UPDATED JANUARY 2019 Halloween is just around the corner, but it's not just for kids. Put a little pixie dust in your Halloween with our DIY Tinkerbell costume for adults. It's cute, easy and perfect for Halloween, or even your next trip to Disneyland.

 

 

I went to the local costume store with my family a few days ago to pick out some fun costumes for Halloween. I was so disappointed with the selection and quality of the outfits that we left without buying a single thing! Not to mention the decorations in the store were less than kid-friendly. Nightmares for weeks! My kids were so disappointed. We didn't let that setback get us down for long. It was just the motivation I needed to start crafting up some fun costumes of our own.

 

Today, I want to share the pattern and tutorial for making a DIY Tinkerbell costume for adults. I love Tinkerbell! She is independent, resourceful and just a bit of a rebel. She is also completely loyal to her friends. The main problem I found with the Tinkerbell costumes at the store were that they were ridiculously short. Who has legs like Tinkerbell in real life? Not me!

 

The second problem was the quality of the fabric was laughable. One of the skirts was so thin you could see right through it. I was able to make this age-appropriate quality DIY Tinkerbell costume for less than the cost of a costume at the store! You can make it too. All you need is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust! And...the following DIY Tinkerbell costume tutorial of course. Are you ready to fly?

 

You will need:

24 inches of plain green fabric 

1 1/4 yard of contrasting green fabric

1 yard of green tulle

green thread

sewing supplies

 

Note:  All of the fabric that I purchased was 60 inches wide.

 

To start, print the DIY Tinkerbell costume patterns. Keep the fabric folded like it comes off of the bolt. Lay the small leaf pattern onto the plain green fabric. Cut it out. You will get two leaves with each cut because the fabric is folded. Keep both pieces together. Repeat until you have six small leaf cuts. Repeat this process with the large leaf pattern on the contrasting green fabric. I used one with sparkles so that it looked like pixie dust! You will need five large leaf cuts.

 

 

 

Make sure the "right side" of the fabric is facing in and the outside of the fabric is showing. It should be like that automatically. But, just make sure! Slip a pin in the fabric to keep the two pieces together. Sew around the edges of each leaf. Leave the top open for turning.  

 

 

Turn the leaves right side out and then iron them flat. Make sure to get the shape right by pressing all of the sides out completely before you iron it. My fabric was satin and it melted when I tried to iron it. You do not want that to happen! Place a tea towel (or something similar) between the iron and the fabric. See how the leaf is on the ironing board under the towel? That will keep your DIY Tinkerbell costume pieces from being scorched.  

 

 

Once all of the leaves are pressed, then you can start to connect them together. Start with a short leaf. Lay it flat on the table. Then place a long leaf on the top of it. The long leaves will have a small pleat in them. When you pin it in place, make a fold in the center and then pin it in place. The skirt alternates between a small leaf on the bottom and then a long leaf on top. The small leaves are about 3 inches apart.  

 

 

You can see the pleat here.

 

 

Once you have a whole row of leaves all pinned together, sew them in place. Mine was 34 inches from one end to the next. That is a good legnth for an average person. It is an apron style skirt, so the ties in the back make it easy to adjust the width. I used a straight stitch about 1/2 inch down from the top. Set this bit aside for a minute.

 

 

Fold the tulle in half. Sew along the top edge with a gathering stitch. Or, sew two straight lines across and gather it yourself by pulling the fabric along the bobbin thread.  

 

 

Then, cut the waist band and sashes. I used the contrasting fabric for this part. Cut three strips that are five inches thick.  

 

 

Two of the strips are the sashes. The third strip is the waistband.  

 

Make the sashes by folding the strip in half to make a long skinny tube. Make sure the "right side" of the fabric is on the inside. Sew along the long open edge. Then, turn it right side out. Repeat on the second sash.  hen, iron them flat. You will need to use the towel and iron process again to prevent melting.

Here is a picture of one sash piece sewn and the second sash piece that has been sewn and turned. They haven't been ironed yet.    

 

 

Make the ends of the sashes pretty by folding one end of the long strip over about 1/4 inch. Then fold the end into a triangle and then fold the triangle over again. It will hide the unfinished edge and make a nice point.  

 

 

Sew along the triangle as demonstrated in the photo above...across the sash and down towards the point. Set them aside for a bit.

 

We now have all of the individual pieces cut and ready to be put together. YAY! Lay the waistband strip face UP on the table. Place the gathered end of the tulle skirt along the top edge of the waistband strip. Leave about one inch of blank space on the waistband strip before you start the tulle layer.  

 

 

Then, add the leaf skirt to the top of the tulle. You want it face up as well. So, the long leaf pieces are on top of the small ones.  

 

 

Pin the pieces in place along the entire line of the waistband, tulle and leaf skirt. Then cut the excess waistband fabric off. Leave about one inch on the end of the waistband strip for when we attach the sashes in a minute. Your DIY Tinkerbell costume is almost complete! 

 

 

Sew the three layers together with a straight stitch about 1/2 inch from the top edge. I added an extra zig zag stitch across the top edge to help prevent fraying. You can see it below.

 

 

Fold the waistband strip up away from the other two layers.  

 

 

Next, fold the waistband strip in half forward, two times, to make a nice finished belt. Pin it in place along the entire skirt top.

 

Tuck the edges of the waistband in towards the center of the skirt. Then stuff the unfinished edge of the sashes into the hole. One sash strip should be on each side of the skirt. Pin them in place. You can see it in the photo below. 

 

 

Sew across each sash insert and then across the skirt waist to keep the waistband in place. And you are done with your DIY Tinkerbell costume for adults! Isn't it adorable?    

 

Pair the skirt with a cute Tinkerbell shirt and you are set for any Halloween activity.  I am also planning to wear some white leggings with gold sparkles underneath.  It took me, with the help of my amazing Mom, about two hours to make the skirt including designing and photographing the process. So, I think it is safe to say you could make this DIY Tinkerbell costume in about two hours as well.   

 

 

 

There's no better place to wear your DIY Tinkerbell costume than Disneyland! Tinkerbell says, "If you can dream it, you can do it." So, get dreaming about your magical Halloween! If you haven't booked your Halloween Time vacation to Disneyland yet, there's still time. Or, you can get ahead of the game and start planning your Halloween vacation for next year for just $175 down with our Layaway Plan. You can find any of our Disneyland packages online, or call our agents at 855-GET-AWAY.