Tulle is a fine net that does not fray, so it needs no seam finish and no hem: cut it with a rotary cutter, sew it with a 60/8 to 70/10 needle, fine polyester thread and a 2.5 to 3 mm stitch, and gather it with a zigzag over a cord or by sewing it straight onto elastic. A tulle skirt is three to six gathered or circular layers, each two to four times the waist measurement, hung on a lined waistband or a wide elastic. Press at the lowest synthetic setting with a cloth, because nylon tulle melts under a hot iron.
Quick reference: machine settings for tulle
| Setting | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Needle | 60/8 or 70/10 universal or microtex, new |
| Thread | Fine polyester; all-purpose polyester for seams that carry weight (waist) |
| Stitch length | 2.5 to 3 mm for seams; 4 mm for gathering rows |
| Presser foot | Standard foot with tissue paper under the net; walking foot for several layers at once |
| Pre-wash | Not needed for nylon and polyester tulle; hand wash silk tulle; cotton bobbinet may shrink, wash it |
| Pressing | Synthetic setting (the lowest), pressing cloth, or a steamer held at a distance; test on a scrap |
| Seam finish | None: tulle does not fray. Trim plain seams to 6 mm (1/4 in) |
Which tulle should you buy?
- Nylon tulle is the stiff, inexpensive kind sold for petticoats and bridal skirts, often 137 cm (54 in) wide or 274 to 300 cm (108 to 118 in) wide. It holds a full shape and can feel scratchy on the skin.
- Soft tulle (usually polyester, sometimes called soft or bridal illusion) drapes and falls close to the body. It is the one for a skirt that moves rather than stands out.
- English net or bobbinet has a hexagonal mesh, is softer and stronger, and is used for overlays and bodices rather than full skirts.
- Silk tulle is the lightest and most expensive, fragile and lovely for veils and overlays.
- Glitter and flocked tulle are stiffer and shed; line them away from the skin.
- Stretch tulle and power mesh contain elastane and sew like a light knit, with a stretch needle and a narrow zigzag.
The width matters more than with other fabrics: with 300 cm wide tulle, one strip cut across the width gives a whole gathered layer; with 150 cm (60 in) wide tulle, each layer needs two strips joined at the sides.
How do you cut tulle?
Tulle slides and builds up static, so cut it in a single layer or in a few folded layers held with weights, on a large table or a clean floor. A rotary cutter with a long ruler cuts straight strips in one pass; scissors leave ragged edges that show on a raw hem.
For gathered layers, cut rectangles across the full width, as deep as the finished skirt length plus 1.5 cm (5/8 in) at the top. For circular layers, fold the tulle in quarters and cut the waist and hem arcs with the radius from the circle skirt calculator; a full circle layer has no gathering and lies smooth at the waist.
How do you sew seams in tulle?
A plain seam in tulle almost disappears, so there is no need for a French seam except on the very softest tulle where two layers of net show as a band. Sew side seams with a 2.5 mm straight stitch and trim the allowance to 6 mm (1/4 in). Do not backstitch on fine tulle: it chews into the needle hole. Shorten the stitch for the last centimeter instead, or tie the thread tails.
If the net is drawn into the needle plate, put a strip of tissue paper underneath and tear it away afterwards, or switch to a straight-stitch plate with a single small hole. Hold both thread tails behind the foot for the first few stitches.
How do you gather tulle?
Two rows of long basting stitches, the usual gathering method, work on one layer of soft tulle, but the threads break when you pull several stiff layers along a long strip. Two methods hold up better.
Zigzag over a cord. Lay a length of crochet cotton or thin cord 1 cm (3/8 in) from the top edge and zigzag over it with a 4 mm wide stitch, without catching the cord. Pull the cord to gather, pin the gathers evenly onto the waistband, and stitch the layer on with a straight stitch just below the cord. Remove the cord or leave it in.
Sew straight onto elastic. For a pull-on waist, mark the elastic and the top of the tulle in quarters, pin them together at the marks, stretch the elastic to the tulle between pins and zigzag through both. The elastic pulls the tulle into even gathers when it relaxes. The gathering guide shows both methods and the serger version, and the gathering ratio calculator turns a waist and a ratio into a strip length.
A ratio of 2:1 (strip twice the waist) gives a soft skirt in soft tulle; 3:1 to 4:1 in stiff nylon makes a full ballet shape. Gather each layer on its own cord, then stack the layers and baste them together along the top before the waistband goes on. Gathering four layers in one pass makes lumps.
How do you build a layered tulle skirt?
A tulle skirt has three parts: an underskirt that the tulle does not scratch through, the tulle layers, and the waist. The underskirt is a straight or A-line skirt in satin, cotton lawn or lining fabric, cut 2 to 3 cm (3/4 to 1 1/4 in) shorter than the tulle so it never shows below. The waist is either a 5 cm (2 in) wide elastic sewn directly to the stacked layers, or a fabric waistband with an invisible zip in the underskirt's side seam.
An example for a 72 cm (28 1/4 in) waist and a 55 cm (21 3/4 in) knee length with four layers at 3:1: each layer is a strip 56.5 cm deep and 216 cm (85 in) long plus seams. On 300 cm wide tulle that is one strip per layer and about 2.3 m (2 1/2 yd) of tulle in all; on 150 cm wide tulle, two strips per layer and about 4.6 m (5 yd). Add 1.5 m (1 5/8 yd) of underskirt fabric.
- Sew and hem the underskirt, and gather its top if it is a gathered skirt, or leave it smooth if it is A-line.
- Cut the tulle strips, join the side seams of each layer, and gather each on its own cord to the waist length.
- Stack the layers with the underskirt innermost, matching the side seams, and baste them together 1 cm from the top.
- Attach the elastic or the waistband through all layers.
- Hang the skirt overnight, then trim the layers level with the rotary cutter, each tulle layer a little longer than the one inside it, or all the same length for a blunt edge.
Sewly's gathered skirt pattern gives the skirt panels as cutting dimensions rather than printed pages, which suits tulle, since you cut the strips with a ruler anyway, and its guide lists the elastic length for your waist.
How do you hem tulle?
You do not. The raw edge, cut straight with the rotary cutter, is the hem; any folded hem shows as a heavy line through the net. For a defined edge on a stiff petticoat, sew horsehair braid along the edge or bind it with narrow satin ribbon. For a softer look, cut the outer layer 2 cm (3/4 in) longer than the next one so the edges blur into each other.
How do you press and care for tulle?
Set the iron to the synthetic setting, cover the tulle with a pressing cloth and press lightly; nylon melts and polyester glazes above that heat. A garment steamer held 10 cm (4 in) away removes creases from a stored skirt without touching it. Wash by hand or on a delicate cycle in a mesh bag, and hang to dry; never tumble dry nylon tulle.
What to sew with tulle
- A gathered skirt in soft tulle over a lawn underskirt, with a wide elastic waist.
- A circle skirt in two or three full-circle layers of stiff tulle, smooth at the waist and very full at the hem.
- A fit-and-flare dress with a tulle overlay on the gathered or half-circle skirt, attached in the waist seam with the fabric skirt.