I'm so embarrassed! Last summer, I really got into the swing of building a circus. I got tons of great comments on Instagram and lots of questions too. So... I promised to write a blog post about it, but I just never got around to it. But, I'm hopefully making up for it now, and for those who also want to build a circus, maybe they can make it a Christmas holiday project 🙂
The idea
When Famke asked me if I could make a circus for her, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic at first. I'm not a fan of bright colors, and especially not red. Anyway, I thought maybe I could give it a twist. I absolutely adore Mrs. Mighetto's illustrations, and I quickly decided it had to go in that direction. The first thing I do to get inspired is pin—a lot of pinning.
The tent
I'd love to post a pattern for making the tent here. Unfortunately, I don't have one, because I just did my own thing. I'll give a brief explanation.
I wanted to make a tent with a diameter of 36 cm. So, I first sewed eight points of cotton together to create a pointed roof. I sewed a tunnel into the bottom edge and threaded a piece of wire through it. I cut a strip of diamond fabric (Kwantum) 22 cm high and the length of the circumference of the bottom of the roof. Because I wanted a wide opening, I sewed the fronts inward on both sides. I attached the top of the tent to the top by hand with invisible stitches.
Next, I built the tent's track. I sawed a circle from MDF the same size as the tent's diameter. I glued an old wooden spool in the center and painted it gold. I still had a round strip of wood, and I used some aluminum foil to secure it around the spool. It's now easy to remove for storage. I made a hole in the round strip and threaded a piece of wire through it. And now for a slightly tricky part: the point. I cut a circle from sturdy, non-fraying fabric and threaded the strip of wood with the wire through it. I attached the wire to the circle and sewed the circle about halfway to the point of the tent. Then, I cut small dots into it with sharp scissors. I actually wanted to add a little flag to the tent, but I'll do that later.
The residents
The residents are Sonny Angels and Sleich animals. Very photogenic 😉
- The elephant also wears a cute skirt, which I made very simply from a piece of old lace threaded with a ribbon. The ballerina's tutu is made of tulle.
- The powerhouse is wearing a black and white striped jumpsuit. I simply cut a narrow strip, folded it in half, and sewed it down the sides and between the legs. You can do this while you're placing Sonny in the fabric (remove the head so it doesn't bother you). Then, cut a large V to expose the belly and back. Now take the doll out and carefully turn the jumpsuit inside out. The sewn seams are now on the inside, ta-da! The weights are two thick beads on a stick that I painted black.
- The giraffes have a lace collar. I threaded a thread through a lace ribbon and carefully pulled it tight, creating a ruffled look. I slid this around the neck and secured the ends together.
- The circus director is wearing a tall black hat that I made out of black cardboard.
- The swans wear black hats. I made these from paper straws that I painted black. I used a pound to create a circle, glued on a straw, and that's it.
- The balloons are made of plastic Easter eggs and iron wire.
The cotton candy stall
Isn't this Mrs. Mighetto's cotton candy stand the cutest thing you've ever seen? I had to recreate it. I cut two sides out of plywood and glued a base, front, and back onto them. I drilled a hole in the sides for a stick and glued the wheels on. I had these wheels from another project. Paper straws serve as the roof. The roof is also made of thin plywood with pieces of fabric glued on. I painted the sides as accurately as possible. Together with the children, I made the cotton candy from roving yarn, which we spun onto a cocktail stick. Unfortunately, I didn't have the right shade of pink, so I only ended up with white cotton candy.
The caravan
I once bought two suitcases at Hema that I found really ugly. I turned them into a caravan by simply cutting out the front of the suitcase and gluing a wooden slat and two half-circles underneath. I think the photos speak for themselves. I have to admit, though, that there are tons of layers of paint on them.
