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I know there are “no sew” tutus out there and if you *really* don’t want to sew, they’re great. At my house, they end up being a tangled mess in the bottom of the dress up box, though.
What you’ll need:
2-4 yards of tulle. 2 yards is good if you’re using it for an overskirt. 4 or more yards is better for a stand alone tutu.
Elastic. I used 1” black because my tulle was black and the skirt I’m putting it over is also black.
Rotary cutter, ruler, and mat
Silhouette cutting machine and white flocked heat transfer (optional)
Your tulle *should* have a crease in it from the bolt. It’s probably wonky, though, so the first thing we’re going to do is re-press the center crease all the way down the length of the tulle.
I use a wool setting and lots of steam.
Sew (seam #1) down the entire length of the tulle 1.25” from the folded edge. (This is for 1” elastic. If you’re using another size, you’ll need to adjust the width of your casing.)
I’m using contrasting thread for demonstration purposes. I’d suggest you use some that matches. 
And there’s our casing.
Next we’re going to cut our tutu to the appropriate length.
Fold and stack your tulle, lining the waistband edges up neatly.
Determine what you want your finished length to be. I’m using 21”.
And cut it off.
Thread your elastic through the casing and get ready for seam #2.
Match up both ends of the tutu and sew a 1/4” seam along the edge. Be sure to catch both pieces of elastic!
If you want (although this is *technically* a 3rd seam), sew down the length of the seam again about 1/8” from your initial stitching.
Trim close to the 2nd line of stitching.
Now for the fun part!
I used my Silhouette software and the spider web design that came with it. I tiled 4 to a page and then 9 to page and cut them out on white flocked heat transfer.
I cut them apart and peeled off the excess heat transfer material. And then to determine where I wanted them, I used a really fancy method…I had Macy try on the tutu and pinned them all over.
Once I was satisfied with the placement, it was time to iron them on.
Since the tulle is full of holes, I put a scrap of fabric underneath to protect my ironing board.
Feel free to use fabric slightly less ugly.
I fused the heat transfer, following the directions on the package. Then, I immediately lifted the tulle off of the scrap fabric, just to make sure it didn’t stick. I found that the plastic backing comes off the designs more easily if you allow it to cool a bit.
Thank you for the tutorial. This looks easy enough for me. L-o-v-e the web detail. (even though I'm sceered of spiders!)
So cute! I'm planning on putting a black and orange tutu on my dog Phoebe for halloween. I may actually be able to make this one!
Looks great!
I am so totally going to make this for myself!
I love this! Halloween is the best
I think I am going to have to make one of these for you little BFF
I think I am going to have to make one of these for you little BFF
I love the detail you added to it! You never cease to amaze me girlfriend!
That is adorable and I think a free made by hand skirt is worth a few pictures! That is fantastic!
cute! (i thought the spiderwebs were snowflakes!)
I really love the idea of using heat transfer for embellishment. I've never seen that before! A must try.
That's a cute tutu! I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-2-seam-tutu/2010/08/29/
–Anne
Ooh I love this version! That's super cute. I would wear this myself over jeans around Halloween. =) Thanks so much, I'll be linking.
Because my daughter hopes to be the next Stella McCartney/Vera Wang/Donna Karen/Alexander McQueen/(Insert name of favorite designer HERE), I'm thinking she and I would start with customizing her clothing designs together…
Such a simple concept!! This went MUCH easier than any other tutu I've attempted!!
http://mommakesithappen.blogspot.com/2010/09/crappy-tutu.html
Great Job!!
What a great idea, the hand made ones DO look a mess after a while! lol