Tools used:
Sewing machine with a ruffler foot attachment
Serger/overlock machine
Steam iron and ironing board
Cutting mat, rotary cutter and big clear quilt ruler
Duct tape (yes, really)
Large safety pin
Long straight pin
Step 0: Prep, prep and more prep.
*Make sure your iron is the proper temperature to press and steam the tulle without melting it into a smoking crater. Not that I’ve ever done that. *cough*cough*
*Thread up the serger with matching thread.
*Thread up the sewing machine with matching thread and full new bobbin.
*Attach ruffler foot to sewing machine.
*Brand new blade for the rotary cutter (VERY IMPORTANT, a dull blade + tulle = crazy squirrelpants lady. Not worth it.)
*Dust, sweep, mop, vacuum, wipe down everything in sight. Seriously. Tulle picks up lint and random threads and cat hair even if you don’t own a cat.
Step 1: Steam and press the tulle.
If you are lucky to pull this right off a neatly rolled factory bolt, there is no need to steam and press it first. However, if you brought it home from the fabric store where a harried clerk hacked it off a manhandled stock bolt… well, yeah. Refold with selvages together, steam and press. Good as new.
Step 2: Slice up the tulle.
A cutting mat and rotary cutter make this quick and easy work. For this particular tutu, you are looking at 14 slices that are 11 inches wide, cut from a 54” bolt. You can make your width however long you'd like your tutu. You can also skip this step and just buy one of those 25 yard rolls. You are limited as to how long your tutu will be, but it does save time! (Just to be clear, each strip is 11x54 inches, and there are 14 strips total.)
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Fold them neatly, stack them and set them aside. Don’t unfold them or bunch them up or swing them around for any reason, that would be like poking a grumpy bear who was minding his own business.
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Step 4: RUFFLE ALL THE THINGS!
Make two piles of seven folded tulle slices each, to make two separate ruffles of seven sections each. I get confused easily so I have to have two piles, I can’t just count as I go along. Don’t judge me.
Get to Rufflin’.
I have my ruffler set to take a tuck with each stitch, and I have my stitch length set as small as possible, in my case it is a 0.5, whereas 2.5 is the default stitch length. This means I’m going to get a small pleat with every teensy tiny stitch, squashing 54 inches of tulle down to 6 inches in less than 30 seconds. I love it! A ruffler is what professional stage tutus are made with, and it is indeed the right tool for the job. If it takes you more than 6 minutes to permanently and evenly ruffle down a 21 yard strip of tulle, then you need to rethink your tutu making method… especially if you are making tutus to sell. Save your sanity. Buy a ruffler.
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I overlap each strip about 2 inches as I feed it into the ruffler, so it is one long continuous ruffle when I’m done. (You can kinda see what I mean in the photo below, the strip ends are overlapped before they get gobbled into the ruffler.)
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Remove the ruffler foot and replace with your regular foot.
On a flat surface gently stretch out the ruffle at the thread line. This will save your sanity later when you can’t for the life of you figure out why you have so much leftover when you already measured! Aaarrgh!
I now have two 48 inch ruffles with seven sections each. Voila. It is important to not make this ruffled strip any longer than your ironing board. It's just too much hassle when it's hanging off the edge and you have to keep moving it around.
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Step 5: Steam and press the crap out of those ruffles.
Lay ruffle #1 out on the ironing board, then finger comb it so it is more orderly and straight.
Then steam and press it until it is nice and compressed and as flat as can be, like so:
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Then flip it over and do it again to the other side, because each side of the tulle ruffle has a different personality, and they both want to stab you in the back.
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Step 6: Duct tape!
Yes, duct tape. Gag that tulle! Tape those ruffles in place:
I used a piece of tape ¼ the length of the ruffle, and then ripped it in half lengthwise, and then in quarters, and then used it on the tulle. Only a thin strip is needed. Tape nearer to the thread line than the middle.
Don’t be a hero, TAPE BOTH SIDES. Flip it over and do it again on the other side, too.
Don’t worry, the duct tape doesn’t leave any residue and does the job well. Other tapes sucked, don’t even try them. Duct tape is king. (But, to be sure, give it a test on a scrap first!)
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Step 7 & 8: Repeat Steps 6 and 7 for Ruffle #2.
Roll up the ruffles and set by your sewing machine.
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Step 3: Prepare the waistband.
*With rotary cutter and a big clear quilt ruler, trim the waist band fabric to 5 inches wide and however long you need the waistband to be. You are looking at a strip that has been cut to 5 X 50 inches.
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*Press it flat, and fold each end over about ¾ inch or so, pressing that again so it creases.
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*Place a small dab of Stitch Witchery in the center of the folds on either end and press/melt it in place. This is important for stringing the elastic later. You’ll thank me. No need for any more than a dot, you don’t want this little hem to be stiff at all.
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*Fold the long strip in half lengthwise (carefully and evenly!) and press with a crease
Step 9: Sew a guideline onto the waistband.
Sew the waistband closed, making sure it is perfectly straight and 1.25 inches from the fold. VERY IMPORTANT, this is your guideline and if you mess this up you will want to throw yourself off a cliff while inserting the elastic later. Essentially, you need to sew a line ¼ inch wider than the elastic you are using. I am using 1 inch elastic, so my sheath is 1.25 inches wide. Pay close attention and don’t screw it up! That line needs to be perfectly parallel and 1.25 inches from the fold at all times.
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Here you are looking at a 5X50 inch strip folded in half to a 2.5 inch width, and sewn with a guideline down the middle:
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Step 10: Add the first tulle ruffle.
This is where that guide line comes in handy. Fold the raw ruffle edge on top of itself about ½ inch or so, and then sew the ruffle down onto the waistband, lining up to the guide line and ruffle stitch line nice and neat.
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Fold the edge on top of itself at the end as well. (If you have more ruffle than waistband, trim it away about ½ inch beyond the edge of the waistband, and then fold it and complete the step.)
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Step 11: Add the second tulle ruffle.