How to Make a Fairy Costume

Last Updated: December 29, 2022

Fairies are typically very popular costumes for children on Halloween. Since there are a lot of them, get creative and make a unique one! You can purchase supplies for a costume at a craft store, and make the major components (the tutu and the fairy wings) yourself in just a few hours. Making your own costume not only allows you to customize it with your favorite colors, but it also saves you some money as costume stores can charge a lot for their merchandise.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Making a Tutu

1
Purchase your supplies. To make a no-sew tutu, you'll need ribbon (1 inch width), tulle, and scissors. Your tulle can be several different colors or one color, and you'll need enough to fill your entire ribbon waistband and for your desired length.
- To figure out how much tulle you'll need, use a measuring tape to measure your waist. Then, measure the length from your waist to the point on your leg in which you want the tulle to fall. You can purchase tulle by the yard, but it may be easier to purchase spools of tulle as they usually already come in widths of six inches, which is good for tutu making.
- For roughly every inch of your waistline, you will need anywhere between two to four yards of tulle, depending on how thick and fluffy you want your skirt to be. Spools of six inch tulle usually come in 25 yards, so you'll probably need about three to four of these. If your tutu is going to be long, you'll need more tulle, and if you are going for a shorter tutu, you'll need less tulle.^{[1]
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- If you aren't sure how much tulle you'll use, start by buying one spool of tulle and if that doesn't end up being enough you can purchase a few more.
2
Cut your ribbon. After you have measured your waist, take that measurement and add 48 inches. Then, cut the ribbon to that length. This will give you a lot of leftover ribbon to tie a bow at the back of your tutu. If you want a smaller bow, you can always cut the ribbon once you have tied it.
- For example, if you are making a costume for a little girl and her waistline is 20 inches, you'll want to cut 68 inches.
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3
Cut your tulle strips. To make the tutu, you'll need to cut your tulle strips to your desired length. Take the measurement for the length of your tutu and multiply it by two and then cut strips that length, leaving the six inch width. If you want your tutu to be about 12 inches long, you'll need tulle strips that are 24 inches long, because they will be folded over and knotted.^{[2]
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- Make sure you give yourself lots of time to cut your tulle. You may have to use anywhere between 75 and 100 yards of tulle, depending on your waist measurement, and it can take some time to cut those strips! Don't stress about getting the cuts perfect, though. Because your tulle will be bunched together, it won't be noticeable if the cuts aren't perfectly straight.
4
Fold your ribbon in half and knot it. Before you begin adding your tulle, you will make knots on your ribbon so you know what section to add your tulle to. Fold your ribbon in half, meeting the ends. Then, take your waist measurement and divide it by two, and use that measurement to mark a point down your ribbon from the fold. Then, tie a knot on that side of your ribbon at that measurement and do the exact same step on the other side of the ribbon.^{[3]
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- Basically, if your waistline is 30 inches, you will divide that by two and end up with 15 inches. Then, you will start at the folded part of your ribbon and measure down your ribbon 15 inches. Mark that point on the ribbon and make a knot on each side of the ribbon. When you unfold the ribbon, you should have 30 inches in between both knots. This is where you will add the tulle.
5
Add your tulle to your ribbon by creating slip knots. Take two pieces of tulle and line them up. Then, fold the tulle in half, and place the folded part under your waistband. Reach through the fold in your ribbon and grab the ends of your tulle. Pull them through your ribbon and pull the tulle until you have created a knot around your ribbon.^{[4]
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- Pinching your tulle just allows you to bunch it up so it is easier to tie around your ribbon. You can do one piece of tulle at a time if you like, but it will not create as drastic a color. It's easier to do two pieces at once because then you won't have to make double the knots.
6
Fill in your ribbon with tulle. Once you have created your first tulle knot, you will slide the tulle down to one of your knots and continue to add tulle until your tutu is full. If you are using three different colors of tulle or more you can space those out in whatever pattern you like around your ribbon.
- Each time you complete a tulle knot, slide it down to the previous tulle knots. This will prevent gaps or holes you may have left in between your tulle.
- If you are having difficulty tying your tulle on, you can tie your ribbon around your legs and knot the tulle to your ribbon that way. This just helps keep your ribbon in place and stay taut for you while you work.
7
Try your tutu on. Now that you have added all of your tulle to your ribbon, you can try it on! Straighten the tulle out to make sure it is going in the right direction, and wrap your tutu around your waist. Then tie it in the back with the excess ribbon. If you want a smaller bow, trim the ribbon until you have the desired size.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Making Fairy Wings

