How To Make A Tutu (For Running)

I am SO excited to be running the Electric Run in Charlotte, NC in just over a month!

It's a 5K run/walk that takes place at night with tons of light displays, glow sticks, and music.

Since this is a FUN run, I decided to have a little fun with my outfit this time and make a bright tutu for the race!
I've seen a lot of people wear a tutu for races like these, so I decided to try to make one of my own
because, well
I'm crafty, and I thought it would be more fun than buying one.

It was really easy and a lot of fun to make!
So here's my tutorial for how to make a tutu!


What you'll need:

• Tulle: I used three different colors of tool.  Each spool was about 6" wide and 25 yards long.
• Elastic: I used 1/2".
• Measuring Tape
• Needle and Thread
• Scissors
• Binder clip or Safety Pin

First, you want to measure your waist or hips, wherever you plan to wear your tutu.
You want to make sure you measure yourself with clothes on similar to those you will wear on race day since you will be wearing the tutu over clothes.
Cut the elastic the length you measured.

Next, cut your tulle.
I cut each strip of tulle at 20 inches giving me a 9 inch tutu after tying.
If you want a different length, take the length you want (9 inches), and then multiply two (18 inches).  Then add 2 inches to that to make up for the tying (20 inches).

I used all the tulle for each spool, so depending on your waist size, you may need more spools than I used.

Now you're ready to begin tying!

Take a cylinder, clothes hanger, or whatever you can secure your elastic around to begin tying.
I used a massage bolster and a binder clip to hold my elastic.
Just make sure not to stretch the elastic too much!

Take one strip of tulle from each color and put them together.

(Can we talk about how tan I look in this picture?! The lighting was very good to me here!)


Thread the tulle through the elastic and tie a knot with equal amounts of tulle on each side.
This is different than a lot of tutorials, but I found that this made a much fuller tutu.
I was looking for something with a lot of fluff!

Keep tying around the elastic.

The tulle will be stuck together, so you can start pulling the layers apart to fluff it out a bit as you go if you'd like.

After you get most of the elastic covered with tulle, stretch the elastic and wrap the tutu around you to fit.
You will need to cut off some of the elastic so that the elastic will stretch when you wear the tutu to hold it in place.
I ended up cutting about 3 inches off.
After you make sure your tutu will fit,
sew the ends together.
I did this by hand.

Continue tying tulle until the rest of the elastic is covered.

And that's it! You have your tutu!
Super easy and cute!

You can go on to decorate your tutu further if you'd like.
I decided to add a ribbon to mine.

Here's how to add a ribbon:


What you'll need:

• Ribbon
• Alligator hair clip
• Hot Glue Gun

First, tie your bow.

Secure an alligator clip to the back of the ribbon using a small amount of hot glue.

Slide the clip through a loop of tulle around the elastic.

And that's it!
You have a tutu for race day!

Of course, this tutu could be made using the same steps for children and other things that don't involve running.
But I'm pretty excited to run my 5K in it!