Fairy Princess Skirt

Ernie was invited to her first birthday party today. She's excited, but I'm having so much fun getting ready! Our little friend is turning 3- she loves princesses, puzzles, and the alphabet. Since making 26 of these might be a little overwhelming to finish between now and Saturday morning, and I don't really know how to make sturdy puzzles, I decided to work with the princess theme.

Because I've been hoarding craft supplies since I was 12, the sheer variety of STUFF in my craft boxes can be quite useful at times. I pulled together the tulle I purchased (didn't use) to make an underskirt for my dress worn to a family wedding last December, blue ribbon purchased to make a hair bow for my niece, and pink ribbon rose buds purchased to trim last year's Easter dress for E and came up with a sweet version of a fairy princess skirt, I think. I wish I could put it on Ernie to get a picture...but I know that would mean DISASTER when it came to giving it away. Once touched, always hers is the way she views toys in this house. Unfortunately.

I'm hoping to find a thin dowel tomorrow at the craft or hardware store so I can make a wand, with lots of ribbon streamers. If I can figure out a good way to attach mylar tissue paper to thin cardboard, I can make a crown too. Or maybe I'll just make a tiara out of wire pipe cleaners? Doesn't sound too sturdy...can you tell I'm making this up as I go? At any rate, here are my instructions for a Fairy Princess skirt.

Fairy Princess Skirt

Materials Needed:
Tulle
Ribbon
Adornments

1. Lay tulle out and fold in half long-ways (top to bottom), then again. Now you'll have 4 layers of tulle. I'm making this for a small girl, so this length skirt will be just fine. If you want it for someone taller than a 3-year-old, you'd need to lay the tulle differently to get as many layers as you wanted.

2. Measure the waist of the child who will be wearing this. Double that number, and cut a piece of tulle (4 layers, remember) that long. I'm using a 25 inch waist (my daughter's, so her friend might be swimming in this, but it's adjustable!) Tulle measured 50 inches.

3. Sew a one inch casing along the folded edge. Remember, you don't need to hem tulle. (I used white tulle, and rose colored thread.)

4. Cut a piece of ribbon that measures the waist circumference plus enough for tying. Thread through the casing. Spread the tulle evenly along the ribbon. I used 38 inches of ribbon, to give lots of tying room.

5. Fold the skirt in half, so both raw edges are together, and measure out from the middle. Make the tulle smooth from that point on (there should be four or five inches of ribbon still sticking out on either side.) Anchor the ribbon at the points you marked by sewing and back sewing perpendicular in between the casing lines. I measured about 9 inches. This will make sure the ends of your ribbon don't slip inside the casing, but still leave enough room to adjust the waist of the skirt. As a guide, you could try to put these marks so they fall on the hips.

6. Treat the ribbon ends so they won't fray- I like to burn them, taking care not to discolor the ribbon.

7. Embellish! You could use lots of ribbon streamers, tacked between various layers. Dots of glitter glue. Sequins. Anything you like! I sewed little ribbon rose buds randomly- I liked how the pale pink played against the robins egg blue and the white. But then, I'm crazy for Spring to get here!

Now go and make these for your daughters, your neighbors, your friends...or make up a bunch of blank ones and invite everyone over to pick their own ribbons, bits, and bobs!