How to Make a Tiered Puffy Skirt

Add solid fabric in between the tulle layers for a modest dress.

Make a short, puffy dress from layers of lightweight fabric engulfed in bubble tiers of tulle. The layers of tulle provide the skirt with the puffiness and the middle layer of lightweight fabric helps to prevent the dress from being see-through to keep it a modest fashion essential. Make the dress for a child from tiers of different colored tulle and patterned fabric, or make a neutral colored tiered skirt for an adult from tone-on-tone fabric and tulle material.

Things You'll Need

• Tulle fabric
• Lightweight fabric
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine (or sewing needle)
• Thread

Instructions

1. Measure the circumference of your waist and multiply by two for the width. Cut eight pieces of tulle fabric that equals the multiplied waist circumference by 8 inches. Cut eight pieces of lightweight fabric to the same width by 4 inches.

2. Lay one piece of tulle fabric on your work surface and place one of the lightweight fabric rectangles on top, with one long edge of the lightweight fabric aligned with one long edge of the tulle.

3. Fold the other long edge of the tulle up to the first. Pin the three layers together and sew a running stitch along the layered edge.

4. Cut a piece of 1 1/2-inch-wide elastic ribbon to the circumference of your waist and pin it over top of the rough, layered edge. Sew a running stitch along the top and bottom of the ribbon at attach the waistband.

5. Lay the remaining tulle rectangles on your work surface, side-by-side. Place one piece of lightweight fabric on top of each and slide the fabric to one long edge of the tulle. Fold the opposite long edge of each piece of tulle over the layered edge.

6. Sew a wide running stitch along each layered edge. Tug the thread to gather the three layers of each piece to 5 inches wider than the waist circumference.

7. Pin the rough edge of one of the gathered edges to the underside of the completed section with the waistband. Pin the gathered edges about 1/2-inch below the bottom edge of the ribbon waistband. Sew it to the underside of the fabric with a gathering stitch.

8. Pin the next three-layer section to the underside of the second joined piece. Pin about 2 inches below the gathered edge of the second joined piece and sew it in place. Repeat with each of the puffy tiers.

References

• "Sew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics"; Francesca DenHartog; 2006
• "Sewing For Dummies"; Janice Saunders Maresh; 2010