On my to make list for Christmas gifts this year was: a tutu for Violet.
While we were visiting my aunt at Thanksgiving she pulled out a big poofy tulle fairy costume that she made for my cousin. It was made for my very tall cousin when she was in high school, it was long and poofy and fabulously fantastic, especially for a 4 year old!
As I watched her flit around the room with her imagination running wild I knew that I had to make her a long, super poofy tutu to call her own. We've already got a few tutus floating about in our dress up bin, but they are all of the short variety, there's something about a ballgown length tutu...
I bought the tulle the weekend after Thanksgiving. I already had instructions, thanks to the Oliver+S Little Things to Sew book. And then I let the project slip further and further down my to sew list... It seemed that it might not happen. I looked at the instructions over and over again thinking about when I might be able to find the time, and then I found it, the time. For some reason, in my head, I was making this tutu into something extremely difficult to make, when in fact it was essentially just sewing some fabric together and adding a ribbon. I suppose it was the fact that I felt a bit overloaded, and tired that I made it seem so difficult.
I promise, in the end, aside from the fact that it was a ton of poofy fabric being shoved through the sewing machine, it was a super simple project.
And the best part was knowing that she would love it!
And she did...
The tutu went on immediately.
And, was worn virtually all day long for the next three days...
I love: That it's reversible. That it's not all pink, or all purple. That it ties rather than having an elastic waist, which makes it much more versatile than your average tutu.
That it looks like she is a flower or a sugar plum fairy. That it is a great addition to our dress up clothes which are a mishmash of odds and ends and old clothes. And, most of all...that her imagination runs wild with it...
Whether she is a super fairy, or a princess saving her prince, or a ballerina, or whatever the story of the day may be, she has found a way to incorporate her new tutu into play.
I encourage you to give it a try! It's not a difficult project, (although it may, at first, seem overwhelming), just fold, sew, add ribbon...
The end result is well worth it!
