Frozen…I don’t even know where to begin. I wonder if the people at Disney knew it was going to be as big of a phenomenon as it is when they were creating it? Well if they did, they’re laughing at all of us. It worked!
My History With Frozen
Now, I love myself a good Disney movie. And no, I have no excuse. I don’t have any children. So when Frozen came out in theaters last December, I made my husband immediately see it with me. If you know my husband, you know he is not exactly the Disney-loving type. And musicals- forget it! You might as well be telling him he has to get a colonoscopy. However, he does love me. And I know this because of his willingness to appease the Disney fanatic inside me.
I didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but he was being hypnotized by Idina Menzel just like every other 5 year old in that theater. He didn’t walk out screaming he wished he had that 90 minutes of his life back. Instead, he was humming a tune.
Flash forward to the next morning. My husband and I were eating breakfast when, out of nowhere, he begins to sing “The cold never bothered me anyway!”. Now, I usually know the random tunes he sings in the morning to start his day, but today was different. I had absolutely NO idea what he was singing.
I let him sing it a few more times before I asked “What song is that?”. His answer, “The song from the Frozen movie”. OH MY GOODNESS! Did that just come out of his mouth? I couldn’t contain my hysterical laughter. My husband actually remembered a Disney song, AND knew the words AND was singing it out loud. It was a Christmas miracle!
The Frozen Madness – And Why You Need to DIY
After I experienced my husband spontaneously turning himself into an ice queen for the morning, it came as no surprise to me that Frozen has blown up the way it has. Elsa and Anna dolls flying off the shelves so fast that mom’s are willing to pay hundreds of dollars to buy them on Ebay. Even popular shows like “Once Upon a Time” have dedicated a huge chunk of their storylines to the ice queen and her sister. They immediately have become everyone’s favorite Disney characters.
Every kid wants to be a part of Frozen, and every parent wants to appease their child. And although you don’t have to go to Ebay to buy the merchandise anymore, it still comes at a premium. Because we all know, the more people desire it, the more it’s going to cost.
However, you don’t have to spend $60 to get your daughter the perfect Elsa dress to wear for your trip to Disneyland – or just around the house for play. The crazy thing is, kid’s have the most AMAZING imaginations. Just a simple tutu with a simple backstory can make their minds run wild!
Here, I’m going to show you how to make a simple, no sew, DIY Frozen tutu. It’ll transform any child into the ice queen Elsa that they’re longing to be.
Steps to Make your DIY Tutu
What You’ll Need:
- Tulle (3 shades. I used Sparkle Teal, Blue, and Shiny White)
- Elastic
- Needle and Thread (almost no sew!)
- Ruler
- Glue Gun (optional)
Step 1:
Take your elastic and measure it for the size of the child you are making it for (see chart below).
Step 2:
Once you’ve cut the elastic to the perfect size, sew both ends together with a needle and thread. No specific stitch or anything fancy is needed. If preferred, use your hot glue gun and glue the ends together, instead.
Step 3:
Stretch the elastic around the top of a small chair, so that it will be easy for you to attach the tulle.
Step 4:
Take 1 color of tulle and measure out the length specified for the child you are making the tutu for (see size chart). Then, fold the tulle in half at that length (I made mine for a 3 year old, so I measured 10” and folded the tulle in half to make 2, 10” sections). Cut the tulle at the bottom, still leaving it folded at the top.
Step 5:
Take your folded piece of tulle, and cut it into approximately 2” strips. Still, make sure the tulle is folded at the top of each strip.
Step 6:
Repeat steps 4 and 5 with your other 2 colors of tulle.
Step 7:
Now, you are ready to start attaching your tulle to your elastic. Take your first strip of tulle and fold it around the elastic. For the sequined elastic, make sure you feel the tulle through the threads, and only over the bottom row of sequins.
Step 8:
Feel the bottom part of the strip of tulle inside the loop at the top of the tulle. Pull tight.
Step 9:
Attach each strip of tulle individually (as described in steps 7-8), alternating between all 3 colored tulle strips.
Voi la! Once you’ve gone around the entire elastic, you have a perfectly make Frozen tutu for your infant/toddler. You can pair this with a few things to ensure your kid feels JUST like Elsa:
If you REALLY want to get creative, buy some extra sequined elastic from the fabric store and attach it to the neck and arms of the shirt you buy to go with the costume. You can also take some extra tulle and drape it “off the shoulders” to make your toddler feel REALLY special (even though they’re still wearing a long sleeve shirt). The embellishments make them go gaga! Here’s a picture of a fairy tutu I made, and paired with a pink leotard and wrist sequins (I apologize for the blurry pictures, she was dancing and I couldn’t get a still shot). She didn’t want to take it off!
But if you want to stay simple (and inexpensive), just buy a cheap Frozen shirt from Target or Kmart to pair with their new tutu. I guarantee you, your child will go crazy for her new outfit. And if you tell her you made it, she just may think you’re her fairy godmother too 🙂
Become Any Disney Princess with a DIY Tutu
Now, I like to use Elsa from Frozen as an example because let’s be honest, the popularity of the character isn’t going anywhere. But if your kid is a bigger Anna fan, or Cinderella, or whatever they’re obsession may be, just tailor the sequin and tulle colors for the character theme. Below are some examples of what you’d need for a DIY Tutu for different characters:
Anna (Frozen):
Belle (Beauty and the Beast):
Cinderella:
Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):
Arielle (The Little Mermaid):
Minnie Mouse:
Altogether, the tulle costs about $3. The elastic, another $2-6 (depending on the type you get), and a leotard will run you around $8 on Amazon. Heck, you could make your child into all of these Disney Princesses for what it would cost in a retail store for one Elsa costume.
So foster your kid’s imagination and your creativity at the same time, all while saving some cash. You’ll thank me later.
Thank you so much for this great tutorial. I love the way ours turned out!