December 20, 2012

DIY tulle skirt tutorial



clutch: gigi new york   skirt: self-made  top: forever 21  watch: gift  belt&shoes: old

I'm so excited about this skirt! I found it easier to make than I imagined even though it did take a couple trial by errors. But honestly, I want to wear this everyday....I just need a party to go to...unless you were like me and you wear it out to run everyday errands. And oh did I go the funniest looks, it was hilarious - people sneaking glances when that I caught in the reflection off the freezer section's doors. I loved it. It didn't help that I paired it with boots and a camo-jacket. Instructions after the below!
On another note, I rarely used clutches due to the whole having a new baby thing, but now that he is older, I started to carry around smaller bags and kept diapers/wipes in the car if I really needed them. I just love the smaller clutches, they are so beautiful. This gigi new york clutch is one of my favorites too, with its gold tassels and real leather, the I had the hardest time choosing from all the colors, hence the black.

Pictures done by the talented Corey Bryson.

Me waiting....in the snow.....

Supplies:
6-13 yards of tulle
1.5 - 2 yards of lining - I used a thin knit that matched the tulle perfectly
elastic the width, when stretched, to the natural waist
scissors
thread
pins
optional - static guard
Instructions:
1. How much and what kind of tulle to buy - find the softest/flowy-est tulle you can. I found some for $.75 a yard at Ja-anns. Mine was still pretty stiff, but after some washing, ironing and some static guard, the tulle softens up a bit.
*6 yards - If the width of the tulle (selvage to selvage) is 54" you can use 1.5 yards per layer, do at least 6 yards if you want 4 layers and the skirt to be around knee length at the longest (unless you are really tall or you have wider hips).
*13 yards - If the width of the tulle is less than 54" or you want the skirt to be longer oryou have wider hips, or you want to be safe (I bought 14 yards originally) then you will need to buy more.
***I did the two bottom layers the first way, by folding 1.5 yards in half and not gathering the waist. and the top two layers I cut individually from the 2 pieces of 60" laying on top of each other,  so I can cut deeper into the waist for a greater gather.
2. Cut the tulle into the circle or half circle depending on the size you're going for with these two simple calculations. The easiest way to do this is to take a longer measuring tulle (can reach at least as long as you need) and put one end at the center of the fold where the center of you waist will be and cut a half circle out by slowly sliding the measurement devise around like a rainbow or half circle. then to do the waist, repeat with the radius of your waist size.
 For the bottom two layers and the lining, you won't gather the waist to help the skirt not be too poofy. To cut this out of the tulle fold the 1.5 yards of tulle in half, (unless you are going to use more then do the 60" on 60") and mark out a half circle from off the fold - take your hip size divided by pie (3.14), then divided by 2 gives you a radius. Then add that radius to the length you would want the skirt. 
hip / 3.14 / 2 = Radius + skirt length = half circle template for non-gathered layers
To do the the top two gathered layers you need to do the same equation as above, but add 2-4 inches to the radius to create the gather for the waist. But you still need to make sure the length of the skirt equals the same length of the skirt's above  even though this one has a deeper waist.
hip / 3.14 / 2  + 2"-4" = gathered waist's radius + skirt length = half circle template for gathered layers
-After you have cut the half circle or whole depending on your folding/tulle amount you need, cut out the waists.
3. Once you have cut them all out, sew up the sides to complete the circles if you used the second method of cutting (when you are using more tulle). Check out the dotted lines in step 3 of the diagram.
4. Gather the waist's of the top two gathered layers to your hip size by sewing a basting stitch along the top knotting it at one end and not the other. Gather the skirt by pulling the thread to your hip size. You can see that in picture picture 4.
5. Sew the 4 tulle layers together with a straight stitch.
6. Sew the elastic's ends together, try it on and make sure it fits snug and it can slide over your hips.
7. Sew the lining to the elastic with a zig zag stitch. Do this by placing the wrong side and the raw edge of the lining to the elastic, then stretch the elastic to fit the opening of the lining. There will be a little of a gather from the elastic.
8. Repeat step 7 with the tulle layers.
7. Trim the excess fabric.
9. Flip the elastic over the newly trimmed raw edge to hide it, so the top of the elastic, will now be the bottom. Sew the lining down to the bottom of the elastic on the inside of the skirt.
---no hemming necessary, tulle doesn't fray. You may need to hem the lining if you used a fray-able lining. Mine was knit so I didn't need to.




78 comments:

  1. You look gorgeous! The skirt turned out so cute.
    Love your hair :)

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  2. you're the best :) ant you look just perfect!!

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  3. Only a doll like you can pull this look off! Gorgeous girlie!

