Halloween - Floating, Bewitching Skirt

This piece is whimsical and unique, offering some things that I adore about Halloween.  It hung from the covered porch ceiling one Halloween.

My fondness for tulle is great and this one left me almost knee deep in it. Color me delighted.

If you would like to make one, I have written out how mine was created. The process took quite a while, so patience is important. Should have no interest in doing so, just skip the rest of this post.

Items needed:

~ A black umbrella

~ Black boots. Calf or ankle length will work best, as they reveal more of the tights and will weigh less than tall boots.

 ~ Black tulle. Do not buy the small, narrow spools...purchase it by the yard. I believe that I used at least 5 yards, possibly more. JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby are good sources.

~ Striped tights

~ 1 or 2 pool noodles, depending on how long you want the legs to be. Note: depending on what color tights you buy, you may need to first wrap the pool noodles in white fabric to keep the bright pool noodle color from showing through.

~ Duct tape 

~ A 20 pound command strip. If hung outside, this size will hold your umbrella skirt in place during windy weather. 

~ Hot glue gun and glue sticks

~ Scissors

To Assemble:

~ Break off or snip off the handle of the umbrella below the latch. Cover the sharp end with a bit of duct tape. Discard the broken off piece.

 ~ You can open the umbrella all the way and click it in place. Or, open it not quite all the way and apply hot glue, then a piece of duct tape at the area of the handle where you want it to remain in place. 

~ To make your tulle strip for hanging the umbrella, gather several strips together, and tie them at both ends to hold them together. Make two slits about half an inch wide parallel to each other at the very top of the umbrella. Thread one end of the knotted tulle through each slit and tie the two knots together to make a loop. This is what you will hang your umbrella skirt from. 

~ Cut several long strips of tulle. The length you will want your strips depends on the size of your umbrella, so cut one, tie it to one of the higher spokes and see how far below the edge of the umbrella it hangs. Adjust the length accordingly. As you work your way from the center of the umbrella downward, you gradually shorten your strips. I made most of mine the same long length and simply cut them off to the right length once the entire umbrella had strips. You should see several inches of  the tulle below the edge of the umbrella. 

Suggestion: Fold your tulle several times to be able to cut several strips at once. For the final trim, I gave mine jagged ends to provide a tattered appearance. Tie enough strips onto each spoke until you can no longer see the spokes. More is better, as you want the end result to look like a very fluffy petticoat.

~ Cut your tights in half, from the crotch area up through the waist band. Scotch tape along the cut edges can help keep them from getting runs.

~ Cut the pool noodles to a suitable leg length and cut off two short lengths to serve as feet. Duct tape the  feet to the legs. Slide them into the boots to make sure they fit. If they are too large, trim for a better fit. 

~Slide the tights over the pool noodle legs/feet. Make a loop with a piece of duct tape with the sticky side out and place several pieces inside each boot, along the bottom foot area and up the sides, ending just below where the top of the boots end. Use enough duct tape to be certain the legs will support the weight of the boots when dangling from the umbrella. If you are using boots that you will not wear again, you can hot glue the legs/feet inside the boots.

~ Part some of the tulle in the two places where you want the legs to dangle from. Attach the tops of each leg to the exposed spoke with enough hot glue to hold them firmly in place. You may need to trim some of the tops of the tights a bit if they are too long.

~ I added some gathered tulle around the top of the boots, but this is not necessary.

~ Attach the command strip to the ceiling of your porch or ceiling inside your home. Put a dollop of hot glue on the curved piece and hang the tulle loop you made at the top of the umbrella, from the command strip.

Voila! Your floating, bewitching skirt is complete.

If any of my instructions are unclear, feel free ask a question below in the comment section and I will clarify more.

More Halloween sharing will come next week. I wish you a beautiful week-end.

xo sequestered and serene