Princess Tutu
Tutus are one of my favorite sewing projects! This was my third handmade tutu, following two different versions of Princess Kraehe from the same series. I was nervous about giving Princess Tutu a try instead, since she’s not my usual character type, but I loved her Swan Lake Odette design too much to resist!
My Tutu wig was a Lulu from Arda Wigs in the color Light Pink. The feathers were hackle patches combined with duck feathers, and embellished with a couple rhinestones; these were hand-sewed onto the wig.
I self-drafted my bodice. It was lined with cotton twill, while the outer fabric was a matte bridal satin. It was reinforced with steel spiral boning, and the top and bottom hems were finished with piping. The beadwork was comprised of 1,271 sequins and seed beads, which surrounded a satin appliqué.
My Odette tutu had 12 rows in total, comprised of 4 frills each, all of which were double-pleated by hand. The first 4 rows had cotillion blue tulle interspersed between them, bumping the row count up to 16. There was a hoop in the 8th row. Each row had three frills made from 72” netting. In total, this tutu took approximately 64 hours to construct just for the skirt, not including the bodice or basques or plate, which pushed it up to over 100 hours.
(Featured photo by Night Eyes Cosplay.)