Mermaid Tutu Dress

This is probably my favorite tutu dress I have ever made. It takes a little longer than most of the costumes but, my goodness, is it ever worth it!!

diy mermaid tutu dress

Gorgeous, right? This criss-cross pattern is obviously perfect for a mermaid costume. However, if you continue the criss-crosses all the way down, it could also be a nice embellishment on a gown.

Supplies needed for this dress:
-Tulle (I used teal, mint, and kelly green)
-Crochet headband (I used 10" lined... it was too big on her.)
-Scissors-Measuring tape
-Crochet hook
The last two supplies PLUS a pen, notepad, and instructions for this costume and several others can be found in our awesome Tutu Making Kit.

Okay, pay attention. This one takes a bit of concentration. You’re going to cut your tulle and start making your tutu dress as usual. Decide what color the criss-cross will be. I chose mint. Kelly green and teal are the other two colors in my dress. To make things easier, we’ll call mint CS for criss-cross, Kelly green C1 for color one, and teal C2 for color two. Here is the pattern you’ll do:

C1C1, C2C2, CSCS, C1C1, C2C2, CSCSCS, C1C1, C2C2, CSCS, C1C1, C2C2, CSCSCS

That looks complicated at first glance, but it isn't. Slow down and check it out again. Basically every other time you get to your criss-cross color, add an extra strand of tulle. Get it? Got it? Good.

diy mermaid tutu dress

Just a note that if you want your pattern to go all the way to the bottom of your dress, you’re going to need to make those strands extra long. I kept mine the same length and then added some extra fluff to the bottom of the dress to look like the fin.

Once all the tulle is attached, tie your criss-cross knots. Take the center strands of the CSCSCS and pull them out of the bunch of tulle. Do the same thing with the CSCSCS next to it. Tie the right-most strand to the left-most strand. Doesn’t make sense? Just look at these pictures!

diy mermaid tutu dress

I used a long strand of each color on the bottom. Tie it around (not too tight! She needs to be able to walk!) and then tie the bottoms of the criss-cross tulle to it. I thought this looked a little goofy, so I attached a bundle of all three colors to each knot. It looks very fin-like, no?

diy mermaid tutu dress

You could be done at this point, but I want to add some extra embellishments. I added a couple long strands of pansy tulle to the top. This give the bikini top look... without actually putting your daughter in a seashell bikini top. Plus, the tie in the back helps keep the dress up, and it looks pretty! I also took a long strand of each color of tulle and braided it to make a nice waistband.

diy mermaid tutu dress

So in love with this dress! If you have any questions when you are making this or any other dress, feel free to send me an email at ruffles(@)thehairbowcompany.com. (Remove parenthesis.) Visit our Costume Making Guide for tons of Halloween and dress up ideas!

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