Tutu for a Toddler

I am going to share a personal project about what I gave my 2½ year-old niece for Christmas – a tutu!  It was one of the cutest little things I think I have ever made!  In order to make it easy for her to put on by herself, I decided to gather the ruffles onto an elastic waistband.  And (because I simply can’t do anything the easy way, gosh darn it!) I made it the way tutus are made for professional ballerinas – which means it was a pain in the neck to do, but it stood straight out to the sides – with no drooping!  =)   

It was adorable on my baby dressform:

         

That’s 15 yards of tulle ruffle on an 18 inch waistband!

Here it is in front of a darker wall were the light pink underlayers show up a little better:

And here she is a few days after Christmas wearing her tutu:

I think she likes it.  =)

Update:  See Part 2 of the toddler tutu.