by Christina Dennis
My good friend asked me to help her make a Tinkerbell fairy costume for her little girl's fourth birthday. We started with a gorgeous little green tutu made by Whimsical Elements, picked up some bright green satin from a local fabric shop, and she also snagged a $6 extra small women's tank top in green. I ended up altering the top and making a little leaf apron skirt to tie over the tutu. I was happy with the results, and my little girlie was more than happy to model the outfit! Here's how I did it and how you can too:
Materials:
- 1 yard satin (for leaves on top and for leaf apron skirt)
- tutu
- child's or women's small tank top
Directions:
From the satin, cut out a front and back for 4 large petal shapes (mine were 8" by 7" and I eyeballed the shape) and 3 smaller petal shapes (mine were 8" by 7"). Cut out a 6" wide strip across the entire width of the fabric (your fabric will probably be 54" to 60" wide) for the sash.
Put the petal pieces right sides together, and sew around the two sides. Turn over & press.
Press the 6" wide strip in half lengthwise wrong sides together, and then press the two raw, long edges in ½".
Arrange the larger leaves side-by-side with the top raw edges aligned. Place the smaller leaves on top, over where the larger leaves meet, as pictured above. Pin in place and sew together about ¼" from the raw edge.
Measure your child's waist to find out how long you want the waistband of the leaf apron to be, and then gather the tops of the leaves to fit. In this case, I wanted the skirt to measure 21" long.
Tuck the leaves about ½" into the waistband you've previously folded and pressed. Pin (a lot) because satin is slippery!
Press the short ends of the waistband inwards and press (so there are no raw edges showing on the ends of what will be the tie). Sew the layers together with a topstitch about ¼" from the open fold of the waistband, sew the tie ends shut at the same time (as shown below).
For a matching top, find a green tank top that's your child's size (if not, you can do what I did and alter a women's small tank top by taking in the shoulders and sides). Make small leaves in the same manner as the large leaves made for the skirt (mine measured about 2" by 3"). Pin them together side-by-side, gather them, and then turn the raw edges in, pin, and stitch to the neckline as pictured above.
To wear, simply have your girlie slip on the tank top and a tutu and tie the leaf apron over top. Cuteness!
best regards from germany
I love this costume! When cutting the shapes for the petals you've written 8 x 6 for both the large and small, and I was wondering what the actual sizes are. You're very creative, I really enjoy your site
Thanks, Bec
Hi, Rebecca! Thanks so much. Oops - the small leaves should be 6" x 4". Thanks for double checking that!
Thank you SO much for this tutorial!! Love love and my daughter LoVES her new tink costume!
You're so welcome! I'm so happy that your daughter loves her costume. Do you have a photo you could share? I'd love to see! 🙂
I never saw this post before! What an adorable Tinkerbelle costume! You did a great job, Christina.
Thanks, Sara. It was a fun little costume to sew! Cadence wanted one in a rainbow of colours, haha!
I made this one for my daughter for her friends Tinkerbell themed birthday party. I added an inch to all measurements (for a four year old) It properly could have done with some extra length but it was fine with Tutu underneath. I'm very pleased with the result and my daughter loves her new costume 🙂
That's wonderful, Sandra! I'm glad she loves it and I'm so happy you're pleased with it. Thanks for visiting my blog and using this tutorial!
Thank you so so sooo much. I'm doing the tinkerbell run this year and this will be the perfect pattern (adjusted for adult size)! I'll tag you with the finished product if it turns out well!
Just made this costume. So thrilled with it. Thank you so much. Will be the belle of ball at party next week. I'm in UK.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Making ROse and sunflor costumes for the carnival festivities here in brooklyn for a kids band and i needed this post in my life to get the leaves just right. This is exactly what i needed- Thank you Christina- COntinue being a blessing.
Thank you. I used your pattern to make this skirt for my child's friend and a matching blue (water fairy) one for my daughter. Both girls love them. I added little bells onto the ties of Tink's one, and stitched the back of the belt onto the tutu to make it easier for the girls to put on themselves and keep it from slipping.