DIY Tulle Skirt: How to Make a Tulle Skirt

it was love at first sight.
fabric love.

while browsing joann's lovely fabrics, i came across this beautiful pink polka dot tulle fabric and knew exactly what i wanted to make out of it: a tulle skirt.

i've made one skirt in the past with a hidden zipper, but this time i wanted to make a skirt with an elastic waist.

i'm not going to lie, i wrestled with this fabric along with the lining and elastic, but after many re-dos and learning experiences, i'm very happy with the way it turned out!

i followed along with the tutorial from cotton & curls, but after making some mistakes here and there, here is my own adapted version.

what you need:

• sewing machine
• 1 1/2-2 yards of tulle fabric
• 1/12-2 yards of lining (i used a silky fabric close to the color of the tulle)
• thread to match your fabric
• elastic band- enough to go around your waist
• scissors or rotary tool & mat (this was the first time i used mine!)
• pins

1) measure your waist where you want your skirt to sit. then take the measurements hip/3.14/2=radius. this measurement will now be the radius (from middle to edge) of your skirt waist.

2) fold your fabric in half and measure and mark a half circle with the radius measurement from the fold. from there, determine how long you want your skirt to be and add about two inches. measure from the end of the radius measurement out onto the rest of your fabric and mark it all around creating a half circle (this will be the length of your skirt). 

3) using scissors or your rotary cutter, cut along the lines you drew on the tulle. use the same measurements, but add about an inch and a half to the bottom of the lining. (note: in my photos i made my lining fit my waist while i made the tulle waist bigger for gathering. i would not recommend doing this as it makes the sewing process a lot harder!)

4) now, take your elastic around your waist and stretch it a bit to fit around your waist and sew the ends together. if you leave the elastic loose, the skirt will be too big. in essence, the unstretched elastic should be a few inches shorter than your actual waist size.

5) once your fabric is cut out, line lining and fabric up while stretching the elastic and start pinning everything together like so. Then continue to pin more all around the waist:

6) turn the skirt inside out so you can sew all 3 together along the very top of the skirt while stretching the fabric (this is the hard part!). once you have done this, fold the elastic down so the elastic is covered by the fabric. sew with a zig-zag stitch along the bottom part of the elastic while stretching it- catching the elastic with fabric on the zig and only the fabric of the skirt on the zag. 

7) finally, while your skirt is still inside-out, fold the lining up twice all along the bottom to match up with length of the bottom of the tulle and pin all around. hem lining all around the bottom. turn back right side out, try it on, and admire your diy tulle skirt! :)

once you've made your skirt, feel free to send me photos! i'd love to see your creations!

what sewing projects have you worked on lately?