Complexity:
0-10 *7
Pattern:
McCall's M 4830
Fabrics:
tan faux suede (used for dress)
white organza (used for skirt)
brown organza (used for skirt & leaves)
gold organza (used for skirt & leaves)
Notions:
faux white pearls
white tulips fabric paint
gold tulips fabric paint
antique gold fabric paint
1 yard of 3in long beaded fringe
22 gauge wire a.k.a. gfloral wireh
1 sponge paint brush
"HeatnBond" iron-on adhesive
Zipper
Accessories:
1 large faux lily flower
faux fall leafs
wig cap
henna red wig (HERE to buy wig)
ash blond wig
fairy wings (see "how to make fabric faerie wings" HERE)
COSTUME CONSTRUCTION
This pattern requires little alteration. The only things I changed is the length to hit at my lower hip and altered the straps to be thiner. Follow the pattern's direction. For the bottom of the dress I sewed in 3 layers of organza cut to be shorter in the front and lower in the back. In order to make the edges of the organza fluffy, I laid the fabric down on the carpet and took a serrated kitchen knife and shredded the edges. This will pick and tear the fabric to give it volume. Before attaching the organza to the bottom of the dress I burned the bottom edge of the suede with a lighter.
Now that the dress is complete its time to embellish it with paint and leaves. I first used a sponge brush and painted the seams and bottom with a antique gold fabric paint. After that dried I went back with white & gold "tulips" fabric paint and drew little swirls and speckles cascading down from the neckline.
Not this is the part that will take the most time ... making the leaves. If you wish to save time you could buy faux leaves from a craft store instead of making them yourself. But if you decide on making them it will allow you to make the any size, color, and shape you want! You can look to nature to find inspiration for your leaves. I personally took influenced from kelp leaves. Each leaf is made up of four different materials, two layers of organza, floral wire, and "HeatnBond" iron-on adhesive.
This takes a bit of practice so I advise you make a few sample leaves. Cut two squares of organza fabric. First iron on the adhesive to a square of organza peal off the backside of the paper and set aside. (the "HeatnBond" iron-on adhesive comes with instructions). Next cut a number of different lengths of floral wire. Place the wires on the other square of organza. Then lay the first square of organza with the adhesive side down on the wires. Think of it as making a sandwich, the two layers of organza fabric as the bread and the wires and adhesive as the meat and cheese! Iron the layers together. Now you can draw your leaves on top of each wire then cut them out. The edges of the leaves are sealed and won't fray. You can paint them however you wish. I cut my leaves just a little short on top so that the wire poked out from the top. I put a dab of glue and toped each one with a pearl bead.
Sewing the leaves on the dress is a bit tricky, each one must be sewn on individually. Sew only the bottom of the leaf, this will allow you to bend the leaves to look like they are growing off the dress. I advise that you arrange them on the dress first to get an idea how you want them to be placed.
ACCESSORES CONSTRUCTION
For the head dress I bought a huge lily and spray painted it gold. I added tiny speckles of white paint to each petal. I found a huge pearl from my local craft store to replace the stamen. Using floral wire I mounted the lily to the side of a headband then hot-glued fall colored leaves to cover the headband.