Sew Your Own Toddler Minnie Mouse Party Outfit

• White tank in your child’s size. For some reason, I had a difficult time finding a solid white tank top even though it was the middle of summer. I finally ordered one off of eBay.
• Black material or felt
• Head n Bond fabric adhesive (Use your Jo Ann’s coupon to get it 50% off)
• Pink polka dotted ribbon
• Black thread
• Pink thread
• Interfacing

Step One:

Cut out a Minnie head shape out of the black fabric. I used an invitation that I had already made as a template since the sizes were the same. Mine was about 6 inches in diameter.

Step Two:

Following the directions on the Heat N Bond package, adhere the black Minnie Mouse head to the middle of the front of the shirt.

Step Three:

If you choose, cut a piece of iron-on interfacing and attach it to the back of the shirt where the Minnie Mouse head is, following the directions on the interfacing package. I did this just to provide extra support for sewing the Minnie head in the next step.

Step Four:

Sew around the Minnie Mouse head to better attach it to the shirt. A zig zag stitch will give the shirt more of an applique look, but if this is too difficult you can also sew very close to the outer edge.

Step Five:

Using your ribbon, cut about 8 inches length. Tie a nice bow. Use the pink thread to attach it to the middle of the Minnie Mouse head on the shirt.

In addition to the handmade Minnie tank, I also took on a new task: making a Minnie Mouse skirt. Outside of my days in Home Ec. class, I haven’t made any kind of skirt, so this was a challenge for me. But I was happy with the outcome! 

Supplies Needed:

• Fabric- either hot pink fabric with white polka dots OR plain hot pink fabric and plain white fabric (I already had separate pink fabric and white fabric, so I opted to save money and use what I had)
• 3/4 inch elastic, any color
• Pink tulle
• Coordinating thread

Step One:

Cut out the fabric. These measurements are based on my daughter who will be 2 and weighs around 26 lbs. You will need three pieces of the fabric in the following measurements:

1. 4×9 inches
2. 4×13 inches
3. 8×44 inches

Cut out the tulle for underneath the skirt. You will need one piece, 9 x 44 inches.
Cut a piece of elastic 9 inches long.

Step Two:

Prepare the skirt.
If you have fabric that already has white polka dots on it, you can skip this portion. My fabric didn’t, so I cut white circles that were approximately 1 inch in diameter. I sewed them in various locations across the 8 x 44 portion of the skirt. I used close to 40 circles.

Go ahead and sew the hem of the skirt. To do this, turn under 1/4 inch on the bottom of the skirt. Iron this in place. Turn in another 1/4 inch of the bottom of the skirt so that the rough edge is hidden. Iron and pin in place. Stitch hem close to edge.

Step Three:

Sew on the tulle. Using a wide, basting type of stitch, sew the tulle along the top unhemmed edge of the 8×44 skirt portion. Do this close to the edge. Here is a picture of the tulle under the skirt (this picture does not show the end hemmed, but keep in mind that your end should be hemmed).

Now fold the entire 8 x 44 inch portion with right sides together. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew the ends together- MAKING SURE THAT YOU DO NOT SEW OVER THE BASTING STITCH THAT YOU USED FOR THE TULLE. This will be used to gather the skirt later.


Step Four:

Assemble the flat front waistband. I liked the flat front aspect because it makes it look more like Minnie’s skirt at the top.
Sew the elastic to the 4×13 inch piece of fabric. Stretch and pin the elastic across the top of the fabric and sew.

Since the elastic is 9 inches, the 4 x 13 piece of fabric will now draw up to be about the same size as the 4 x 9 piece of fabric. Sew these two pieces, right sides together, along the sides to create one round waistband.

Now turn the waistband under so that the elastic is no longer showing on the inside. It should be hidden under the fold. Pin and stitch 3/4 inch from the top edge so that the elastic is secured inside, like a casing.

Step Five:

Using the wide basting stitch that you used to attach the tulle, gather the 8 x 44 portion of the skirt until it is the same size around as the waistband. Pin the right sides of the skirt and the waistband together.

Step Six:
Sew the waistband and skirt together.
Completed!