My son’s school just performed the musical, Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. I was on the costume committee and offered my services in the area of sewing. For the main Tinkerbell fairies (Iridessa, Rosetta, etc.), a friend and I were assigned to sew their skirts.
Here are the 6 main fairies:
Silvermist:
Fawn:
Iridessa:
Lyria:
Vidia:
And, Rosetta (don’t you just love this pink?!):
Here is how to make your daughter their very own fairy skirt.
You will need:
- Knit fabric to match your favorite fairy
- Fabric in a coordinating shimmery fabric
- 1-2 layers of tulle in matching color (or white)
- Leftover strips of fabric or ribbon
- Butcher paper or newspaper for making pattern
- 1/2 in. wide non-roll elastic
- Sewing scissors
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine & matching thread
What to do:
1. Using butcher paper or newspaper, cut out a kite-shaped template. Using your pattern, cut out 4 of these shapes. (Each skirt will have 4 panels.)
2. On each “kite shape,” fold down at the two outer points (see pic below). My pattern was not exact so it laid a little lopsided. But since we were going for “whimsical,” it looked fine.
3. Next, make a small triangle pattern out of paper and cut out 2 triangles from your shimmery fabric and 6 triangles of the tulle. These layers will go on top of the knit. For mine, I made 2 panels with 1 layer of tulle and one top layer of shimmer. For the other 2 panels, I used 2 layers of tulle. When they wear their skirt, put one of the shimmery sides in the front, one in back.
Pin together at the top.
4. Next, lay out your 4 panels in a circle. Remember, 2 panels will have a shimmery top with one layer of tulle on top of the knot. The other 2 panels will be more plain with 2 layers of tulle on top of the knit.
5. Now it’s time to sew. I sewed the top row first, close to the top. Then I came down about an inch and sewed across again. This will be the space for your elastic.
6. Once all 4 panels are sewn, wind your elastic through each panel. I used a big safety pin on the end of the elastic to help guide it through.
7. Now it’s time to sew your elastic. Try it on your “fairy” for sizing, pin it and then sew. Spread your 4 panels around the fabric so it looks even.
8. In between each panel, we sewed strips of leftover fabric to give it a whimsical look. Just layer a few strips together, fold over the elastic, and sew. We used either silver or gold accent fabric and also some white shimmery material to give it some pizzazz.
Now you’re done! Here was my finished product for Vidia:
I’d recommend using fabric that won’t fray (knit worked well). The gold strips started fraying, and I think ribbon would be easier.
When the girls wore the costumes, they wore bike shorts underneath. Also, their tops were made long enough to give them more coverage while on stage. I did not sew the tops, but in case you wanted to make one, they used either the same knit material from the skirt or a satiny material to make a sleeveless tunic. Then they used scraps from the skirts and extra ribbon to sew decoration around the neck. I think they turned out lovely.
If you have any questions, please e-mail me at amy@campmommawatchi.com.
Amber Tincher and Amy Leckrone
Co-founders of Camp Mommawatchi
Purchase at-home camp curriculum at www.campmommawatchi.com