How to Make a Fairy Costume for a Woman
Fairies are consistently popular at costume parties. A woman's fairy costume can be made inexpensively with a few simple purchases and a little creativity. Start with a leotard or body suit and store-bought ruffles that form a fairy skirt. Stiff cellophane with wire to hold the wings upright and large decorative feathers can be found at a dollar store. Keep the outfit in pastel shades, top it off with a flower wreath, and you've created a feminine female fairy.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Leotard and tights in pink, orchid or yellow
- 5-inch wide lace ruffle in a matching color
- Silk, taffeta, or other lightweight fabric in a matching color
- Cellophane in pink, orchid or yellow
- Silk ivy
- Small silk violets
- Green florist's wire
- Elastic fabric
- Pastel-colored feathers
- Pink bow
- Straw
- Corrugated cardboard
- Glitter
- Craft glue
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Needle and thread
Instructions
-
-
1
Make sure the leotard fits comfortably. Cut a cardboard template to make silk petal sleeves that are flat on top and U-shaped underneath. Trace the template onto the fabric four times per shoulder. Cut out the petal sleeves. Overlap them and stitch the flat ends to the shoulder seams.
-
2
Cut ruffles wide enough to go around your body. Sew the first ruffle to the leotard mid-torso. Continue stitching rows of ruffles one above the other to just above the knees. Make the ruffles wider as they descend to create a fluttering effect over the tights.
-
-
3
Make cellophane wings. Wings are larger on top, narrower on the bottom, with each wing quarter reaching a rounded point. First make a wing support from florist's wire to run along the wing tops. Cut and bend it to create a wing shape. Then make a paper template for the wings, taping pieces of paper together if necessary, and trace it onto the cellophane. Lay the first wing on top of the other and trace it so the pair will match. Tape the cellophane to the wire (feathers will hide the tape). Keep the wing bottoms wireless so they'll move freely.
-
4
Soften the wings' edges by hot gluing oversized feathers to the wings' wire edges. Decorate cellophane with swirls of glitter applied with craft glue. Set the wings aside to dry for one hour.
-
5
Measure and cut the elastic fabric to fit your back and shoulders. Cut a corrugated cardboard rectangle to hold wing pieces together. Hot glue the ends of the wings carefully to the cardboard. Cut a double piece of the silk fabric, making it large enough to cover the cardboard connector, and glue it down.
-
6
Make a wand with a straw, cardboard, and glitter. Cut a five-pointed star from corrugated cardboard. Attach the star to the straw using masking tape on the back. Paint the star and straw with glitter. Let it dry for an hour.
-
7
Make a wreath for your head from florist's wire entwined with silk ivy and violets. Cover your fairy feet with ballet slippers.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Since fairy wings can be cumbersome, consider making them small.
