Making a Ball Gown in Two Days

Hi Everyone!

I’m taking on a huge project in today’s video. I’m making a ball gown! True to form, I left myself almost no time to make/acquire a gorgeous gown for a masquerade ball. With time running out and a tight budget I decided that I’m going to make myself a beautiful gown Cinderella herself would be thrilled to wear.

The first step was to acquire fabric. I took to the internet and found TulleShop. They had just what I need, tons of tulle and satin for decent prices. ( I’ll link it below).

After work on Monday the 11th, I crossed my fingers and placed my order. The tracking function was cool and I watched my fabric drive across country to Minnesota. At 6:00 a.m. on Monday the 18th my package was about 20 minutes down the highway from me at the FedEx center. I was less than thrilled that it took another two days to make its way to my door from there. But on Wednesday, the 20th I had my fabric! I raced home after work to get to work sewing a ball gown. My event was that Saturday!

If you’ve seen my previous sewing video, (sewing an evening cloak:    • Sewing an Evening Cloak: a DIY Adventure  ), you know that I can work a sewing machine, but that’s about it. The good news is that I’m fairly creative and have a lifetime of arts and crafts experience behind me. So even if it’s not perfect, I can make it look pretty good. The trick is to use forgiving fabrics and not go for the ultra-structured looks. A fluffy tulle skirt is so much more forgiving than a tailored, precision seamed silk sheath!

I started by getting my string out of the para cord (don’t do this, just buy strong cord!) Draping the tulle (108 inch width) over the thread (so that it’s 54 inches hanging on either side). Then I hand sewed a thread beneath my cord so it couldn’t move. This wasn’t tight, or precise, just a loose channel that would hold the cord in place that I could cinch.

Next is to cinch the tulle on the thread and cord so make it the tightest bunch of cinched fabric that you can. (Think long tutu for the shape). Continue this until most of the fabric is used. (Sounds simple, but this is a daunting task. Not actually difficult, just slow).

Take a long strip of satin and sew it to the skirt. Flip the satin over and sew it again. Once more, just for good measure. Seam up the ends to make pretty ribbons and that’s the skirt!

Next the top. First off: cheat! A black cami with the straps crossed over your neck is the base. To give it some glamour, take a length of tulle, fold it over on itself and stitch the ends together to make a circle. Instructions for wearing are in the video.

Seems weird to say “that’s it!” for something that took 8 hours to make, but that’s it! The dress turned out beautifully! I’m thrilled! (And more than a bit proud of myself.)

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!


If you’re looking for decently priced tulle and satin, here’s where I got mine:

Sewing Machine: https://amzn.to/31r9JDs
Tulle: https://www.tulleshop.com/collections...
Satin: https://www.tulleshop.com/collections...


Check out some other videos you might like:
DIY Chandelier:    • DIY Chandelier  
DIY Gilt Mirror:    • Make Your Own DIY Gilt Mirror A Tutorial  
DIY Evening Gown Video here:    • Easy DIY Evening Gown  


Happy Gown Making!


Instagram: @StarsetMoonfire




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