MPS031 – Star Wars Party: Part 1

My Painting Shirt Podcast: Theme Parties | Costumes | Crafts

I have been looking forward to doing a Star Wars party for a very long time and now that The Force Awakens is out on DVD and Star Wars mania is here again, I thought this was the perfect time! Plus, as many of you know, May the Fourth (ya know, like May the Force …) is Star Wars Day, so it’s a win all the way around!

I have so many things that I want to share about this party, and a lot of how-to’s, so I’ve divided it into two posts.

Part One (this post) includes:

• R2-D2 Tutu Skirt and Shirt
• BB-8 Tutu Dress
• Padawan Tunics
• Princess Leia Buns Headbands
• Pool Noodle Light Sabers
• Party Games like Stormtrooper Attack and Jedi Training

Part Two (will post on 5/15) will include:

• Tablescape and decorations
• Food ideas like
  • Jabba the Hot Dogs
  • Boba Feta Salad
  • Tie Fighter Crackers
  • Han Solo in Chocolate
  • Pretzel Light Sabers
  • Dagobah Dip
• Napkin Light Sabers
• BB-8 Cake
• Rebel Alliance Favor Bags

BB-8 Tutu Dress and R2-D2 Tutu Skirt and Top:

Look at the cuteness! These outfits were fairly easy to make and the girls LOVED them! In July or August I will post a much more detailed instruction for making tutu dresses that will include video, but the descriptions below will get you started.

R2-D2 Shirt and Tutu Skirt:

R2-D2 Skirt and Shirt

Materials Needed:

• White Tee
• Royal Blue Felt
• Black Felt
• Red Felt
• Fabric Glue
• Royal Blue Tulle (amount depends on child size and length)
• White Tulle (amount depends on child size and length)
• White 1″ wide elastic (amount depends on child’s waist size)
• White thread and needle.

Instructions for Shirt:

• Cut out pieces of blue felt to match the shapes of R2-D2 (I found some online stencils that I liked and used those).
• Cut out black and red felt circles and glue onto blue felt using fabric glue.
• Place a non-stick paper or foil between layers of shirt so glue doesn’t soak through to the back.
• Glue blue pieces onto white tee using fabric glue.
• Do not wash.

Instructions for Skirt:

• Measure the waist size of your child and cut elastic to size.
• Overlap ends of elastic by 1/2 inch and sew together securely.
• Measure how long you want the skirt to be. Double that number and add 1 – 2 inches, this is the length to cut your strips of tulle. For example, if you want the skirt to be 20 inches long, you will cut the tulle into 41 or 42 inch lengths.
  • I used strips of tulle that were 6″ wide.
• Cut anywhere from 50 – 100 lengths of tulle (however many it takes to fill the elastic based on child size).
  • I preferred a bit more blue than white in the skirt above, so I did twice the amount of blue to white.
• Take one piece of tulle, fold in half, pull folded end under the elastic (from bottom to top).
• Take the folded end at the top, pull it down over the front of the elastic.
• Pull the open end of the tulle through the folded end (loop) of the tulle until tight around the elastic waist.
• Do this repeatedly around the elastic (in the pattern you choose) until the elastic is full.
• Trim the ends with scissors to make it even at the bottom.

BB-8 Tutu Dress:

BB-8 Tutu Dress

Materials Needed:

• White crochet top (lined), I used an 10″ in the dress above
• Grey Felt
• Orange Felt
• Black Felt
• White Felt
• Fabric Glue
• Orange Tulle (amount depends on child size and length)
• White Tulle (amount depends on child size and length)
• Gray Tulle (amount depends on child size and length)
• Orange Ribbon
• Large Crochet Hook

Instructions for Top:

• Cut out pieces of felt to match one of the round shapes of BB-8 (I used my BB-8 sipper as inspiration but there are stencils and pictures online).
• Cut out black, gray, and orange felt pieces to look like the head and glue onto white crochet top using fabric glue.
• Place a non-stick paper or foil between layers of the top so glue doesn’t soak through to the back.
• Using the crochet hook, take a doubled length of orange ribbon and knot it in the top center of the top in a halter style.
• Using the crochet hook, loosely attach each end of the ribbon to the top of the back so it can be tightened to size when put on the child (I usually do about five loops to each side from the center).
• Do not wash.

