Do you have more of an off-beat edgier style? Maybe you’re into Bon Iver or Arctic Monkeys, or old school bands like Van Halen or Whitesnake. Maybe you’re into deep red lips and sneakers (because they are obviously the most comfortable shoes). However, you absolutely love those tulle skirts that have been popular lately. Maybe it’s good old Carrie Bradshaw coming back from the dead, maybe you’re feeling sentimental about those elementary ballerina days, either way, those poufy tutu-esque tulle skirts are back, and I’m going to show you how to make one, then style it!
So here’s the sitch, you need a lot of tulle. Most fabric stores have many colors so you really have a lot of options. I went with black because it brought out the edgy, but black is just a versatile color in general. The good thing is that this tutorial is very short, but some of the steps take time and patience.
- Shop for materials. Materials needed: four to six yards of tulle (depending on how poufy you want your skirt), one yard of matching elastic, thread, pins, and a sewing machine.
- Sew a super long seam. Sew along the folded edge of the tool about half an inch away from the fold all the way down the four to six yards of tulle. No back-stitching and leave the thread strings long!
- Take the leftover strings on one side, let one go and hold the other one. The goal is to begin pushing the tulle down so it begins to gather and bunch.
4. Carefully, (for real, because the thread might break) continue bunching the entire tulle until the fluff becomes visible. Note: This will take a long time, have patience, and turn on your favorite Netflix show while working. (I’m watching Girl Boss. It’s so good!)
5. Measure out your waist using the elastic. I recommend using a mirror and leaving an inch for sewing together the ends.
6. Once the tulle is bunched make sure it aligns with the length of the elastic.
7. Pin the elastic to the seam on the tulle.
8. Sew elastic and tulle together. Be cognizant of your machine, the bunched tulle is pretty thick and can get stuck in the feed dogs.
9. Sew elastic ends together.
10. Sew one seam to connect the ends of the tulle together.
11. Cut all strings.
12. Style!
I styled my Black Swan tulle skirt with a black slip underneath, a band T-shirt (actually a Rock of Ages Musical shirt), a red bandana, statement necklace, and Converse high tops. This outfit is about taking risks. Who says you can’t layer a neck scarf AND a statement necklace? Who says you can’t wear dark red lipstick on just a regular day? Who says you can’t wear a ginormous tulle skirt? Be an edgy ballerina, but most importantly, be you.
How would you style this DIY tulle skirt? Show us on social media and tag @cfashionista!
