As I was chatting to my pal Kara last night about World Book Day costumes (seriously, almost all my WhatsApp chats are WBD related at the moment), I realised I have never shared my super-easy Tinkerbell costume with you. It’s a brilliant last-minute make, because it takes very little time, requires no skill and will cost less than a fiver!
The Dress
1. Buy green fabric that is double the length from shoulder to where you want the dress to end. Then add 10cm. A metre worked for my 6 year old.
2. Now, I mentioned in the intro this was a no skill job, so don’t mock me for this next bit. Fold your material in half so you have basically the front and back of the dress. Make your wannabe fairy lie down on the fabric so you can easily mark out the size you need. You’re measuring the width (if the roll is too wide) and the length. You want to add an extra 10cm or so, so it’s not skin tight. You can always trim later. Mark it off and cut a rectangle through both pieces of fabric. Do not cut across the fold.
3. Make sure your fabric is inside out and sew up both sides, leaving gaps at the top for arms to stick out.
4. Decide which side will be the front. Then find the centre of the folded part. This will become a neck hole.
5. Cut the neck hole. Make it smaller than you think initially, and then make it bigger, unless you’re better at estimating than me! Shape the front slightly.
6. Cut zig zags along the bottom to give that Tinkerbell look.
7. Turn the right way round, and voila, you have a dress.
The Shoes
I impressed myself with these. My neighbour donated some old shoes and I got my Sharpies out and coloured them in green. Yes. I Sharpied the shoes. I know. Genius, right?! I then purchased a pack of 5cm pompoms from HobbyCraft for £1 and hot glued them in place. Shoes done. Top Tip: Leave to dry before you go over them with a second coat.
The Wings
I confess. I didn’t make them, they were already in the dress up box. But you can get beautiful wings from the likes of Smallable or pick up some from the high street – H&M or Claire’s normally have them. Or, and if you’re feeling creative and have some time, make some out of cardboard as shown over on Red Ted Art.
The Hair
Lola’s been blessed with curls. Tinkerbell wasn’t. So we straightened the hair, clipped the front back to create a faux-fringe and then put it all up in a bun, tying a fabric scrap from the dress around it for detail.
Oh my, what a super duper cute Tinkerbell!! LOVE! Thanks for including our fairy wings!!
We love them Maggy! And will be giving them a go soon!
Hi! I’m going to try this for my 1.5 year old! I’m wondering what you mean by shape the front and also how you did the sleeves?
Brilliant! Claire made this one, but I think by ‘shape the front’ she means cut a curved neckline. The sleeves are literally just the gaps that you leave at the top when you sew the sides. Look forward to seeing how you get on – do share a photo with us. L x