Fairy enough

I needed a fairy-inspired outfit for an event earlier this year and while I had this extravaganza for the evening, I wanted something more lowkey for the during the day. I also had only a week to make it before we left on a trip.

I knew I wanted to go with something that could be worn by a small fairy, rather than a human-sized one, so my first decision was to include a belt that looked like a leaf. It is made from green chiffon around a layer of batting. I used two layers of chiffon on each side to make it more opaque and maybe give the texture a bit more depth, but I'm not sure if this actually made a difference.

I cut the batting the size I wanted then used it as a patten to cut the chiffon, using a magnetic seam allowance gauge on my scissors –a new favourite gadget.

After sewing up the chiffon and fitting the batting inside I topstitched all the leaf veins using a satin stitch.

I consulted some leaves in the garden to check whether veins should be symmetrical or evenly alternated and it turns out they can do whatever.

Now for the dress. The stash turned out 1.3m of glittery autumn-coloured stretch velvet which would be just enough for a short dress, if I ignored the nap. I used my maxi dress pattern for the basic shape, reducing the flare at the hips. The skirt is two widths of the fabric, gathered to fit. Then I decided I didn't like it sleeveless. At this point I had only scraps left but it just so happened that the waist curve fit perfectly onto the shoulder. So I took the two scraps from in between where I had cut the dress bodies, sewed them on and, voila! I have some lovely, dainty, flowy sleeves. 

To complete the outfit, I cut up some bought leggings and made a weaving pattern down the front.

Here is the outfit. Wearing it around the city I felt a weird mix of being Obviously In Costume and also like it was the sort of thing I would wear normally.