How to make a tutu

I'm on the Enrichment Committee for our ward and we decided this would be a cute idea for Super Saturday. It's very simple!

Supplies
6 yards of tulle (I got mine at Walmart for $.97 a yard)
20 in. of 1/2 in. elastic
ruler
scissors
needle and thread (or a sewing machine)

To start, I cut my 6 yards of tulle into 1 yard pieces, you can have the fabric cutter person at the store do this for you.

Take your first piece and roll it (see pic). This is the easiest way to cut your tulle into strips. Measure 6 inches and cut. It doesn't have to be perfect, once you tie them to the elastic you won't even notice if one is slightly wider.

Second, you will need to sew your elastic into a circle. I measured 20 inches for my 2 year old, this fits a little big but it still works. You can sew the two ends together by hand but I found it much easier to use my sewing machine, and you can make it extra secure by sewing back and forth a few times.

Next you will start attaching the tulle to the elastic. At first I sat on the floor and put the elastic around my knees, after that got old I used the back of a chair to hold the elastic while I attached the tulle strips.

Take your piece of tulle and bring the ends together. Holding the tulle in front of the elastic I reach my other hand around and pull the ends through the loop attaching it to the elastic. This is really hard for me to explain, the pictures do a much better job. Slide the tulle strips close to each other, but not too tight together. Also, make sure you aren't pulling the tulle so much that the elastic bends.

Keep going until you've used all of your strips. After I removed it from the chair I had a little adjusting to do but it should fill the elastic.

Tada!

I've searched for the perfect tutu tutorial and made a few tutu's using different techniques. This way worked the best for me. Here are some of the tutorials I used.

http://july24tojuly24.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-tutu-with-photos.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7aSPMEn7S0 This is a video on youtube. It shows how to make a tutu using ribbon. This turns out really cute but the tutu isn't as full as using elastic.

http://www.gophotography.com/tutu/ This is where I got the chair idea.

Washer Necklace

They are super easy! I made these for my cousins but I have a ton of supplies left over so I've thought about selling them on Etsy. We'll see. I bought my chains from the Army Navy Store online and the charms came from Michaels. I think what I like about these the most is that it is a simple necklace that you can wear with a TShirt.
Here is the link I used to make my washer necklaces:
Washer necklace tutorial

Neapolitan Rag Quilt

This took me one day to make, yeah! I was actually suckered into buying a pattern for this. Duh, it's strips of fabric sewn together. Each stripe is 5 in. x 41 in. There is no need to quilt. The back of this is minky and the front is flannel and corduroy. This is definitely a great beginner quilt. I'm terrible at measuring correctly and this pattern is very forgiving. If you finish sewing and find that one side's edges are not even you can just trim them up or I used my rotary cutter to even them up, then sew around the entire quilt.

Jungle Safari

This is my first time using cotton fabric. When I was checking out the rag quilts on Etsy I noticed the super cute fabrics the sellers was using. After searching the fabric stores for unique flannels I just wasn't finding them. Then it dawned on me that they were using cotton! The back of this quilt is full minky and the front is corduroy, flannel and cotton.

My first rag quilt

I made this quilt for my daughter. My favorite part of this quilt is the corduroy back. It's so soft and cuddly. The front is all flannel. This is a summer quilt so it's just the two layers with no batting.

Burp Rags

It all started with baby burp rags. I was visiting a friend's to see her cute new twins and noticed how cute her burp rags were. I thought that would be a simple project to make with my new sewing machine. Honestly, these are super easy to make. I think the biggest trick is choosing a fun fabric.

Posh Pigtails

These are the cutest clips to wear in pigtails. I love to use ribbons in all different colors. My little one hates to have her hair done but doesn't she look cute in piggy's?

Posh Toesies

This is an easy boot pattern I got from a cute shop on Etsy called ithinksew. They turned out so cute and my daughter loves them. They are made out of fleece with a ribbon sewn down the side and adorned with a felt flower. I'm just getting into sewing and it's so fun to make something and see it being used.