Word problem for the day!

I was making a tutu today, and wanted to share the math end of it. I made two mistakes in the first attempt. First, I measured Kaitlyn's waist at 19" when it is actually 16.5". Squirmy girl. And then, when I cut the tulle, I figured that I should add "a bunch" for gathering, and rather than do the math, just went with 36" since the fabric was already a yard long. Me? Skip the math? What was I thinking?!? It turns out that 36" isn't nearly enough, and only made a skirt, hanging down.

So here is the word problem for you. Kaitlyn is 16.5" around, but I went with 16" so the elastic would stretch and hold on. The tutu is 8" long, and unlike the "skirt" I made the first time, should stick straight out when I am done. (Or at least be able to.) How long should it be to make it around the new circumference? The answer will be right after all the back-story for the day.

You know you are a math nerd like me if you actually get excited by figuring it out!

***

I love making Halloween costumes for my kids. For the last two years, Tyler has gotten a "semi-homemade" costume, with bought parts put together with bits I made myself. For his first costume, he was Rocky the boxer. It was an inside joke, since Christopher desparately wanted to name him Rocky in the first place. I got the robe on ebay and ironed on the letters on the back, bought the boxing gloves (which were meant to dangle from a rear-view mirror), and then made him the awesome shorts. I was way proud of those shorts, since the stripes were fun to make.

Then, the next year, I figured that since we already had the BYU jersey, I would just make him some football pants and a helmet. The only sad part was that I couldn't do a facemask or he would just rip it off, so it ended up looking like a bonnet. In fact, when I asked Christopher what Tyler should be this year, his only requirement was that this year, he didn't wear a bonnet. Oh well.

I am just buying Tyler's this year, because how could I possibly make one as cool as this for a kid who loves trucks? I mean, most people make them out of boxes, but I think Tyler is too young to enjoy manuvering around in a cardboard box all night.

But I saw someone online who got the orange, jack-o-lantern onesie from Wal-mart and added an orange tutu and a green hairbow to make a pumpkin, and knew I had to do it for Kaitlyn. I looked up online how to make a tutu, but I didn't want to use the method here. I loved the look when tutus had a ribbon border, and that meant a solid top peice. So I needed a long, skinny section of tulle to wrap around her waist. It should look like this one when it is done, except that it won't cost $40. (By the way, this pic comes from poshtots.com, which has ome of the cutest and most expensive stuff I have ever seen.)

Which brings us back to the tutu in progress.

***

You figure it out yet? Okay, so if she is 16" in circumference, and circumference is 2(pi)r, so that means that she is 5.1" in diameter or 2.55 in radius. We are adding 8" on each side, so the new total diameter will be 21.1", which makes the new circumference 66". Since I don't want it to be pulled taught to make that, I will make it 2 yards (72") long. Which means I only had half the fabric I needed.

And here it is! Now I am just going to work on the "stem" for her head, and we will be all set.