Move over princesses, we have a tough girl costume on the blog today! This simple DIY pirate tutu dress is over-the-top adorable. The little details on this dress are perfect, and it honestly could not be easier to make! I would know. I'm the one who does all of our blog tutorials and on a scale of one to Martha Stewart, I hover somewhere around a three.
Here is what you'll need for this costume:
-Crochet headband I used an 8" black crochet headband, my model is 2 years old
-Tulle I used one spool each of black, white, and red
-Grosgrain Ribbon I used 7/8" red
- Legwarmers I used our red and white striped, she wore them upside down so the ruffle didn't show
Determine the length and fullness you'd like your dress. I decided to make my short dress two layers. The bottom layer is solid black tulle and the top layer is alternating white and red tulle. I used a flattened cardboard box that measured 19" across to measure my tulle. The black tulle was wrapped around the box gently, and then cut along the edge. This made the tulle strands about 38" and then, once attached to the headband, it was about 17" long. (They always end up shorter than planned!) For the top layer of red and white tulle, I used the same box. This time, I pulled the tulle really tight as I was wrapping it. Consequently, once it was attached to the crochet headband, it ended up being about 14" long.
If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about when I mention wrapping tulle around a cardboard box, please visit the Beautiful Princess Ball Gown post. I also recommend following the instructions on that post for basic instructions for attaching the tulle.
Once your tulle is cut and attached, it's time to embellish the dress!
I laced a long strand of red 7/8" ribbon through the crochet top to make it look like a corset. You can trim the ends of the ribbon but I kept them long and used them as a halter top tie. I especially love how the tie adds a little more interest to the back of the dress.
The tutu needed to be a little more exciting too. I knotted the ends of all of the red and white tulle to make it look like ragged, torn fabric. You could definitely tie the ends of the black tulle as well, but I though it looked fine as is.
I added some legwarmers and a bow to the outfit and it turned out absolutely perfect! Note that the legwarmers have a white tulle ruffle along the bottom. You could certainly have her wear them the correct way and have that ruffle show. I chose to flip them upside down so the ruffle is hidden under her tutu.
So? Love it? If you have any questions while crafting your costume, you are more than welcome to email me at ruffles(@)thehairbowcompany.com. (Remove parenthesis.)
For more costume ideas and tutorials, visit our Costume Making Guide.