1
Gather your supplies. For fairy wings you can make realistic wings out of cellophane or costume-esque wings out of panty hose. The latter is simple, so to keep your costume an easy project you'll need two pairs of sheer panty hose, four wire/metal coat hangers, scissors, sturdy tape (not scotch), hot glue, ribbon, and paints or glitter.
- You can buy nude panty hose, but if you want your wings to be a certain color, it's easier if you buy that color panty hose. For example, if you want pink wings, purchase two pairs of pink panty hose.
2
Shape your wire hangers into top wings. Start by straightening your hangers so that each one forms one long piece of wire. Then, take two hangers and form the top part of your wings. Take each hanger and form them into a tear drop shape, with the ends at the top of the tear drop. Then, lock in the design by twisting the ends of the hanger together, leaving an inch or two of wire sticking out at the end. Then leave the teardrop shape, or shape your hanger to your desired wing.
- One option for the top wings is forming a heart in your tear drop by bending the bottom of your tear drop inwards. You can also create a pretty, more elaborate shape by creating three curves in your wing. To do this, make two separate bends in your wire, creating three mountains and two valleys. Repeat this same shape on your other top hanger.
3
Create the bottom wings. Fold each hanger into a tear drop shape and twist the ends together, leaving one or two inches of wire as you did for the other two wings. Then, form your hangers into any shape wing you want for your bottom wings. For a bottom wing, you can add a bend in the wire near the bottom of the wing for two curves, or you can shape your tear drop to be more elongated.
- For ideas on different wings you can look up pictures online or think about the wing style you want for your costume. To shape your wings it could be helpful to use pliers.
4
Bind your wings together. Take the two top wings and overlap the wire excess of one top wing with the other top wing. Then, take a piece of tape and connect one part of the wire to the other wire. Do the same with your bottom wings until you have two pairs of wings.
- With each wing you should have two ends of wire. You only want to tape together one end of each wire, as you'll wrap the other ends around your wings. This prevents your connections from being bulky.
5
Connect your top and bottom wings. Once you have connected your top wings together and your bottom wings together, you'll need to connect both pairs of wings with more tape. Take the section of top wings that is connected with tape and line it up with the section of your bottom wings connected with tape. Then, connect both of those wings together with tape. Then, wrap the ends of your wires that are still sticking out around each wing so that they are hidden.
- You don't have to connect your wings in this exact order. If you want to connect your top and bottom wings together before and then connect both sides of the wings, you can do that. Do whatever gives you the best connections for your wings.
6
Add the body of the wing. Taking your tights, cut them at the top of the leg, right before the two legs meet together so that you have four separate leggings. Then, place one legging of your tight around one of the wings until it is smooth over your wing. Cut off any excess tight that falls in the middle of your wing. Then, tie the open end of your tight together by pulling both sides of the tight and tying them into a double knot around the center of your wings.
- Repeat with the rest of your leggings until your wings are covered. Make sure you don't pull your tights so tightly that you rip your tights or put a bend in the wire.
7
Wrap ribbon around the center of your wings. Because you have a not so pretty connection in the middle of your wings, you'll want to cover it up with some pretty ribbon. Take a piece of ribbon and wrap it around the center of your wings, covering up all of your knots. Then, secure the ribbon with hot glue or craft glue.
- It's best to use thick, neutral ribbon here as it will do a better job of covering up your connections. You can use thin ribbon, but you'll have to use a lot of it to wrap around the center of your wings, so it may make the task harder.
8
Add straps to your wings. Wind a piece of ribbon, about three feet long, around the left center of your wings and tie a knot in the middle of the ribbon. Then repeat with another ribbon around the right center of your wings. When you put your wings on, you will take one piece of your left ribbon and loop it over your shoulder, while you loop the other piece under your shoulder. You will then tie the ribbons into a bow to secure them on your back and repeat with the ribbons on the right side of your wings.^{[5]
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- Make sure when you tie your knots that they are on the side of your wings that will touch your back. This way you can correctly tie the ribbon straps around your shoulders when you are ready to wear them.
9
Decorate your wings. You can design your wings however you like. You might try outlining the edge of your wings with a thin layer of paint, adding flowers or glitter embellishments to your wings, or adding veins to your wings to make them look more realistic. Once you have painted your wings, let them dry and try them on.
- You may want your wings to match the tulle skirt you created so that you have some uniformity in your outfit. If so, try using the same colors to decorate your wings that you used in your tutu. Or, you could go for a more fun costume and use a bunch of different colors for your wings.
- To cover up the back center of your wings, you can attach a bow or flower. This could add a nice, pretty touch that will cover up the ribbon in the middle of the wings.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Adding Final Touches

1
Put together the rest of your costume. Now that you have a fairy skirt and some wings, you'll need shoes and a top. You can use a solid colored t-shirt for your fairy wing top, or a solid color tank. Try to match your top with your skirt so that it looks like one full outfit. For a more mature fairy, wear a corset in the matching color to your tutu. For shoes, you can wear ballet slippers or flats.
- You'll probably need to wear something under your tutu so try to choose short, cotton shorts or spandex that are a light color, or a color that matches your tutu. You can add colored stockings or tights to your fairy costume for even more pops of color.
2
Style your hair. For fairy hair you want it to look a little mystical and magical. Consider spritzing some spray colored glitter into your hair for an extra sparkle. Wearing your hair in a high bun with a flower crown is also a classic fairy look. You can make a flower garland yourself by sewing small, silk flowers to a headband, or you can purchase one.
- Light colors such as baby blue, lilac, light pink, light green, or orange are great colors to spray in your hair if you are going for a cute, feminine fairy look. If you are going for a dark fairy look, purples, blues, dark greens, black, dark pink, or blood red would be a great addition.
3
Create fairy makeup. For makeup on a girly fairy, try using thin black eyeliner on the upper and lower lash lines with glittery eye shadow to match your outfit. Then, create pretty glittery swirls with shimmery, colored eyeliner on the outside of your eyes near your temples. You can also substitute the black eyeliner on your lower lash line for a shimmery, bright eyeliner.
- For a darker fairy, apply dark, thick black eyeliner on both upper and lower inner lash lines. Use an eyeshadow in a dark shade like plum, dark blue, green, or red and add a bit of silver glitter for a magical look. Then take black liquid eyeliner and add a cat eye by drawing out the eyeliner on your upper lash line in a straight line, to the length of the end of your eyebrow. You can make your makeup even more dark or creepy by using dark eyeshadow under your eye as well.^{[6]
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