Lined Tinkerbell Tutu Dress Tutorial

I was super excited when Andrea from The Train to Crazy contacted me about her Handmade Dress Up series!  Dress up is something that is a part of daily life in our home.  I love seeing what my kids put together!  There's just something about seeing their creativity come out!  And I love all the characters they come up with!

An obvious favorite with Sophie is Tinkerbell!  Some of you might remember that I made her a Tink costume for Halloween last year, and it still gets quite a bit of use...sometimes even as pjs! So that's what I shared for the Handmade Dress up series.  Here's the tutorial for  any of you who might have missed it!

BTW:  I hope you'll excuse my pics!  They were taken when I had just gotten a new camera and had no clue how to use it! 

What you need:

Jersey Knit Fabric

Tulle

Elastic Thread

Fabric Marker

2 - 1/2" pieces of velcro (one hook, one loop)

First, cut out the bodice & short pieces:

Bodice

(cut 2 from tulle and 2 from jersey)

12m/18m ~ 2- 10" x 20"

2t/3t ~ 2- 11" x 21"

4t/5t ~ 2- 12" x 22"

 Straps

12m/18m ~ 2- 4" x 6 "

2t/3t ~ 2- 4.5" x 7"

4t/5t ~ 2- 4.5" x 8 "

Shorts

12m/18m ~ 2- 8.5" x 20"

2t/3t ~ 2- 9.5" x 21"

4t/5t ~ 2- 10.5" x 22"

Start with the shorts...Do a double turned hem by turning up the bottom edge 1/2"; press.  Turn it up another 1/2"; press; stitch.  With RS together, pin & stitch side seams together with 1/2" seam allowance; finish raw edges.  Fold the shorts in half with side seams together and mark the center.  Open them up and measure about 2-3" up from the bottom along the center mark and mark with your fabric marker.  Repeat to the left and right of center crease.  Then, connect the three marks to form an arch.   Cut the arch out and stitch with 1/2" seam allowace; trim, then finish raw edges with prefered method (serge, overcast, or zig zag).

Now, cut out the tulle skirt. You will need about 30-40 tulle strips 6" wide x

12m/18m ~ 22" long

2t/3t ~ 24" long

4t/5t ~ 26" long

Fold them in half long sides together, then, short sides together and cut the bottoms at a 45 degree angle to make it "pixie" cut.  The longer side should be the folded side.  (I do all my strips at once and if I come across any that look funny as I sew them together,  I just clean up the point)  

Now, make the skirt by putting two together, and again folding them in half with long sides together first.  Then, fold them in half again, short sides together.

Stitch across the fold (the one opposite the pointed end) 1/4" from the top.  Only stitch about half way across, then, overlay your next two strips onto the first and continue stitching until you come to the middle of those two strips (which should also be the end of the first strip) and add two more...

Also, the skirt looks best if you stitch the strips: 2 with the longer side further away from you (going under the presser foot first), then two with the longer side closer to you (going under the presser foot last).  Just continue to flip back and forth...2 one way, then 2 the other...

(You'll see the difference in the pics below...I'll point them out)

Continue this until your skirt is the same width as your shorts...

12m/18m ~ about 38"

2t/3t ~ about 40"

4t/5t ~about 42"

Then, overlap the first and last strips, so that it forms a tube.

This one I would stitch 2, flip, stitch 2, flip...

This one I stitched flipping them every time...see the difference in the way the points look in the two skirts???

Line up the raw edges of the skirt and shorts and baste together.

Now for the top!  Pin the tulle and jersey for the front RS together and stitch using a 1/2" seam allowance.  Repeat for the back.

Open it up and press the seam toward the jersey and stitch the seam down 1/8" from the original seam.

Trim excess fabric.

With RS facing and matching seams pin front and back together and stitch side seams. Press seams open, then pull the tulle down over the outside of the bodice so that the raw edges match up; baste together.

Now, matching side seams and with RS facing pin bodice to skirt/shorts and stitch using a 1/2" seam allowance.  Press the seam up toward the bodice and then top stitch the seam in place.

Then, trim off all the excess fabric inside.

Now, start shirring 1/2" from the top of the bodice, and continue every 1/2" until you reach the skirt.

Then, shirr one row, just above the hem of each of the pant legs.  Steam and add your straps...

Fold them in half, long sides together; pin.  Starting at one of the short sides stitch using 1/2" seam allowance, and leave one of the short sides open so that you can turn them.  Clip corners, turn, and sew velcro onto the ends.

Stitch the open ends to each side of the front bodice and you are done!

Hope you enjoy this tutorial!  And be sure to check out my tutorial for the matching tinkerbell shoes!

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