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costumes: gothic fantasy LotR characters 16th century 18th century 19th century 20th century science fiction |
Making a Tulle Skirt
Let me just say that net skirts are the easiest thing in the world to make. If you can pinch your finger and thumb together, you can sew one of these skirts for yourself! Here's my five-second tutorial:
Buy about 10 yards of tulle. It'll only cost a buck or two a yard. Don't get the heavy, scratchy kind -- look for the softer stuff. Pick up a yard of satin or grosgrain ribbon that's at least 2" wide. Get some thread and a big needle. Hooks and eyes are optional.
The tulle usually comes folded in half lengthwise. For a short, super-poufy skirt, leave it folded and gather it along the folded edge. For a floor-length, mid-poufy skirt, unfold the tulle and gather along one long edge.
I prefer to gather by hand (tulle gets caught in my sewing machine too easily), and the gathering goes really fast on tulle. The final gathered edge should measure the same as your waist measurement, plus a half an inch for a regular skirt or a full inch if you want a bustled effect.
For a regular skirt, use the ribbons to tie the skirt around your waist. For a bustled effect, cut the ribbons to meet the tulle edge, then sew hooks and eyes to close the skirt. Then the vertical edges will overlap when you wear the skirt, and this gives a nice little bustle look. Total, a skirt like this should cost you less than $20, and it takes me about an hour to whip one up. This tulle skirt was part of my wardrobe around Convergence 6 and BayCon 2003.
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