This trip to Disney was all about the details. Or so it seemed, looking back on some of the outfits we tackled . . . on a time crunch.

However, we couldn’t resist the stark contrast between black and white to capture a zebra-based outfit for another day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

We selected 3 safari animals to design the girls’ second Animal Kingdom outfits.

The first? A zebra for EA. . .

We sewed the Oliver + S, class picnic shorts {size 8} – actually sewing 2 pair of these shorts . . . exactly the same size and fabric. Why? Because kids get dirty . . .AND it is white . . .AND we are at Disney where cleaning services may not be readily available {or time to spare to do these services} . . . AND there was another outfit of EA’s that needed white shorts as well.

So, a 2nd pair was in order . . .

These shorts were lengthened by 1″ to account for EA’s L.O.N.G. legs . . .

For the top, we went with what we KNEW . . . EA loves a good Oliver + S, Pinwheel “top”. As in, that is about all she wore during the last spring and summer’s heat.

Still, we WERE going to Disney, so we wanted to “step it up” a bit for a more special garment.

We sewed the top as a size 7, and the hem was hand sewn at 5/8″ due to zebra placement.

Now, for the intricate details. Let’s just say, it was ALL ABOUT the zebra {template found HERE}!

First, the entire zebra was traced on white pique fabric under a light table.

We kept the image as a block, and did not cut it as a zebra shape. Instead, we added wonder tape to portions of the stripes. The traced zebra block was then positioned on the main black fabric and stitched in place.

Once the stripes were stitched in place, we snipped the remaining white fabric from the original block – creating black stripes from the main fabric.

Once the extra white fabric was removed, we outlined the outer area of zebra. Then, we used 3 strands of DMC floss to stitch the shape of the mane and ear area of the zebra.

We loved, loved, loved this outfit! It was cute and trendy enough for a child this age . . . and it fit the bill for a trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

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