How to care for your tutus & tutu dresses

If you have bought a dress or a tutu, take it out of the box and shake it to loosen it. Gently finger comb the tulle then fluff. For those of you who are not sure what finger combing is, it is when you gently use your fingers to brush out the tulle as though your fingers were a comb you use on your hair to take out the tangles. When you do this, it helps to remove the tangles and straighten out the tulle of any strips that may be twisted, knotted or crumpled.

All of our dresses and tutus come packaged in tissue paper.

Here are a list of things you should know about caring for your tutu and tutu dresses.

Cleaning Directions

Our dresses are for the big, beautiful and bold. Little girls love them because they are fun to wear and comfortable. Fun means much of the time they will get dirty. Dirty is a good thing in our book because it means they are truly enjoying themselves and are in the moment of whatever it is they are getting into.

Here are a few different tips on how to clean your tutu/dresses:

1. Never Ever wash your tutu/dress in the washing machine and Never Ever put it in the dryer. Doing this will destroy your tutu/dress. I personally experimented with this theory to see what exactly would happen if I did wash it in the washing machine and dry it in the dryer. I can tell you that I learned my lesson. I purposely created a dress to test this theory and to test the statements made by many other websites on how to care for your tutus/dresses. Every one of them explained what not to do but not what happens when you do. I put the dress in the washing machine and not only did it become tangled but in many areas of the dress, the tulle was ripped. The dryer only added to the mess that became of this beautiful dress. When the cycle was complete, there was no saving the dress. I could not take out the tangles, the dress was ruined and I had no choice but to throw it out. What is the lesson in all this? To prevent having one very upset little munchkin, DO NOT put the item in the washing machine or the dryer.

2. Your tutus/dresses need to be cared for and washed. the best way to ensure a long lifespan for your tutu/dress is to spot clean the areas that are dirty with soap and water. Rinse it thoroughly, gently finger-comb, straighten the tulle and hang dry. If the entire tutu/dress is dirty, instead of spot cleaning, gently hand wash the item in the sink and follow the same instructions as spot cleaning.

3. Flatten out the dirty area and wipe it gently with the baby wipe. Baby wipes work great to remove stains in small areas.

4. If the skirt needs more cleaning , use a soft cloth and a gentle detergent to spot clean the spoiled area.

Taking Out Wrinkles

I am personally a fan of a messy fluffy dress but there are people who prefer the preppy clean look without any wrinkles. Either way it great but here are a few tips on taking out the wrinkles:

Whatever method you use the one thing you DO NOT do is IRON your tulle. I repeat... DO NOT IRON.

1. You can use a dehumidifier. Set it on a towel to catch any water that drips. Place your tutu/dress on a hanger, hold it above the steam and slowly move the dress/tutu back and forth until it is straight and fluffy once again. It may be best to work from the inside out, then flip it.

2. You can use a vertical steamer on a low setting to help take out the wrinkles. Please make sure to be careful and not allow the steamer to get too close to the fabric because it can be ruined.

3. If you do not have a dehumidifier or a vertical steamer, the best alternative way to remove wrinkles would be to use the steam from your shower. Comb through the tulle with your fingers, shake, and fluff the tulle. It should allow you to detangle the tulle easily and it will come back to life.

4. You can use a spray bottle of water to take out the wrinkles on the tulle. Hang up the dress/tutu, detangle with your fingers and allow the weight of the water to straighten the tulle while it drip dries.

5. Use fabric softener such as Downy Wrinkle Releaser. You can create your own method by purchasing a spray bottle (you can purchase one from the dollar store), fill it up with water and take 1 tablespoon of liquid fabric softener and add it to the water. Shake the bottle well then spray it on the tulle, finger-comb the tulle and allow the weight of the mixture to straighten the tulle while it drip dries.

6. You can use the steam from your iron. This method is not the most popular method and I personally would not recommend it but it is an alternative method. You must be extremely careful because the tulle can easily melt. If you happen to damage the tulle or melt your product, Enchanted Bella Boutique is not responsible.

Removing Static

Static can become an issue from time to time. Our tutus and tutu dresses are made up mostly of fabric tulle and static can be a major issue. It does not matter where you purchase your tulle tutu or dress, static will play a role and at some point, you will need to know how to deal with it and take care of it properly.

Just to give you an idea of how bad static can be, while I was creating one of my dresses, the static was so intense, I felt like I was literally being attacked by the dress. It did not matter what I did, the tulle just clung to me and even wrapped around my leg. It was hysterical and frustrating. Imagine that? Being attacked by tulle! LOL

1. A great solution to treat static would be to use a spray bottle and combine 2 teaspoons of liquid fabric softener and water or use a 50/50 combination of of fabric softener and lukewarm water. Shake the bottle vigorously and mist each layer of tulle lightly from the hem to the waistband. Make sure not to soak the tulle. All you need to do is lightly spray each layer and let it the dress/tutu hang dry.

I personally do NOT like this technique. I tried it and hated it. It seemed to work at first but when the girls wore the dresses over time, as they walked it would completely wrinkle. It was horrendous.

2. Static Guard will treat the static as well.

3. For those who do not want to use a liquid solution to solve your static issue, you can always use a fabric softener sheet. Wipe each strip of tulle with the sheet and this should help solve your static cling issues.

Frayed Ends

Let's be honest, children love to play and there may be times your child will get into some kind of mischief and accidentally get the tulle caught onto something and snag or fray. The easiest solution is to take off the dress, take a pair of sharp scissors and cut off the frayed ends. An easy solution for what may seem like a disaster to your child because she feels the dress may be ruined. The goal is to not upset them but to always keep them smiling.

Storage Solutions

To store your tutu's and tutu dresses, it is best to hang them up on a hanger and cover it with something soft. Try to be careful not to smash them in the closet. Try to leave some space so that it can fall nicely. If this is not a good option for you, the next best thing would be to store them in a breathable storage bag or a special storage container.

Truthfully I have had no problem so far storing them in a bag and then putting them in a box but it is a lot of work to remove the wrinkles and get it back into shape if they have been in the box for a long period of time.

Tutu skirts should be hung upside down on the hanger to maintain its fluff. This method helps to smooth any wrinkles.

Disclaimer

Enchanted Bella Boutique cannot be held responsible if you break or damage your products using any of these methods. All of this information is merely helpful information, tips and ideas on how to take care of your tutus and tutu dresses.

We hope you enjoy your products and have fun wearing them. If you have any additional tips and helpful ideas, please email us. We are always looking for anything that will help our customers enjoy their items.

What do you do when they get dirty? Well hopefully you give your child a bath but the tutu/tutu dresses are cared for a little differently. Your little darling is probably happy because of all the fun they had but upset they got their tutus/dresses dirty.

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