What are Tulle Ballet Skirts?

Commonly referred to as Tutus, these are traditional costume attire of ballet dancers. They are characterized as either long or short “balloon” style skirts, depending on which type of tutu you’re referring to. The “poofiness” comes from the amount of layers used to design the skirt.

Tutus are composed of three parts; the bodice, the basque and the skirt. The bodice is an upper garment that covers from the waist to the neck that’s very similar to a corset. It’s purpose is to fit snug to the body and keep it’s place even through vigorous dance movements. The basque is the piece that attaches the bodice to the skirt. Then of course there is the skirt, which I’m sure you already know about.

What are the Types of Tutus?

Classical Bell Tutus – Commonly identified as being short, these are stiffer tulle skirt that feature a slight bell shape and a fitted bodice. Most of the classical tutus use a wired hoop, and they often appear to extend outwards from the hips giving them the full shape that you are use to seeing. You will often seen them worn in conjunction with some form of leotard under-garment.

Classical Plate Tutus – Very similar similar to the classical bell tutus, these also feature a stiffer tulle and a fitted bodice. However, the pancake design (“plate” look) with wires spokes give a distinct look that’s very different than the powder puff design used in the classical bell tutu. The spokes are generally used to help keep the material appear even stiffer and to expose the ballerina’s legs completely.

Balanchine Tutus – These are tacked looser than normal, this helps to give it a softer and fuller aura. Also, no hoops are used and generally fewer layers of tulle netting are used.

Romantic Tutus – These Tutus are particularly known for there 3/4 length bell shape. Most designers craft this ballet tutu from tulle featuring a fitted bodice (an upper garment that covers from the waist to the neck) and cap sleeves. Romantic Tutus are characterized as free flowing with a lightness quality to them.

How to make a Tulle Ballet Skirt

These step by step instructions are for a no sew tulle ballet skirt since most users either prefer an easier method of decorating with tulle or they don’t have experiencing sewing. Read through these easy to follow instructions or simply watch the video that correlates to it.

What you need:

• 4 yards of Tulle
• 3 yards of satin ribbon (1 1/2″ width)
• scissors
• ruler

Step 1

Measure the waistline of the person whom the tulle skirt will go on and multiply that measurement times three (e.g.: if the waist measures 20 inches around then you will need at least 60 inches of ribbon, that’s about 2 yards). Then proceed to tie a knot at the 20 inch mark of the ribbon and at the 40 inch mark. So it appears to be 20 inches then a knot and 20 inches then another knot.

Step 2

Unfold a yard of tulle and lay it flat in front of you so that the narrow end is facing you. Proceed to roll the yard of tulle up so it resembles a tube. As you’re rolling make sure that the tulle remains flat and that no wrinkles are forming.

Step 3

Now cut the ends off of the rolled up tulle so that it is even, this will usually only be about an inch or two.

Step 4

Place the trimmed end right at the knot of the ribbon that you made earlier and cut the tulle every three inches or so until the entire yard of tulle is cut into 3 inch increments.

Step 5

Unroll the 3 inch pieces of tulle and cut them into equal halves. Note that if you wanted the tulle ballet skirt to be longer then don’t cut the pieces into halves, just leave them as they are for a longer look.

Step 6

Tie each halve of the cut tulle and fold it around ribbon where the waistline is so that each side is equal parts. Continue to repeat this process until all of the pieces of tulle are cut and then tied onto the waistband/ribbon from end to end.

Step 7

Repeat steps 1 through 6 for as many colors of tulle you desire, keep in mind though that 4 layers is the recommended amount, so you might want to limit yourself to only 4 different colors.