How to be a Fairy Tale Princess

One of the first crafty classes that I ever taught was a workshop called â€œHow to be a Fairy Tale Princessâ€. This class, taught in the bomb shelter basement of the anarchist zine archive ZAPP at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle, was geared towards kids. But in the end, it was 6 adults and only one child that ended up attending.

It was a 3-hour craft class where I gave the students little apron skirts, headbands and magic wands to decorate. I had on hand a ton of notions and crafty items they could use for the project. It was here that I discovered the magic that can be created when you sit people down at a table covered in glitter, sequins, beads, fabrics, sewing machines, glue and thread. Big or small, people tap into the creativity and imagination they had as a child. It is really cool to see what comes out!

As I was thinking back on that class 3 years ago, I decided to search online for â€œFairy Princessâ€ projects. I stumbled upon this adorable project on suite101.com by Melissa Howard.

This project is easy enough for a beginner sewer but would also be super fun for even an expert sewer.

Why not tap into the imaginative kid inside you and let your inner Fairy Tale Princess out!

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I’m always tempted by the pretty velvets at the fabric store. So much texture! And the way the fibers catch the light! But sewing on velvet is trickier than you’d think. That nap that lends beautiful texture also likes to slip and crawl. That nap can also spell disaster if you cut a piece the wrong direction. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use buy that velvet and sew it into something gorgeous, you just need to go into your velvet sewing project prepared. And Melissa at Melly Sews has a post that takes you step by step through sewing on velvet.

Velvet is such a luscious fabric, especially for winter sewing projects. Of course there are velvet Christmas sewing projects – stockings, tree skirts, santa hats – but velvet is beautiful for all winter. Think of all the gorgeous velvet dresses, evening bags, hair accessories, even pillows and other home décor that you see all winter long.

Melly Sews’ post gives you the tips and tricks you need to know in order for your velvet sewing project to end up a success. There are types of projects better suited for velvets, and kinds of projects to avoid. She describes the different types of velvet available. And she also tells the best way to lay out and cut your pattern pieces from velvet fabric. Her tutorial also covers marking, pressing, and of course sewing that beautiful fabric. There’s also a video included in case that’s your preferred method for learning.

Head over to Melly Sews to learn how to sew on velvet fabric.

And if you want to learn more about that lovely blue velvet dress shown, she has a post that tells more about it including 2 ways to style it depending on if you want to be more dressy or more casual.

[photo credit: Melly Sews]

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