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  4. love it!!! great place for the photos too!

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  5. oh my goodness absolutely beautiful! you look like a snow princess!!! the skirt and the snow is just perfect together :) i wasn't into the whole tulle skirt trend but after seeing this, i think i want one!

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  6. How can anyone look so pretty and be so talented?? I looove your skirt! Definitely trying to do it as well :))

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  7. You look so gorgeous! The photos are amazing and the outfit is just wow!

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  8. Okay this is so awesome!! I absolutely love this look- very excited to try it! Thanks for sharing!!

    p.s. I'm having a giveaway on my blog today- check it out! x
    http://www.laurenbrumfield.com/2012/12/thursday-giveaway.html

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  9. Okay, in the SNOW?! I live in Santa barbara and I'm not daring enough to rock that in the winter. I am a baby, though, when it comes to cold.

    Love the skirt, made something similar when I was in college for Halloween. It was my favorite costume yet!

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  10. This is fantastic. You wear the tulle well. It doesn't look over done but instead sweet and classy. Lovely.

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  11. I can't believe how much you can accomplish! You're a mom, a master seamstress, AND a blogger? Where are you hiding the magic potion?!?

    That being said, I LOVE this skirt! It's so romantic and playful and beautiful. Kind of reminds me of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex & the City!

    xoxo,
    Emily
    emilyannestyle.com

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  12. I am definitely going to have to try to make this! You look like a lovely little snow princess :)
    peace&love, Jill
    Favor the Brave
    Enter my giveaway here!

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  13. You rock it. I would have smiled and given you the thumbs up in the grocery store.

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  14. oh my goodness... this is ADORABLE.
    and the pics are LOVELY.
    i want to see the boot/camo jacket outfit :)

    xo - heather
    www.ThisLifeIsYours.com

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  15. I Love it. I'm will be for sure calling or knocking if I have any questions. I'm so excited!!!!

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  16. I've failed making so many skirts, but this one doesn't seem all that hard. perhaps in the new year? :)

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  17. Awesome,,,thanks so much for this tute!!!

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  18. A multi layered tulle circle skirt? What a great idea! You look lovely! I'm totally making one for my daughter. :)

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  19. I love your DIY!! your blog is such an inspiration.
    http://claudiameetspink.blogspot.com

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  20. These pictures are absolutely magical. You are so stunning, lady!

    The skirt is lovely, I'll have to give making one a whirl. Perfect for party season.

    Lauren x
    Gordon + Gold

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  21. This is my first time commenting on your blog....
    I say, too cute, and I would have told you so at the market!

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  22. Im kind of dying inside.
    Seriously.
    One day I may be able to figure something like this out. Until then I shall sit and admire.
    Way to be AWESOME.

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  23. If only I had my sewing machine with me! Love this. You are awesome!

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  24. Just found my new years dress ! GOrg!!!

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  25. Omgosh! You look amazing!! so pretty.

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  26. this is absolutely stunning, and you look absolutely amazing in it! Your photos are always just perfection. So well done!!!

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  27. Do you sell them?? This is soooo gorgeous!

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  28. So pretty! I love the skirt!!

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  29. I love your handbag!And skirt, of course :)

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  30. I really love this look! It's so fun and feminine!

    www.inspirationlush.com

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  31. I love that skirt so so much!
    And you look great in it! So lovely!
    I am going to make some, too :).

    Kejmy ♥.

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  32. Next year christmas party outfit...this is at the top of my list.
    Method Clothe

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  33. Any chance there is a video?? I'm so challenged when it comes to reading patterns and things and I'm slightly confused

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  34. Any chance there is a video?? I'm so challenged when it comes to reading patterns and things and I'm slightly confused

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  35. How GORGEOUS are you?! Just came across your blog looking for a tutorial. :) I'll definitely be sure to come back!!
    xoxo,
    Nikki at www.bedazzlesafterdark.com

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  36. My wedding dress has a tulle skirt just like this - maybe I can remove the bodice and re-use the skirt! I doubt I'll get chance to wear the whole dress again, but the skirt part by itself could work! Love how you've styled yours!

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  37. I love everything here: the place, your hair, a fairy skirt matched with snow and your poses. Adorable!

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  38. oh dear this is unbelievably beautiful! your tulle skirt is absolutely perfect and this is such an awesome outfit! <3
    would you like to follow each other?
    A
    xx
    http://epiquemoi.blogspot.com

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  39. What a great skirt - I can't wait to try it!

    http://rinksters.blogspot.com

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  40. Unfortunately, this skirt didn't work out for me at all! I was so excited, I loved the look, but so much went wrong when sewing it.
    All in all, I spent over $20 and 3 1/2 hours on a skirt that didn't work out. I don't know what went wrong, and I know she had to do multiple attempts to get it to work, but I don't have that much extra time and money to keep at it.
    Very cute idea, though, and I hope others have better luck than I did.

