DIY Tinkerbell Fairy Costume

So I have mentioned that Miss S requested a Tinkerbell costume for Halloween, and you guys know me, I had to take that as a challenge and make one, instead of spending like two dollars to buy one (seriously, maybe you should just buy one).

 I took inspiration from a bunch of places, including this awesome homemade costume I found through some creative googling.  I already shared with you how to make Homemade Fairy Wings and the Tutu I whipped up as a sort of petticoat.  Now I'll share the full tutorial for the costume.  This will work for pretty much any fairy/princess get up your little one requests.

At the end of the day, I'm really glad I did it, I mean, the look on her face when she saw it...priceless.

Get the full Homemade Tinkerbell / Fairy Costume Tutorial after the jump...

And remember, leave a clever, cute, or kind comment on any post this week and you could win that 1/2 yard of Nicey Jane Oilcloth!


Homemade Tinkerbell / Fairy Costume Tutorial
To make this complete costume as is, you'll need to purchase or make some wings: Here's our Easy Homemade Fairy Wings Tutorial.
You'll also need to make a tutu: Here's my Tinkerbell Tu Tu.

1. Take some measurements of your costume-wearer.
-Chest measurement & Waist Measurement (on scarlet this is 20 inches for both)
-Bodice length: Measure down from the top of where you want the bodice to where you want the waist (on Scarlet, 8 inches)
-Skirt length: Measure from where you want the waist to the bottom of the skirt (on Scarlet, 9 inches)

2. Acquire your materials. For the tutu you need 4 yards of tulle and some elastic, see the tutu-torial for details. For the dress you'll need 2 yards satin (if there's anything I learned from Project Runway it was don't sew with satin, but actually it wasn't that bad) and some grommets (or you can use a zipper).

3. Make the straps. Tinkerbell doesn't have straps but her actual outfit is too, ahem, slutty for my two year old, so I made it a little more modest by adding straps and reducing the cleavagey-ness. So cut a 2.5 inch wide strip of fabric the length of your yard:

Fold it in half right sides facing and sew up the length:

Use a safety pin to loop turn it right side out:

Iron it flat with the seam to the middle of one side:

And cut it in half so you have two straps:


4. Now let's make the bodice. Cut two pieces of fabric the width of your chest measurement plus two inches (so 22 inches for Scarlet) and the height of your bodice length measurement plus one inch (so nine inches for Scarlet):

To give it a little tinkerbell flair without doing a deep-v i marked the center, measured down one inch and 1.5 inches to each side:

then another inch away on each side (to allow a one inch area for the strap to attach):

And cut the bodice one inch down all the way to each end:


5. Now lay a bodice piece right side up (this will be the side that shows on your final garment) and lay the straps right side down (so you can see the seam) at the points on the front of the bodice:

Lay your other bodice piece right side down on top and pin:

Pin all the way around all three sides:

Sew all the way around the three sides, leaving the bottom unsewn:

Turn inside out and iron flat:

Now fold the bottom unsewn edge under 1/4" to the wrong side and iron a sharp crease into it:

Set your bodice aside:


6. Now we make the skirt. The skirt is made up of five petals. To make the petals, start by cutting petal shapes. I made three bigger ones and two smaller ones. For each finishes petal you'll need two pieces of satin. The bigger ones I cut matching size shapes 11" long and 9" wide, and the smaller ones 9" long by 8" wide and free handed the petal shape. So take two matching petal pieces and lay them right sides facing, and sew around the two curved sides, leaving the top open:

Trim the edges and cut score marks around the curves, then turn inside out, push the edges out and iron flat:


7. Now open up your bodice and lay it right side up (so the seams in your straps are facing away from you). Arrange the petals inside the opening at the bottom of the bodice. I did the three larger ones on the bottom and the two smaller ones centered on top. Pin in place, so the petal tops are enclosed in the bodice opening:

Here's the wide view:

Sew in place with a straight stitch along the bottom of the bodice. Don't worry if it's a little crooked, we are going to cover it up later:


8. Now let's make a simple sash that we will tie around Tink's waist later. So cut a long strip of fabric 6" wide, fold it in half with right sides facing and sew up the long side with a straight stitch, then trim your edge:

Turn it inside out with a safety pin like we did for the straps in step one. Iron flat with the seam to the center of one side:

Fold the edges of the ends in, making a point, and straight stitch across:

Sash complete:


9. Now attache grommets along the back opening of the dress. I used three on either side. Follow the instructions that come with your grommets. It's very simple, you just cut a hole for the grommet, assemble the two pieces and hammer them together. You could also use a zipper, but the grommets are nice because it allows for a little flexibility in your sizing, whereas with a zipper it needs to fit just right.

Now cut a strip of fabric about 2" wide, and follow the instructions for the sash above to make a strap to tie your dress on the wearer. You can thread it through after you put it on the girl, but here is what it will look like:


So that's it! Assemble is all so you get an idea of how it will look:


Joy Joy.


So fancy for a little halloween fairy.


Soooo I didn't have the timing right to do an all-out photo shoot in full costume with daylight and such, but here's a few pics of her prancing around on our bed last night.










So, that's that. Think you might try it? It looks harder then it was, I swear it's totally do-able this weekend if you stay up late Friday and Saturday. Or am I nuts? I might be nuts.