How to Make a Vanity With Tulle

Tulle is a romantic choice for vanity skirts because of its association with wedding gowns.

There was a time when the most romantic piece of furniture in a girl's bedroom was a pretty vanity, a little table with a mirror and sometimes a floral, ruffled skirt. Places to experiment with makeup and hairdos, write notes and daydream about boyfriends never go out of style; a vanity with a fluffy tulle skirt still pleases girls from age 6 to 16 and beyond. Tulle is the finest gauge silk or synthetic netting and drapes softly to the floor around a table.

Things You'll Need

• Small table or desk
• Chair or stool
• Spray enamel
• Measuring tape
• Tulle yardage
• Yardstick or long straight edge
• Chalk
• Scissors
• Dressmaker pins
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Staple gun
• Hot glue
• Decorative trim or ribbon
• Bows or flowers

Instructions

1. Paint a small table or desk along with a stool or chair the color of your choice using spray enamel. Add whimsical touches like dots or flowers as desired.

2. Measure with a measuring tape the circumference or the total distance around the table top regardless of its shape and multiply by three. This gives you a measurement of the amount of yardage needed to make a skirt.

3. Measure the height of the tabletop to the floor. Subtract l/2 inch from the measurement to determine the length of the skirt. Because tulle is usually 54 inches wide, it will have to be cut to fit a table 36 inches or less in height. Measure the height necessary on the tulle using a yardstick and mark a cutting line with chalk. Cut off the tulle on the chalked line with scissors.

4. Measure and cut the tulle yardage into three equal pieces, stack the peices and pin them together. Thread the sewing machine with matching thread.

5. Sew across the top of the tulle pieces about 1/2 inch from the edge, using very long machine stitches and leaving long thread tails. Sew across the top edge again at 1/4 inch below the first stitching.

6. Draw up the thread gently, gathering the tulle until it is just long enough to go around the table top. Tie off the ends of the thread. Distribute the fullness of the tulle evenly so that it falls gracefully from the edge of the table top.

7. Staple the gathered edge of the tulle to the top edge of the table, beginning at the back. Insert a staple every 2 to 3 inches.

8. Cover the gathered edge of the tulle with a decorative braid, ribbon or lace edging secured with staples or glue. Add a braid on top of ribbon if desired. Finish with bows or flowers.

Tips & Warnings

• Place a piece of fitted glass on top of the desk or table to save the surface from nail polish and other disasters.

• Upholster the seat of the stool or chair with coordinating material with ties to secure it to the legs.

• Make a skirt from tulle for the chair or stool.

• A vanity skirt may have an opening at the center front to allow access to items stored beneath. The skirt's edges can overlap by several inches at the opening.

• Make a lining for the tulle skirt from a fashion fabric if the sheer fabric is too transparent. Sew a lining into the tulle or attach it separately to the vanity before stapling on the tulle.

References

• CBS; Wickedly Perfect; Vanity with Pleated Skirt