Cake stand look so pretty when they are adorned with delicious cakes, buns and pastries. But the sweet smells of sugar, cream, jam and sugar also attract the attentions flies when having tea time alfresco. The simple solution is to make your cake stand a cover or skirt that is see through enough so that you can still see the appetizing sweet treats, but it keeps the flies from getting in there first.
The cake stand skirt just adds to the chintz look, and patterned or coloured organza can really create a shabby chic quaint effect, which is so, old English tea parties. I’ve called it a skirt because it does look like the cake stand is wearing a Victorian petticoat.
To make a Cake Stand Skirt you will need…
Organza fabric, any colour or pattern you choose,
Half inch wide satin ribbon to use as a draw string,
And wide lace about 2 to 2.5 inches wide.
To start off you need to take some measurements from your cake stand; you need to measure the height from the table to the top of the handle, the radius of the top plate and the circumference of the bottom plate.
Draw a rectangle (landscape) on a piece of scrap paper, the long edge needs to be the circumference of the bottom plate plus half the circumference again.
The height of the rectangle should be the height of the cake stand plus the radius of the top plate. In addition you need to add 6 inches for the top ruffle and chasing for the ribbon draw string, and further half inch for the bottom hem.
Now deduct from the width of two lace stripes. Be aware that 2.5 inch wide lace with scallops will not be as wide as in reality. You need to measure the lace across the narrowest point. Therefore your 2.5 inch wide lace may only be 2 inches wide. With two stripes of lace you need to deduct 4 inches from the width of the rectangle in total.
Cut out the organza to this size and hem one of the long edges turning it up half an inch. Also hem the two shorter sides.
From the hem at the bottom of the fabric, mark out 3 inches, and cut a strip off the bottom which is 3 inches wide and hemmed on 3 sides. Overlock or zigzag the remaining raw edge.
Sew lace over the top of the overlocked edge, turning the raw edges of the lace in.
Sew another length of lace over the top of the bottom hem, taking care to fold in the raw edges of the lace.
Take the larger piece of organza and overlock or zigzag the two remaining long raw edges.
On the top edge make a 3 inch hem, and sew into place.
From this stitching sew another line of stitching just above to create a chasing for the ribbon. The distance needs to be about three quarters of an inch, so that the ribbon can lay flat inside the channel.
This piece of organza can now be stitched to the lower piece on the top lace stripe.
Finally thread ribbon through the chasing and draw the skirt up, so that it gathers around the handle of the cake stand. Tie it off with a bow.
Dinners can retrieve a cake either by lifting the skirt or parting the skirt where the two sides join, below the bow.
Being made from organza the cake stand skirt is machine washable on a low temperature and can be ironed on a low setting.
