How to Make A Fairy Skirt

>> Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Okay, I have no daughters. I do not get to sew pretty little girl things too terribly often, so when the time comes, I seize the day.

I give you a mini-tutorial of How to Make a Fairy Skirt (for little girls):

You'll need:
1-2 yards (depending on the size of your fairy) of fabric of really any kind, but silky is the most fun (For a four-year-old niece (CUTE!) I used 1 yard of "satin feel" fabric from Joanns. Gotta love Halloween time, you can find whatever you need.)
3 yards tulle (in whatever color you want)
1 inch elastic for waistband

Start with the How to Make a Skirt With No Pattern tutorial (click!)

BUT do not finish the skirt. STOP after you get the sides and hem sewn. DO NOT SEW A WAIST BAND. DON'T DO IT! WAIT JUST A MINUTE!

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I made this skirt with a curvy, flowy shape. I wanted it to be "prance and twirl-able." I literally cut the hem all swirly, instead of straight across. Then I double turned it under and hemmed.

Now, for the "fairy" part of the whole experience. 

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Tulle. 

I know! 

3 yards of tulle. 

Cut the three yards into 3 equal-ish strips length-wise. (So, hot dog style.) Ultimately, you're going to end up with three 3 yards pieces of fabric that are about 12 inches wide each. 

3 yards long, 12 inches wide, got it? 

Now, to make those pieces into the skirt topper: 
Run a basting stitch (as big as your machine will go) on the top, along the whole three yards. DO NOT lock the stick. Just let it go. 
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Look! Tulle automatically ruffles itself! FANTASTIC!
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Do it with all three pieces. 

Next attach the pieces to the skirt, making your way around the whole thing at the top. If you need to, chop the third piece shorter. Bunch and unbunch as needed to make it look the way you want it as you go. 
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Depending on the length of your skirt, you'll need to trim the tulle. As you can see, my skirt was shorter by quite a lot.
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Now the tricky part, the WAIST BAND to hide the lovely attaching of the tulle. 

Cut your waist band from your under-skirt material. Make it TWICE as wide as you actually want it to be. So, if you have 1 inch elastic, cut it about 4 inches wide. You're going to fold it over TWICE, so it needs to be WIDE. When in doubt, cut it way wider than you need, you can always trim later. 

Right side together, and sew it into a tube. 
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Turn it right side out, and fold it over the inside and outside of your skirt, so you now are covering the tulle AND the inside of the skirt, pin and sew, leaving two openings at one seam to run your elastic.
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See how as I sew the waist band down, the tulle disappears underneath it?
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You're encasing the inside and the outside of the skirt in your waist band. It's making it look smooth.
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Got it?
Now, run your elastic on the INSIDE of the waist band. (Remember you folded it over the outside and inside of the skirt, so where you left it open at the seam, run it.)
Sew the elastic and waistband closed.
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DONE!
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I left the tulle longer than the underskirt just for fun, but do whatever you want with it.

The BEST part of this whole process: making my poor four year old SON be my model to make sure it was all going to fit his cousin. Poor dear was NOT happy with me.

Anyway, one thing I forgot to take a picture of is, if your waist band gets bunchy for whatever reason, STOP and take it out. Otherwise you end up having to sew a patch over the ugly part to cover it up. I can't tell you HOW I know that, but I do. So trust me. Have your seam ripper handy.

Also, make sure you keep track of your tulle as you sew the waist band. I had to take out two different instances where I sewed the tulle in where it didn't belong because it had floated upward. Tulle is tricky. VERY tricky.

But your fairy princess will love it.

:)

3 comments:

The Nelsen Family: September 8, 2010 at 3:46 PM  

I think it's just mean to taunt me with that In-N-Out cup in one of the pictures.

Oh, and cute skirt, by the way. :)

Morgan Hagey September 8, 2010 at 5:35 PM  

HAHA! I seriously considered editing it out and then left it. So sorry! :)

TJDKG September 9, 2010 at 9:53 AM  

I think said 4yr old should have one for himself.. to match his cape.. thats all.

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