Instructions for Skirt:

• Measure how long you want the skirt to be. Double that number and add 1 – 2 inches, this is the length to cut your strips of tulle. For example, if you want the skirt to be 20 inches long, you will cut the tulle into 41 or 42 inch lengths.
  • I used strips of tulle that were 6″ wide.
• Cut anywhere from 50 – 100 lengths of tulle (however many it takes to fill the bottom of the crochet top based on child size).
  • I used a pattern of four white, one gray, one orange, then repeat.
• Take one piece of tulle, fold in half.
• Using the crochet hook, pull folded end through a loop on the bottom of the crochet top (from bottom to top).
• Pull the open end of the tulle through the folded end (loop) of the tulle until tight.
• Do this repeatedly around the bottom of the top until full.
• Trim the ends of the tulle with scissors to make it even at the bottom.
• Cut out pieces of felt to match a few more of the round shapes on BB-8 and glue them to the tulle (with a piece of non-stick paper underneath).

Padawan Tunics:

These are so easy and the kids love them!

Padawan Tunic

Materials Needed:

• Brown Felt by the yard (you can use any brown material, but I love felt because it won’t fray)
• Scissors
• Brown sash material (I found mine in the clearance bin at a fabric store).

Instructions:

• Measure how long and how wide you want the tunics to be ( I suggest an inch or two wider than the shoulders and the length to the upper thigh)
• Double the length (so you can fold in half) and cut felt.
• Cut a hole at the top of the folded edge just big enough for the child to pull his head through.
• Cut a sash long enough to tie around the child’s waist with about six inches extra on both ends.

Princess Leia Bun Headbands:

Princess Leia Buns Headband

Materials Needed:

• Brown Yarn (I used super bulky acrylic)
• Brown Felt
• Headband
• Glue Gun

Instructions:

• Buns:
  • Cut ten 20″ lengths of brown yarn per bun and bind with an elastic on both ends.
  • Place a dot of glue on a round piece (about 6″ diameter) of brown felt and glue one end of the yarn to the felt.
  • Twist the yarn and while spiraling out from the center, glue the yarn to the felt.
  • When you reach the end, tuck the end under the inner spiral and glue.
  • Trim any remaining felt around the edges.
• Headband:
  • Place a dot of glue on the end of the headband and glue one end of brown yarn to the end.
  • Wrap the yarn around the headband, gluing occasionally, until you reach the other end.
• Attach Buns:
  • Glue the felt underside of the buns to each outer side of the headband.
  • Use a piece of extra felt on the inside of the headband to keep the bun in place and give it more structure.

Pool Noodle Light Sabers:

Pool Noodle Light Sabers

Materials Needed:

• Pool Noodles (medium/small width) of varying colors
• Black Duct Tape
• Silver Duct Tape

Instructions:

• Cut pool noodles in half to make two segments of equal length.
• Wrap one end in silver duct tape to about 6″ from the end.
• Use black duct tape to create details on the silver duct tape.

Activities:

• Stormtrooper Attack
• Light Saber Play
• Jedi Training / Bubble Attack

Stormtrooper Attack:

We found this great Stormtrooper balloon at the local party store and they filled it for free with the purchase of the balloon. It has weights on the bottom, so it kind of “wanders” around the room. It was amazing! We made a not hitting policy in the house while he guarded the food table, but we promised an Attack the Stormtrooper game outside later.

Stormtrooper before the kids attacked …

Stormtrooper attack!

Light Saber Play:

Once the Stormtrooper was demolished, it was all about the light saber fighting. Luckily, the pool noodle light sabers are light and don’t hurt when they hit their target.

Jedi Training / Bubble Attack:

The kids loved popping bubbles with their “light sabers”. The Jedi Training was learning how to use The Force and their light saber by chasing down bubbles that an adult was blowing across the yard. So fun!

So that’s Part One of my two part Star Wars Party posts. Tune in on May 15th for Part Two and may the force be with you!