When my kids did theater, we parents were expected to volunteer to help launch the show. I would have loved to play in the orchestra, or better yet–transpose the score to make it easier for the kids to sing, but I always had a baby, so that would have been too hard to manage.

My mother was a long time volunteer in the costume shop at our community theater, so her expectation that I would sign up for the costume committee was great.

I lacked her confidence, and passed.

Now I wish I’d signed up to help with costumes. Those moms knew something I didn’t. Pssst: you don’t have to be a perfect or even excellent seamstress in order to help with costumes. And you might actually improve your skills in the process. What a concept!

This week, I told my kids they were on break. But to avoid aimless lounging, I told them they could have ‘school light,’ where we’d do projects, etc. I mentioned the dollhouse.

They pulled out this battered costume-making book instead. It’s a board book, barely held together with an old ring binding, and would probably be missing several pages had it been a paperback.

My mother, (the traitor!) had bought it for Yanni, and she’d pored over the pages, faithfully trying to reproduce every costume therein.

She was especially interested in the tutus. There was a garbage bag tutu, a bubble wrap tutu, a newspaper tutu, and a real tutu, made of tulle.

We’d gone and purchased all the supplies, and then I ran and hid my head, terrified I’d mess it all up. Perfectionism is a dangerous thing in a parent.

The book is written for kids. Surely the costumes are something a child could make?

But the bubble tutu proved too hard. The garbage bag tutu, too flimsy. And the tulle? I tried to help with the tulle, but the holes were too big to really hold the thread.

We were both disappointed.

If I’d volunteered on the costume committee, I’d have known what to do.

It turns out, I learned from my mistakes. Today, Imani and Joy also wanted to make tutus. Joy and Imani worked on the garbage bag design by themselves, and Joy wore her tutu for several hours.

Imani wanted the tulle model. I tried to find some tulle lying around the house. I’d made curtains from it back when I’d done the kids’ rooms. Yanni had fluffy light teal curtains for her sea themed room. The tulle was leftover from my wedding.

Couldn’t find that. Likely the cat had something to do with it…

I did find a curtain panel I’d sewn for Xay’s room. It was camouflage tulle, and just wide enough for the pattern! I set to cutting and sewing while the girls watched. I felt funny working on the kids’ project, but reminded myself that tulle and ruffles and skirts are difficult sewing. I tried to keep myself from saying this out loud; I didn’t want to discourage the girls from trying to sew at some point in their lives.

Long story bearable, I finished the tutu. It took all morning, and the ruffles pretty much fell out, but it left a cute little skirt much like the little tutu that came with Chanya’s cutest pajamas.

Except, you know, homemade.