DIY Fairy Costume Made From an Old Wedding Dress

Transform an old wedding gown into a fairy dress.

Wedding dresses are made from beautiful, formal fabric that is worn only once. Instead of wasting your investment by letting your old wedding dress hang in the closet, use it to create a DIY fairy costume for yourself or your child. By making some basic cuts, doing a little hand or machine stitching, and adding a few embellishments, you or your child will have a unique fairy costume to wear for a Halloween or masquerade party, a festival, or a special event.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors
• Sewing needle
• Thread
• Sewing machine (optional)
• Cording
• Bodkin or safety pin
• Silk leaves
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Ribbon
• Silk flowers

Instructions

1. Cut off the hem of the dress. Cut the hemline to knee length, calf length, or angle length, whether for an adult or child. Save the excess fabric.

2. Make a layered overskirt with the fabric cut from the excess fabric, if desired, for extra fullness. Stitch together one or two layers of the fabric along the cut edge, creating a 1-inch casing. Thread cording through the casing and gather at the waistline.

3. Cut the hemline of the dress and the overskirt into triangular points of varying depths to resemble flower petals. Cut through each layer of fabric, staggering and overlapping the petals.

4. Cut the sleeves off the dress, either just below the shoulder hem or at the upper portion of the sleeve.

5. Attach silk leaves with hot glue along the cut edge of the sleeve. Use green leaves for a spring or summer fairy, and colorful fall leaves for a fall fairy. Overlap the leaves for a natural look. For a sleeveless dress, glue the leaves along the upper edge of the bodice. For a dress with straps, glue the leaves along the strap line and across the top of the bodice, if desired. Glue just the edge of each leaf, allowing the leaves to lie softly against the fabric and skin.

6. Make a tie belt to cover the gathered edges of the overskirt or the waistline of the dress. Use a wide satin or grosgrain ribbon and tie around the waist, making a large bow in back. Coordinate the color of the ribbon to the leaves and flowers used, choosing seasonal colors.

7. Glue silk flowers along the front of the ribbon waistband. Use flowers that coordinate with the leaves used along the bodice and sleeve. For example, use daisies and pastel colored flowers on a pastel ribbon with green leaves, or mums with fall colored leaves.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase a pair of wings in coordinating colors or make your own wings to coordinate with the colors of leaves, flowers and ribbons used on the dress.

• Make a simple crown of flowers by covering a paper-wrapped floral wire with leaves and flowers. Floral wires are available in pre-cut lengths in the floral department of craft stores. Use floral tape to attach individual leaves and flowers along the wire, and glue narrow ribbon ties to each end.

• Make a fairy wand by painting a wood dowel in coordinating colors, and tie several narrow ribbons on the end.

• Use a packaged fabric dye appropriate to the fabric type to dye your dress in a fairy color, such as a pastel pink, purple or green.

• Use care when working with a hot glue gun to avoid burning your skin.