Project #3- Tutu Crib Skirt

First of all, you need to know that this little lady was part of my inspiration for the baby's room. She was my very first porcelain doll, that I probably got when I was 8 or so. I still haven't taken her out of the box (I'm such a nerd- and her little curl has been in front of her face for a dozen years. Maybe someday I'll take her out and fix it.) Pink and green are the colors and it's supposed to be kinda ballerina-esque. Very suiting for a little girl who shares the name of the main character from the nutcracker, eh?

Second of all, you need to know about this awesome website that I ordered my materials from.

www.papermart.com

I got a 40 yard bolt of tulle for $18, 25 yard spools of tulle (6" wide) for $2 each, and a 25 yard spool of ribbon for $4. What a deal! I was so excited when my shipment finally came in.

My first step was to hem a panel of pink fabric for the liner that was exactly the height and width that I wanted to end up with (unless you want your skirt to be sheer & see-through). I would like to be able to hide a couple of totes or baskets under the crib, so I used a liner. I then doubled my tulle (just folded it in half width wise- it comes like this on the bolt) and pinned the folded edge in pleats to the top of the liner fabric. I had to trim about a four inch strip of tulle off the bottom, but I will use these scraps in a later project.

Here's what it looked like after pinning.

I then stitched across the top to hold the pleats in place. I forgot to take a picture of this next part, but I wanted to add a ribbon trim to the bottom of the skirt. I cut another single layer of tulle just a few inches shorter in height, and a few inches wider than the liner. I wanted the ribbon to wrap around the panel and not have an edge showing, hence the few inches wider.

I then cheated and hot glued the ribbon along the bottom. I fiddled with sewing the ribbon on, but decided that glue worked just as well, took less time, and didn't leave stitch marks on the ribbon. Just be sure not to stretch the tulle while you're gluing or you get some funky puckering going on.

I then cheated again and hot glued velcrow right onto the crib frame and the back of the skirt panel. I did this so that I could change the length of the skirt when you move the mattress down without doing any sewing. Who knows, maybe another little girl will need to use this crib set later on!

And here's the finished product for my little prima ballerina!

Another cheat: I only made a front and side panel since the crib is sitting in the corner of the room. I would also like to be able to tell you how much tulle I used, but I never measured. Sorry! All I can say is that I still have *plenty* left on my bolt!

Oh, and I will be making a window valance to match... :)