I know it's totally not Halloween... but in my home town of New Orleans an even bigger more flamboyant holiday is about to happen, MARDI GRAS! Growing up in the crescent city culture has given me a deep appreciation and maybe a little bit of an obsession with colorful, fun and sexy costumes- like the kind you see down in the French Quarter and along the parade routes. The native people of New Orleans will spend an entire year hand crafting some the most elaborate costumes in the world - stitching in every bead and sequin with great pride and love.My Mardi Gras fairy costume is made of 100% organic cotton scrap fabric that didn't cost me more then $10 and although the project took some planning in my mind it only took one day to put it together! (Watch the How-To VIDEO on YouTube here, for more pictures and fun music...)
First I made a paper pattern to cut out the bodice with - make sure to measure your chest, waist and hip for this.
After cutting out the bodice measure the length of the back and front bottom portion, so that you can use this to guide the length of the fairy skirt.
The skirt will consist of layered scraps cut approximately the same size each, then sewn to a long thin (1 inch wide) strip of fabric. This will make it easier to attach to the bodice after your done.
I wanted my costume to be extra dramatic by making matching wrist bands and a neck band- you can sew them in the same exact fashion as the skirt above! I didn't make any kind of clasp to close them, but just tied them onto myself since it blends into the scraps.
The back part of the bodice can be made into a corset top which I added a few inches of extra black fabric to the back middle - this is so you can tighten or loosen your costume as you put it on, or if you change weight (cause I want to enjoy this one for a long time!)
To add the corset ties, I cut tiny holes and used a safety pin to run the "laces" through. The laces are just stretched organic jersey cotton fabric.
Lastly I made two tubes open down the front for my legs and repeated the lacing pattern, in order to create faux boots!!! Cute!
This last pic is my 'in character' interpretive fairy pose! ;)
Good fairy or bad fairy? You decide.
xoxo
