How To Make A Tulle Skirt In 10 Simple Steps

Tulle skirts are becoming increasingly popular, due to their aesthetic appeal, and how easy they are to make. Whether you want to wear them in everyday life, as part of a magical costume, or to live out your ethereal dreams, tulle skirts are lightweight, comfortable, and look amazing! 

And the best thing is that you don’t even have to buy one, as they are super easy to make! Even with limited experience and skill, it should be fairly easy for you to create your very own tulle skirt, and you can do so in 10 simple steps. 

Don’t believe us? We’ll guide you through those 10 steps with our DIY tulle skirt method. Plus, we’ll give you all sorts of tips and tricks to help you along the way. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, then let’s get right into it! 

What Is Tulle Fabric?

You will of course know what a skirt is, but you might be unsure as to what a tulle skirt is, exactly. Put simply, it is a skirt made out of tulle fabric.

And if you’ve never come across tulle before, then we’re going to give you a small explanation, so that you can quickly become familiar with it and move on to creating your tulle skirt! 

Commonly made out of polyester fibers, tulle is a fabric made out of very fine netting, which makes it lightweight and delicate. In fact, many people describe this fabric as having a dreamy texture, perfect for dressing in a more ethereal and magical way. 

Most often, tulle is used in wedding dresses and dance costumes, to add volume without adding lightweight, and because tulle can catch the light quite nicely.

It is especially common in ballerina outfits! But nowadays, more and more people are letting tulle into their everyday wardrobe, so it has become a stylish option definitely worth trying out. 

Basically, tulle is what modern princess dreams are made out of, and since making your very own tulle skirt is easy…why not go ahead and make one to wear? 

See also: how to sew your own tutu dress

How Much Tulle Do You Need To Make A Skirt?

The main thing that you are going to need in order to create your very own tulle skirt….is the tulle. Pretty obvious, right? But how much tulle, exactly, is needed in order to make a skirt out of it? Just so that you have a rough estimate to keep in mind… 

The answer kind of depends on how big and how long you want to make the tulle skirt, so you should always be ready to adapt and change whatever amounts and measurements we say, in order to better suit your own personal needs. 

For a standard and average tulle skirt, you would need four rectangles of tulle material, each one measuring around 118 inches in width and 23 inches in length. 

If you want the skirt to be thinner, use less tulle, and if you want the skirt to be fuller, use more tulle. The same goes for the length you want your skirt to be! 

In order to make the tulle skirt that we are going to give you the steps for, you’re going to need an approximation of three to four yards of soft tulle that is 118 inches wide.

But honestly, the key is to use the soft type of tulle fabric (it is available in bolts), so that you can add more of it to make the skirt bigger if needed. 

Something else to keep in mind is that you’re going to need extra material for the lining of the skirt, so that it holds its shape, and is not completely see-through (unless that is something that you are aiming for, of course!) 

As a general rule, we’d say you need around 2 yards of fabric for the lining.

But just to recap: you can use as much or as little tulle as you want. It depends on what you want your tulle skirt to look like, and your personal preferences on length and volume! Take our standard and average amounts, and then make them your own.

And don’t be afraid to experiment with the amount of fabric, after all, it’s super easy to use, and also pretty cheap! 

How To Make A Tulle Skirt – DIY In 10 Steps:

Now that we have covered some basic and vital information about tulle skirts and tulle fabric, it’s time to finally get into the DIY method of creating your very own tulle skirt, in just 10 simple steps! 

What you will need:

First of all, you will need to gather the necessary materials with which to create the skirt. We recommend making sure you have everything you need before getting started, so as to avoid having to stop midway through the project. 

• Around 4 yards of soft tulle (118 inches wide)
• 2 yards of satin or taffeta fabric (for the lining of the skirt)
• Around 2 inches of wide elastic (for the waist)
• A sewing machine and sewing machine needle
• Thread (make sure it matches the color of the tulle fabric!) 
• Fabric scissors
• Sewing pins
• A fabric marking tool
• A rotary cutter and a cutting mat 

A 10-Step Guide To Creating Your Tulle Skirt

Once you have gathered all of the necessary materials, and you’re ready to get started, just follow these 10 simple steps in order to create the tulle skirt: 

1. Cut The Tulle Fabric

First of all, you need to decide what length you want your tulle skirt to be. Once you decide, add 1 inch to the measurement (this will allow for space to hem the skirt later on). Then, you cut the tulle fabric into the pieces for the skirt. 

