Handmade Dress Up: DIY Peacock Tutu Tutorial

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Thanks for this great DIY tutorial from Shwin & Shwin! Please check out all the other handmade costume tutorials! If you're interested in costumes, we have 75+ costume tutorials here now! Check them all out.

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I was so excited when Andrea asked me to play along in this super fun series! You see I tried my hand for the first time making my kids costumes last year. However I am notorious for last second costume finding/making. I finished my kids costumes in the car on the way to our halloween party. (awesome) So this invite was a prefect way to force me to make them early. The only hard part was figuring out what in the world I should make…


Peacock

 Image sources: one two three


When I was struggling to come up with an idea for my daughter, my son suggested she be an animal. (he is so helpful) So I thought of my favorite animal and of course it has to be the beautiful, elegant and vibrant peacock.  I wanted something whimsical and fun that would still resemble the peacock. So for part of her costume I made a Peacock tutu. 


With fun bright colors and a scattering of "peacock feathers" going down the back. The tutu is nice and full in the back and bare in the front to mimic the look of a real peacock. So would you like to make one yourself?

I started by making a tutu. Which I am pretty sure everyone and their best friend has done a tutorial on how to make one, so we will skip that part. I used THIS tutorial for mine. I only put the tulle in the back of the band leaving the front empty. I did brown and tan on the sides and then it faded to blue and green in the middle. I did this to closely mimic the peacock feathers. 
Then I made some feathers for the back. 
 I started by cutting out the base of the feather in brown felt and then I cut out the shapes for the "eye" looking part of the feather. I used lime green, teal and royal blue felt for the pieces.
 Then I started by sewing the green piece to the brown piece by sewing around the edge, and then sewing lines outward for detail on the feather.
Then I just used my glue gun to glue the two blue pieces on to the feather. 
Then I tacked the feathers scattered on a ribbon. 
I added the ribbons to the back of the skirt. 
Then you are done with the peacock tutu!
It's ready for your little one to flounce around in all day for dress up fun, or for the perfect little halloween ensemble. 
Where she is sure to look like a darling little peacock.
Come stop by our blog anytime to see the rest of the peacock costume, my son's "Hawkeye the archer" costume or many other projects! 

We would love to have you!

Or, consider buying Natural Peacock Tail Feathers
! How fun would that be?
Look at these other cute tutorials from Shauna at Shwin & Shwin:
***note: these costumes are not for sale. Sorry, we are unable to make them for you. 

Check out the other Handmade Dress Up tutorials!

 


Comments

  1. Holly says

    Oh I so want a peacock tutu for Halloween! I however am not crafty, nor do I own a sewing machine. Would you consider making one and selling it?

  2. says

    Hi holly, I likely won’t be making or selling these but you could easily make one without any sewing just a glue gun really. It would come together pretty easily.

  3. says

    Hi Lindsay! For the tutu I used 5 yards total of tulle. 1 yard of each color. I didn’t tie the ribbon on I folded the top of the ribbon over the tulle band and stitched it in place. You could tie it if you wanted to just by tying a knot at the top. For fabric for the tee I used about 1/2 a yard for mine the directions for the top are found here:
    http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/2011/10/pretty-peacock.html
    How much fabric you need will depend of the size you are making.
    I hope that helps!

  4. Lindsay says

    Thank you so much! I was also wondering if you took more than one color and tied them together? Sorry for all the questions! I’m just getting into all these fun crafty things. Ha Ha!

  5. Diana says

    Thank you! My larger plans for Simplicity’s Rapunzel costume aren’t going quickly, so I’m using this as my backup plan. My 5-year-old has helped me cut out the felt ovals and is very excited about helping on her own costume. We are loving this project!

  6. Rebecca Preston says

    Thank you sooo much for the inspiration! My daughter wanted to be a peacock and I had a heck of a time coming up with feathers for a skirt. I know she’ll love this!

  7. Kristen says

    Hi Shauna!
    I actually liked this project so much, I made one for myself for MY Halloween party. (I’m 24, who says you can’t be a kid when you’re all grown up?!)
    I don’t currently own a sewing machine, so I made do with a glue gun, ribbon, and hand stitching… a little more time consuming, but very fun.
    In addition to the tutu/bustle, I scavenged an old slip from a thriftstore, dyed and cut it to fit, tacked on a few eye feathers and embellishments on the front, and tadaaa… Peacock costume.
    Thanks for the inspiration!

  8. Jillian says

    I made a peacock skirt for my 1 year old daughter for Halloween this year. I made my own skirt but I used the feathers from this skirt on hers. It turned out great, and didn’t take me a long time. I loved how you looked at a real peacock and made these feathers. I got a lot of comments on it and the feathers looked very real! Thanks!!

  9. Grazia says

    Thank you for this …absolutely love it and so do my little girls. I made it yesterday and it turned out a treat…now to make another! Just in time for a dress up party on the weekend. Super cute.

  10. Kathie says

    This idea is so cute! I’d like to make it but am wondering how long the brown part of the feather is, so I get the right proportion. Do you have patterns for the feather parts?

  11. Margaret says

    Thank you for the wonderful idea. I made it but kind of cheated…..bought a blue, green, and purple tutu and then hot glued the feathers together and hot glued it to the tulle on the skirt. SOOO cute! Also added a feather to a head band, since they don’t allow masks at school. One costume down only 2 to go.

  12. Carrie Fisher says

    I know you made this costume last year, but where did you buy your daughter’s blue shirt. I’m having a hard time finding one that’s just solid blue. Thanks so much!!!!

  13. says

    I asked on your other post as well but just wondering if you pinned the feathers to the ribbon (and stopped there) or if you then glued or sewed them on the ribbon? Making this for my daughter-finished the feathers today and they look amazing! thanks so much for the inspiration!

  14. Carrie Fisher says

    Never mind…. Just realized that question was asked a couple times an you provided the website….. Thanks!

  15. Kim Kauffman says

    I’m making this for my two year old for halloween and she loves it. She keeps saying “it’s sooooo pretty”. Thanks for the inspiration!! I’m going to make a headband with a smaller version of the feathers on it because there’s no way she’d keep a mask on.

  16. Michelle E says

    Thanks for sharing your fabulous idea. I made one for my four-year-old and it turned out beautifully. I avoid the sewing machine as much as possible, so I just used some fabric paint for the lines on the feathers. The only issue we had was the weight of the feathers caused them to fall under the tulle. If I were to do it again, I’d use some of the heavier, stiffer tulle that I see in your skirt-I think the feathers would be more likely to sit on top. I paired it with a turquoise hoodie from Target, some brown leggings, and homemade feather headband and turquoise mask. The final result was awesome and homemade (and the not homemade parts can be added into the regular clothing rotation). Thanks again!

  17. Neha says

    Thanks for a brilliant tip and idea. I created this for my daughter’s first halloween and it was a perfect idea. I needed something that wouldnt come in her way while she crawls around and hampers her mobility (else she would not have been a happy trooper!) and this was just right! I am not at all the creative type and couldnt have done it without your “without a stitch tip”. Thanks for making our first halloween with our daughter so special and creating memories that we will cherish for a very long time. She sported it at 3-4 halloween events and it made it worth all the effort. I took your ideas a step further and made some wings with a fairy wings you get at a dollar store. I also gave her some feathers in her hair to give a look of the peacock crown. Here is a link to the pictures. …. of which you deserve a large part of the credit for. Many many thanks again and I will keep following your page for future brilliant ideas!!!
    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151205189374116.481818.617249115&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=10151244972405891&set=a.10150555745315891.422348.543865890&type=1&theater
    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151205189374116.481818.617249115&type=3

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