Fairy costume

We are going to Disney in a few weeks and we are going to the Mickey's not so scary Halloween party. The whole family is dressing up. We are really excited!!! You will have to check out my other blog in a few weeks to see some pics. It should be worth a look just to see me in my big fluffy tutu. Quite a sight. Anyways, I am making our costumes. I have some weird issues with halloween. I don't really sew but for the past few Halloweens I have really enjoyed making my kids costumes (although I do have to give my mom some credit for helping me with the sewing part last year). I just can't ever find the perfect costumes so I decide to make them. I try to find costumes that don't require too much sewing. This year I found the perfect solution. All of us girls are going to be fairies. I have made tutus and wings. Very easy and too cute!!!! So here is how you make the tutus:

For the purposes of this demonstration, the Tutu size we will be making is a two color, size 2T with a 19 inch waist and, upon completion, measures approximately 12 inches in length. Make adjusts to the following steps as needed with younger or older children (ie. shorter lengths for infants or longer lengths for teens).
STEP ONE: Gather all the items listed in the Materials List above in one central location. (All items not shown in photo.)
STEP 2: Prepare Tulle for cutting. In this example, the tulle was purchased on spools 6" in width. I measured the tulle for cutting at 20 inches length. (Due to size restrictions, the length in cut in photo is shown at 12 inches.) Don't worry about perfectly straight edges.After cutting the Tulle, measure and cut your elastic to the size needed. I cut my elastic for this project at 19 inches. You will need approximately 55 6" x 20" strips for this size project. Larger sizes will need more while smaller sizes will use less.
STEP 3: Once you have your elastic cut to the appropriate size, use a common household stapler to staple together the elastic. Be sure to check the back side of the area with staples to ensure that are bent inward to hold your elastic firmly in place.
STEP 4: Place the tulle in a "U" shape underneath the elastic. Try to keep the ends as close to even as possible to one another. Again, though, don't worry about perfection because slight variances actually add flair.
STEP 5: Bring the two upper portions of the tulle "U" over the elastic. Together, pull them underneath the curved bottom of the "U" for the beginnings of a knot. Pull tightly, securing the tulle against the elastic.Repeat this step until you have went all around your elastic. There should be no elastic visible when completed. If you wish to make a 2 or more color Tutu, simply alternate colors as you continue this step.
STEP 6: When completed, your tutu waistline should like the one in this photo. As you can see, there is no elastic showing.
STEP 7: (optional) To add a little style to your tutu, adorn the finished product with a satin bow. You can do this by cutting 48 inches of 7/8" satin ribbon. Tie in a bow, allowing for long streamers to lay against the tulle. Attach it to your tutu, using a clothespin to hold in place, and allow to dry for 24 hours.
STEP 8: Remove the clothespin after 24 hours, and your tutu is ready to wear!

These instructions are from http://www.ribbonforcrafts.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=12&chapter=1 They have step by step pictures. I did sew my elastic together instead of stapeling it and I didn't add the satin ribbon. However I did embelish our tutus with rinestones in various random spaces.

The Wings:

Obtain four wire hangers. You might like to buy the type of coated hangers. These hangers are easier on the fingers when you bend them. Or, you can obtain them for free from your local dry cleaners, as they often recycle the hangers or even try to throw them away. You can also use a very thick beading wire, if you are making small wings -- 16 gauge or lower.
Start with two hangers. Cut the hook off down to the point where the wire spiral starts. Then bend the spiral part on one hanger to the right and on the other hanger to the left.
Take the two twisted parts and overlap them. Wrap them tightly with duct tape.
Repeat this process with two more hangers.
Bend the hangers into your desired wing shape. Often the top wings have a wider shape and the bottom ones are skinnier - it will assist you if you look at photos or illustrations of butterfly wings. You can also make great dragonfly wings by just making them have a long oval shape.
Use duct tape to join both sets of wings. You will now have 4 wings. At this point the wire structure is complete.
Take 4 knee high socks. You can get them at pharmacies, supermarkets and department stores. Stretch one over each wing. Pull it tight to the center and then twist the entire set of wings as you hold the end of the nylon. Usually you can then hook it on one of the ends of the wire hangin out. Otherwise, just twist them and hold the ends of the nylons to the center until all four wings are tight. Wrap them once again in the middle to hold the knee highs tight on the wings.
Wrap the middle of the wings with velvet and glue it with hot glue. Make sure to put the glue seam toward where your back will be so it's not showing.
Spray paint the edges of the wings before painting them. You can use acrylic paints and glitter to top off the wings.
Make the arm bands. You can use elastic head bands if you want color, or use elastic. It's good to put the elastic on before the velvet center in case you need to hide an elastic seam. To put the elastic loops on, first tie a knot in the elastic so it's a loop, then put it around both top and bottom wing on the right side, and bring the loop through itself between the wings. This is an easy way to put them on without having to sew them. If you do it right, the knot will be on the back side of the wing where it won't show.
Add feathers if you prefer the angel wing type to the guazy kind. This can be done with a lot of patience and store bought feathers by attaching double-sided tape to a wing and sticking the feathers on. Do one wing at a time and make sure the feathers go on with the quil going up. Do both sides of each wing. (Start from the bottom so that the next row of feathers will cover the quills of the lower row.)

These instructions came from http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Fairy-Wings They also have a cheesy but helpful video on their site.

I never new how easy tutus and wings would be to make but if I can do it, anyone can.

How Fun!!!!