For example, if you want your skirt to be 23 inches long, you cut four pieces of tulle measuring 24 inches long. Each piece of tulle should also be 118 inches in width (you can buy 118-inch wide soft tulle, so it should be fairly easy!) 

When cutting these tulle pieces you should use the rotary cutter (on a cutting mat). You can also use a ruler and the fabric marking pencil to create the lines where you will cut the fabric, so as to not get it wrong. 

A pro tip: if you think the tulle fabric looks wrinkled, iron it before you cut the pieces to ensure they come out straighter and without flaws. Just make sure to use low heat on the iron! 

2. Cut The Fabric For The Lining

For the second step, you will cut the fabric to be used as the lining of the skirt. Start by measuring your hips (this is the largest part that the skirt will have to go over when putting it on). Then, add around 2 inches onto the measurement, to be on the safe side.

Once you have your measurement, divide it by 3.14 (the pi number) in order to get the radius of your waist. (Who knew maths would come in handy one day huh?) You can use online circle skirt calculators for this if you prefer. 

As for the length, cut it to the same as the tulle fabric, adding on an extra inch for the hem. 

Measure the fabric out from the top corner, and use the waist radius to create a curve, then measure again for a hem curve with the skirt length. Mark everything out, and then get to cutting!

3. Sew Up The Side Seams Of The Lining

In order to sew the side seams of the lining fabric, you first need to place the wrong sides of the fabric together and pin them. Then you slowly get to sewing. 

We recommend finishing off the seam with a serger, but you could also use the french seam method. 

When you trim the seam allowance, press down with an iron so as to flatten it. Then you can turn the right fabric sides together, and press down with the iron again. This will allow you to stitch the raw edges inside the seam allowance so that there are no visible edges that might fray. 

4. Sew Up The Side Seams Of The Tulle Fabric

Next, you have to sew the side seams of the tulle fabric. For this, start by laying two of the pieces of tulle fabric on top of one another, with the edges aligned, and sea the side seams. (We recommend that you backstitch, so the seam is secured at both ends). Do the same with the other two pieces of tulle fabric. 

In order to avoid puckering the tulle seams, you should switch the needle for a ballpoint or jersey needle (a size 70/10 works well!). Use a short and straight stitch, and set your sewing machine to a slower speed. 

5. Baste The Tulle Layers Around The Waistline

You’re now halfway through making your tulle skirt! What you need to do next, is baste the tulle layers around the waistline. Remember the four pieces of tulle that you turned into two large fabric tubes? Take them, and align their side seams (the right side to the wrong side), and baste through the layers. 

You should change your stitch length to the longest you are able to, in order to run two parallel lines of basting stitches. Also, make sure not to backstitch, and that you are leaving long tails of thread at both the beginning and the end of each row. 

This is one of the most time-consuming and tiring steps, but it will absolutely be worth it, so keep going! 

6. Gather The Tulle

Once you’re done with step five, it’s time to create the gathers of tulle. For this, take hold of the two top threads with one hand, and with the other push the tulle fabric over. Continue doing this until the gathers distribute evenly, and are matching the top of the skirt lining. 

Once you’re satisfied, tie the threads into a knot so that they are secured. 

7. Sew The Tulle And Lining Together

Time to start making this skirt look like an actually wearable skirt, by placing the skirt lining inside of the tulle fabric. 

For this, make sure you are placing the right side of the lining fabric to the wrong side of the tulle fabric. Pin them together, then stitch across the gathering line. 

8. Prepare The Elastic

Step number eight is all about preparing the elastic for the waistband. When cutting it, make sure it is long enough to fit around your waist comfortably when stretched, so that it is easy to put on and take off, but secure enough to not fall down. 

Once you have it measured for cutting, make sure to add an extra half-inch, to allow for the seam. Finally, sew the ends of the elastic together, to create a circle. 

9. Sew The Elastic Onto The Skirt

Now that you have the skirt, and the elastic band, it’s time to join them together! First of all, use the fabric pencil to mark both the tulle waistband and the elastic, in four segments of equal measure. (These will be the center back, the center front, and two halfway points on each side). 

Use pins on the marks, and then sew the elastic onto the skirt. (The wrong side of the elastic to the right side of the skirt). You will quickly notice that the elastic band is smaller than the skirt opening, as the opening was measured around your hips and the elastic around your waist.

Don’t worry, this is correct. But for sewing, stretch the elastic out, so that the fabric gap straightens out. This will be time-consuming, but it’s best to take your time and go about it slowly, so you get it right. 