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry! Can you send me a picture of the outcome? You can take it apart (if it isn't too messed up) and try it again. What was wrong with it?

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    2. Maybe I need to put a video up too?

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    3. I think a video would be very helpful! We already threw out the skirt but I do have pictures of when I wore it that I could email. I think we were just unclear on measurements because we ended up not having enough material to do the lining as described and the layers all ended up different lengths. Also, the elastic lost its stretch when sewn on to the other layers so we had to rip it to even get it around my waist and I just safety pinned it for the night! Thanks for the response, I'll send the email with pictures.

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  41. This skirt is amazing! When I'm feeling ambitious I will have to try it!

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  42. SUCH a cute design! One question, I'm a little confused about the bottom layers...if they are not gathered, then the elastic can't stretch to get the skirt on. I understand that the top layers would be longer to compensate for the fluffiness and a steeper cut into the waist. I'm just confused about what to do with those bottom layers and how to measure those.

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    1. The bottom layer's hole is going to be cut to your hip size so it will be a little gathered to your waist size but there won't be an issue getting it on! Does that make sense? I hope so!

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  43. I ADORE this skirt but the instructions are a little confusing to me. I think I need about a gazillion pictures to understand, lol! I would LOVE a video though, that is a fabulous idea! :)

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  44. defiantly putting my vote in for a video as well. like marcyann00 said, I don't understand how the bottom layers stretch if they're not gathered or how any of the tulle stretches at all if you straight stitch all the layers together. a video would help so much.......plus it'd give you an excuse to make another cute skirt, I'm thinking black would look very pretty, plus it'll show up nice on camera :D

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    1. The bottom layer's waist opening is going to be cut to your hip size so it will be a little gathered to your waist size when the elastic is installed so there won't be an issue getting it on! Also, the straight stitch works if you are stretching the elastic as you sew it all together. So then it an stretch as you slip it on. You can always use a zig zag stitch if it makes you nervous.
      Does that make sense? I hope so!

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  45. I LOVE this skirt and used it for inspiration to make one for myself! I followed a different tutorial, but it came out just as cute. I'm planning to wear it to Vegas for a bachelorette party this weekend though I don't know if it will be quite warm enough. Thanks for the inspiration and I love your blog! You have such great ideas! Thanks

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  46. Very cute! I plan on making one for a friend. :)

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  47. I made this skirt like the day after you posted this but just finally blogged it. I skipped the gathering of the tulle b/c I was in a hurry and didn't want to mess up the math. You can check out my post here if you want: http://replicatethendeviate.blogspot.com/2013/02/happy-valentines-day.html

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    1. oh my goodness this is amazing! And your daughter is precious. Yours looks better than mine! Love it.

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  48. I am in love with this tulle skirt! Definitely going to make one soon:) Do you think it would be possible to use a thick ribbon for the waist of the skirt instead of ribbon??

    Kiera
    cuciredolce.blogspot.com

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  49. How tall are you? And how long did you make your skirt?

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    1. I'm 5'2" So it is a little shorter. But if you use the longer yardage you should have ample amount. But you have to use way more fabric.

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  50. I am so confused. how does the waistband go from picture 7 to picture 9? I am so terrible at following directions!

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    1. oh wait. i think i get it. basically i just fold the elastic over the raw edge at the top and then sew it down?

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    2. :) that's my daughter's profile :)

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    3. yes you just flip it! Sorry....late reply. I'm sorry about the confusion! This is a complicated one.

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  51. There doesn't seem to be nearly enough length to get a waist and to the knees.

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    1. For me I'm only 5'2" so I can manage. But for others they will have to use the longer amount of yardage for all the layers if needed.

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  52. If I would like the skirt to go to the floor, on a 5 ft 6 inch girl with a 30 inch waist. How much tulle would I need roughly? also I don't think there would be enough Tulle to make a full circle when folded in half for that length? Thanks

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  53. You're very brave to go out in the snow in heels! :)

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  54. Thanks for sharing, I love the skirt, your post gives me much more help to see Women's Clothing

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  55. Now to just find someone without a devil for a machine to sew this for me...

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  56. I've been looking for a tulle skirt forever, and they are not the easiest to find! I'm pretty crafty so I'm hoping I can manage this; yours turned out so gosh dang cute. Happy blogging!

    yourskenna.blogspot.com

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