:

Ribbon Roses

• Measure out a length of ribbon in the colour and width of you choice ( the wider the ribbon the bigger the rose). I used about 20cm (40cm as it's folded) length of a 25mm ribbon. Hint: Don't cut the ribbon as you will waste a portion of it in the later steps if you do.

 

• At the halfway mark (so 20cm in this case) fold the ribbon so it forms a 90 degree angle.

 

 

• Fold the bottom piece up over the first fold.

 

 

• Then fold the left side over to the right. Repeat this process now folding the top piece down and the left piece to the right etc. to form a concertina. Continue until the end of the ribbon.

 

 

 

• Holding the two ends between your thumb and index finger let go of the concertina so it opens up. Don't let go or it will unravel.

 

• While loosely holding the ends pull the longest end so that the ribbon bunches up on top of your thumb and index finger. Pull until all of the ribbon has bunched together and your rose is as tight as you would like it.

 

 

 

 







• Stitch the rose together by sewing through the middle ensuring all the layers are  linked together. This may require a few stitches to achieve. You can now trim the long end and the rose can be sewn onto the tutu.

 
Butterfly Bows

• Using 5mm ribbon wrap it around your index and middle finger three (or more) times to form concentric loops. Trim away any extra ribbon.

 

 

• Pinch the loops in the middle and tie a length of the same ribbon (the length is your choice) around the middle to secure them. Separate the loops to form a butterfly.

 

How to Start a Blog...

One day I was sitting in the staffroom of the high school, where I was teaching English at the time, and as is my custom, was showing off my latest creation to my friends and colleagues. One of my friends then suddenly turned to me and said, "You know, you're so bloody talented I swear we could give you a tin can and a piece of string and you could make a penguin."

Many years later that has stuck with me and I thought about my many talents and just how frustrated I was with not finding a job that used them. Nothing changed, I did a job I hated because that's just what you do and my talents sat on the side line occasionally being used to whip up an interesting birthday card or gourmet cupcakes just for fun. Then everything changed.

I had a baby. He changed my world and my way of thinking. Here is this little boy who I am going to tell to follow his dreams and always try his best and nurture his talents yet here I sit, the hypocrite, who hasn't done any of it. I had to go back to work and I was miserable. I became ill, physically and emotionally. To top it all off my baby had some issues and I had to take him back and forth to doctors and x-ray departments and it just became too much. I took a leap of faith and resigned.

Maybe the universe was trying to send me a message, maybe not either way I'm going to give this my all and show the world what I've got.

I am a kleptomaniac... I steal with my eyes and my head and hands say, "You know, we could so make that and it wouldn't cost half as much.".  So this blog is my challenge: to look around and see just how far I can push my creative talents; food, clothes, paper crafts, birthday parties, confectionery you name it. And if I can't do it I'm sure going to find someone who can and showcase their talents.

And here we go...