10. Hem The Lining

Finally, the last step of all is to hem the lining. 

To begin with, take the sharp fabric scissors and trim the excess fabric at the bottom (but don’t cut through the tulle!) Then, finish the edge of the lining with a narrow rolled hem, using the serger. 

Go over all of the hems and seams to make sure they are all okay. Then, try the skirt on to make sure that everything holds up. Make any adjustments if needed. And if not…then enjoy your newly created tulle skirt! 

Tips To Help You Sew With Tulle

If you’ve gone through the 10 steps of our DIY tulle skirt method, you will have hopefully noticed that they are pretty simple and easy to follow along. So you don’t need to be super experienced or have advanced sewing skills in order to create a tulle skirt, just the right materials, some patience, and the instructions. 

However, if you’re a beginner, and have never worked with tulle fabric before, or have never created your own skirt, you might have some doubts, or feel confused about some aspects of the process. 

This is why we’re going to give you some extra tips, and some extra information about tulle fabric and tulle skirts! 

Here are things that might help you understand and complete the tulle skirt better: 

• Tulle doesn’t need to be hemmed! 

You will have noticed that, in the 10-step DIY method, we only had instructions for hemming the lining of the skirt. That is because tulle doesn’t need hemming (one of the great things about this fabric), as long as you sew the seams with a straight stitch. 

• You can use any sort of needle to work with tulle fabric. However, the most commonly preferred type of needle is the size 70. 

• Many sites and people say that you cannot iron tulle fabric, as it will melt. This then leaves you with the problem of not knowing how to get rid of the wrinkles. However, it is perfectly okay to iron tulle fabric, you just have to use a lower heat! 

• You should always secure the tulle fabric with pins before sewing. This will make it a lot easier to work with, as the fabric is quite slippery! 

• In order to keep the seam strong, and prevent the tulle fabric from shifting, a good trick is to use small strips of tissue paper. You can just place them underneath the tulle fabric, while you sew the seams. And once you’re done, you can easily tear the tissue away so that it isn’t there anymore. Makes it a lot easier! 

How To Take Care Of A Tulle Skirt

Once you have your tulle skirt, you can wear it in all manner of ways, whether it’s as casual clothing, for a special event, or just to live your best modern princess dreams. But here’s the thing, you’re going to want to take care of it, right?

You know, so that it actually lasts you a long time, in a good condition, allowing you to keep wearing it whenever you want and have it look its best. 

So, just in case you have never owned a tulle skirt, or anything made out of tulle fabric, here are our main tips on how to take good care of it! 

Some tips for keeping your tulle skirt in the best condition possible: 

• Tulle fabric is not wrinkle-proof, and nobody likes wrinkles on their clothing. (Although luckily, wrinkles are easier to camouflage on a skirt). So in order to avoid getting wrinkles on your tulle skirt, we recommend storing it on a hanger, in the wardrobe. 

• Tulle skirts can be washed by hand or in the washing machine. By hand is usually better, as it is a lot gentler, but this goes for all types of clothes really. 

If you’re going to wash the skirt in the washing machine, we recommend turning it inside out and placing it in a laundry bag (the ones with holes so the clothes can get washed!) You should also use a mild detergent, and put it on a gentle cycle. 

It is also best to avoid putting it in the dryer, as it might damage the tulle fabric. 

• Contrary to popular belief, it is completely okay to use your iron on the tulle fabric. This will help remove wrinkles and have it look smooth and tidy. The only thing you have to remember is to use the lowest heat setting, and to never stop moving the iron (if you leave the iron still on the tulle fabric the heat will accumulate and it might melt). 

Another good option is to place a towel on top of the tulle fabric when ironing, to reduce the chances of it burning and melting! 

Final Thoughts

As you can see, it is easy enough to create your very own tulle skirt, following the 10 simple steps we included in our DIY method. All you need are the right materials, some basic sewing skills, and the patience to do it yourself.

The result is a standard skirt made out of tulle fabric, on which you can choose and adapt to get the length and volume of your preference.

Tulle fabric is lightweight and delicate, with a dreamy texture perfect for a modern princess and ethereal style. And to make the skirt, all you need is the tulle, a lining fabric, and the elastic band to go around the waist. (Plus the sewing tools, of course). 

You can then wear your tulle skirt wherever and whenever you want. Taking care of it is simple enough, and you can even use the iron on it (as long as it is on low heat). It’s a project we definitely recommend, as it is quick and cheap, and does not require advanced sewing skills in the slightest.