Nana and Me Creations: Little Spider Halloween Costume and TuTu Tutorial

I found the cutest onesie at Carolina Mall in the Lee store for Kessie's first Halloween costume. I have made a toulle tutu, leggings and a headband to complete the outfit. She is going to be so cute!

I wanted to share the process with my first tutorial. It was really fun, simple and fast.

These are the items that you will need:

Onesie of your choice (If you cannot find one with a design on it, you can always stamp it with a simple sponge stamp and paint, add an iron on transfer, etc)

1 yard black toulle (You will need more for an older child)

1 yard orange toulle

orange ribbon

black ribbon

elastic

scissors and rotary cutter

cutting mat and plastic ruler cutting guide

Sewing machine or needle and thread

stretchy woven headband (I found 4 for $1.00 at Family Dollar)

plastic spiders (I found a pack of 25 at Dollar General for $1.00)

TuTu

I cut the toulle 4 inches wide and about 14" long. I just quartered the width of the toulle evenly. I used the rotary cutter, but scissors work just fine also. You may want to adjust these measurements for a longer tutu. Keep in mind, this is for a 6 month old.

You need to measure the child's waist. I subtracted about an inch, lapped the ends about an inch and then stitched them together. I wanted it to be tight enough to stay up, but not too tight. As you add the toulle, it stretches out just a bit.

My husband made me an adjustable stand to hold the elastic while I tied the toulle on. It was really easy made from a scrap 2x4 and a dowel rod. It sure made the process alot easier. If you do not have access to making one of these, a bucket, pot, anything the right size will be helpful.

Place elastic around the two dowel rods. Now you are ready to begin tying the toulle and ribbon around the elastic. I form a loop with the toulle, place it to the back of the elastic and then pull the ends through.

Be sure to tighten them fairly snug as you go and keep pushing them together so that the elastic does not show through. I added the ribbons between every 3 pieces of toulle. You may want to knot the ribbon instead of just using the loop knot. Since it is satin it may loosen while the child is wearing it. I would do a section of toulle and then come back and add the ribbon. You can use as many different colors of toulle and ribbon that you wish.

Here is the completed TuTu. If it is too large when you are finished, you can always remove a few pieces of toulle and ribbon and take up the elastic.

Leggings

I made Kessie a pair of leggings from a pair of ladies socks and wanted some to go with her Spide outfit. I found the cutest orange and black stiped ones with BOO on the top. They were children's sock and too big for here, so I decided to turn them into leggings. For these you will need:

1 pair of larger childs or adult knee socks
Sewing machine and thread to match
Scissors

You will start by cutting the socks apart...I know it is kind of scary, but just go for it!

You will cut the heel and the toe portions away and discard those. The foot of the sock becomes the cuff that will fit around the ankle. The top cuff will fit around the baby's thigh. If the sock is extremely long, you may wish to cut some of the length off so that it is not too "bunchy".

Determine if the cuffs will be too large for the baby's ankle. You may need to also cut this down. I took about a 3/4" seam, trimmed it down a bit and then zigzagged the edges. I do not have a serger. It would work great for this project.

Now You have to fold the cuff in half, right side out, pin to the right side of the legging and stitch. I stretch it as I go so that it has a little fullness and to make the leg portion of the sock fit the cuff without any pleats.