Rapunzel Inspired Princess Costume Using a Tulle Tutu

Do you have a little princess who needs a costume yet?  My Princess loves the movie Tangled and decided that she wanted to be Rapunzel.  Using a tutu shirt and a turtleneck I came up with a costume fit for my little Halloween princess.

There are a few  problems with dressing your little one up as a princess for Halloween if you live in Wisconsin.  When Halloween arrives and it is time to put that cute little dress on over a snowsuit because it is so cold – it doesn’t always look as beautiful as you had hoped!  I wanted her to feel like a princess, but make a costume that could keep her a little warmer than your normal store – bought dress.  Here is my beautiful Rapunzel in her new dress.  She is letting down her hair in this picture – so sweet!

I collected my supplies first, and really had no idea how I was going to make this happen until I began the process.  I was shopping the clearance craft section at Walmart and found the purple bows, purple ribbon, and a pretty hot pink sash all for under $6.  I also purchased 3 rolls of tulle in hot pink, pale pink, and a light lavender.  They were 6in by 25 yard rolls that I found in the wedding section.  These were about $2.50 each.  I also wanted some dark purple in the tutu but couldn’t find the right color in a roll.  I bought two yards of dark purple tulle and cut it myself.  My daughter wears about a 3T pant – and this was just enough to make her tutu floor length and nice and full.

I made a tutu skirt using the pink sash that I found and all of my tulle.  I used a pair of her pants to measure the waist and the length that I needed.  Here is my tutorial on making the tulle tutu so you have some more detailed instructions on how to make one yourself.  The sash turned out to be so beautiful, and worked perfectly to make the tutu just a little more special.  It was only $1.50 on clearance too – great deal!

I used a little pink turtleneck that we already had at home to make mimic Rapunzel’s corset type top.  I appliqued three X’s onto the shirt using an applique technique that I showed you here.  I also put on on the back of the shirt on the bottom, but is mostly covered by the tutu.

I hand sewed the little bows that I found on clearance onto the shoulders of the shirt.  At this point I felt like the shirt need just a little something more to balance the big poofy tutu with the shirt, so I added some tulle to sleeves to make little shoulder poofs (that’s such a technical term).  I just doubled up a couple layers of tulle and sewed each of the ends together.  I then hand sewed the tulle strips onto the sleeves making sure it wasn’t directly under her arm (for comfort).  We found the crown at JoAnn Fabrics.  I believe it was $5 but I used a 40% off coupon.

I think this costume is the perfect combination of pretty, comfortable, warm, and unique.  When we go trick or treating I know we will be adding a layer under the tutu and shirt – but she will look just as adorable.  I love that she will be able to wear this costume all year long for dress up too.  By getting creative, a little over $20 was all I needed to make a beautiful Rapunzel costume that will be perfect for a Halloween in Wisconsin and makes my princess very very happy.

This costume turned out so adorable, and my daughter wants to wear it everywhere!! Literally – this is a picture of her going to get the mail with me in it!