the girl is having her fifth birthday this saturday and it has been non-stop making at our house. the theme this year is mermaids and pirates. she insisted on me making mermaid tails for all the girls but we reached a compromise with 'seaweed skirts'. a mobility issue - we couldn't have a bunch of mermaids falling face first while the pirates made off with all the treasure.
instructions for 14 seaweed skirts:
i got several yards of 42" wide tulle in 3 sea-like colours and cut it into 20 inch lengths. i then cut it into strips approximately 8 inches wide. i cut a piece of 1" wide ribbon to be 40" long and marked 10-12" on either side of the centre. then i folded the 8" side of each piece of tulle into fourths and starting at one mark on the ribbon, i attached alternating strips of the tulle to the ribbon with a wide zigzag stitch until i reached the second mark. i made sure to sew with the right side of the ribbon on the bottom and the tulle as the top layer - nothing like a tulle tangle in the throat plate. the girls can tie the skirts around their waists and 'swim' to their hearts content. not exactly my finest quality sewing but good enough for an afternoon of fantasy play.
then of course there are 10 stripey bandanas for the pirates and enough eye patches for all the guests. i can't take credit for the loot bag idea - that goes to lovelydesign. i simplified a bit by using a length of twill tape for a handle instead of a drawstring and printed off some clipart onto t-shirt transfer paper. my results are not nearly so lovely as Sharilyn's but this is some serious volume with 20+ kids. my fingers have blisters.
and i still have to make the cardboard castle, pirate ship, and mermaid cave....
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