Ice Cream Cone Costume

by JOANN |

Item # 352113723P115

Intermediate Over 5 Hours

Measure child around hips, around knees, and measure the length from hip to knee. You will cut the skirt on a fold; therefore, take half the hip measurement and half the knee measurement. Then add a 3/8" seam allowance to the waist, and 1 3/8" to the knees (for seam allowance and additional walking room.)
Take the length measurement and add 3 inches (2 inches for the waistband, and add 1 inch for the bottom hem.)

For example, if your original measurements are 24" waist, 21" knees, 12" length, then your skirt pattern will end up being 12 3/8" waist, 11 7/8" knees, and 15" long.

Next, make the dark brown crosshatch of the ice cream cone. Lay out your dark brown flannel and use your quilting ruler to find a 45 degree angle. Slice the fabric in half at a 45 degree angle. Measure out 1/2 inch from that angled line and cut. Continue cutting 1/2 inch wide strips at a 45 degree angle using the previous cut as a guide.

Use the 1/2 inch bias tape maker to make 1/4 inch wide fabric strips with both sides folded in - cut the end of a fabric strip at an angle so that you can ease the fabric into the bias tape maker. Have your iron at hand and, as you pull the fabric strip through the bias tape maker, iron down the folds. Continue across the entire length of the strip, and continue for every strip. Once you've amassed a number of bias tape strips, begin to lay the crosshatch pattern across the skirt. Take your longest length of dark brown bias tape and use your quilting ruler again to find 45 degrees across the middle of the skirt. Place bias tape down so that one edge is just long enough to cover the edge of the skirt, leaving a lot of excess bias tape at the other edge. Pin into place and clip off the excess bias tape to use for another area of the skirt.

Measure out two inches from the edge of the pinned bias tape, and place another bias tape strip; again using the quilting ruler as a 45 degree guide. Place as before with all the excess at one end, pin in place and trim. Continue all the way across the skirt; then begin again at the center measuring 45 degrees from the opposite direction to make the intersecting lines of the crosshatch. Continue all the way across.

When the crosshatch pattern is pinned in place, adhere with Fabric Fusion. Start at one end, unpinning small sections, adhering, and pressing down. Apply only a small amount of Fabric Fusion so as to avoid blotchy glue overflow on the skirt. If you get any Fabric Fusion onto the light brown skirt, you can coax it out while still wet with a wet toothbrush or damp toothy cloth and pat dry with a dry cloth. Set the skirt aside to dry for 2-4 hours.

You can move ahead to the ice cream top while you wait and return to this section of skirt instructions once the adhesive is dry.

Once the adhesive is dry:
Press all fold lines with an iron: turn the waist down 1/2" and press, then turn it down another 1 1/2" and press. Turn the bottom up 1/2" and press, then turn it another 1/2" and press.

Pin folds in place and sew across the bottom hem. Then, create waistband casing by sewing across the bottom of your waistband fold. Find the approximate length of your elastic by wrapping the elastic around the child's waist and pulling so it's appropriately taut; mark that length and add the ⅜" seam allowance. Cut the elastic. Add a safety pin to the end of the elastic and pull through the casing, pin with straight pins at either side.
Fold the skirt in half, right sides together, and sew down the length of the skirt. This will be the center back seam. Turn right side out and the skirt is finished.

Make two long stuffed tubes to be the main body of the ice cream swirl: Cut two 12 inch wide strips down the length of your bright pink flannel. Fold each strip lengthwise, pin, and sew down the length.
On one of the lengths, make a tapered end: mark on the seam 12 inches from the end. Draw a line from the mark down to the opposite corner on the end. Sew across that line, and trim the excess fabric.
Stuff both tubes with Fiber Fill, using something like a broom handle to push the Fiber Fill where you cannot reach.

On the tube that is not tapered, make two crisp seam lines: fold in the edges on both ends of the tube, and press.

Pull the seam line over the raw edge of the tapered tube, pull taut so that there are no gaps in stuffing; handsew together.

Wrap the tubing around the child to approximate how much tubing the longer or shorter the tubing will need to be. Once you have a sense of how the tubing will wrap around, you can transfer it to something like an overturned (clean!) bathroom wastebasket or medium sized empty plant pot to approximate child's chest shape and to give the tubing support as you build it up.
If the tubing is long enough as it is, cut the raw end into a 12 inch tapered shape, fold raw edges to the interior, press, and sew across. Flip the whole structure so that this taper is on the bottom.
If the tubing needs to be longer, make an additional tube with a 12 inch tapered end, turn right side out, press the raw edges to the interior with the iron, and attach over the raw edge of the ice cream swirl structure, pull taut so that there are no gaps in the stuffing; and handsew together. Flip the whole structure so that this taper is on the bottom.

Secure the tubing into the swirled shape: use a long upholstery needle and bright pink embroidery floss and puncture the bottom of the swirl. Pull the floss up through the layers of tubing, out through the top, and, making a small stitch at the top, pull the floss back down through the layers of tubing and knot at the bottom. Continue to do this all the way around the swirl until it feels solid and secure.
If the tapered ends did not get tucked in during this process, tuck them in and secure by either hand sewing or with hot glue.

Create the straps: cut two 4" x 16" strips of bright pink flannel. Fold in half lengthwise, sew down the length. Attach a safety pin to one end and pull the end through until it is rightsize out; press. Fold the raw edges to the interior, press and sew. Repeat for second strap.

Attach straps to ice cream swirl with safety pins. Place the structure over the child and adjust the straps to where they need to be. Either leave the straps safety pinned to enable easy adjustments; or handset into place.

Create a smaller tapered tube with the bright pink flannel, approximately 6 1/2" x 20" (this swirl should taper the whole length. Mark a line going from one corner to the opposite end corner. Sew along that line and trim off the excess fabric.) Turn the tapered tube rightside out. Turn the raw edges to the interior, press and sew.

Pull tube into a swirl shape. Once you're happy with the shape, hot glue each layer into place. Finally, hot glue the swirl onto the top of the headband. If the top point of the ice cream swirl is not laying exactly how you'd like, you can cut the swirl open at the top, create a new swirl top with your bright pink flannel, tuck the raw edges in, and hot glue the new top tucked over the old top.