Pirate costumes

From Couture to Pirates - can it be done? Well in this little corner of the internet, I say Yes!
This weekend we had a pirate themed 2nd birthday party. I was a little dubious about dressing the girls up as pirates, mainly because Miss S is Miss Independence and HAS to choose what she wears. I thought I might run into a little trouble convincing her to put on a pirate costume, especially as going to a party means a party dress and sparkly shoes. I can't help it - I have a mother and a mother-in-law who loving shopping for pretty dresses! For this reason I steered well clear of the pirate cliches of skulls and crossbones. I even avoided the nautical ones of anchors and sailing ships and instead chose fluro orange whales - not necessarily what jumps into mind when you think pirates, but stick with me...

I started with an easy elastic waisted skirts with a ruffle.

To make this, you will need:

* about 0.5 cm fabric

* 1/4" elastic (waist measurement + 2cm)

Measure your child's waist. The length of the rectangle is 1.5 x the waist measurement and the height is however long you would like the first layer + 5cm for elastic casing. For Miss S (2 1/2 year old) my rectangle was 70cm x 25cm

Cut a rectangle for the ruffle - approx 1.5 x the length of the above rectangle; height - however long you want the ruffle + 2cm. For Miss S, my ruffle was 100cm x 17cm

Finally, thread the elastic through the elastic casing - a safety pin is always good to do this step.

I made a mini one for Miss E and teamed them with a stripy sash and spotty bandana. 

More pirate like? I think so...

I love this photo - on tippy toes to get a better look at the cake!