Tyra the Designer Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  I’m the king of designer fashion,

  Looking stylish is my passion.

  Ice Blue’s the name of my fashion line,

  The designs are fabulous and they’re all mine!

  Some people think my clothes are odd,

  But I will get the fashion world’s nod.

  Fashion Fairy magic will make my dream come true —

  Soon everyone will wear Ice Blue!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Funny Fashions

  A Worrying Workshop

  Goblins in Blue

  Shopping-center Chaos

  Mannequin Mischief

  A Surprise Competitor!

  Teaser

  Also Available

  Copyright

  “I can’t wait for the design competition workshop to start,” said Kirsty Tate, peeking into her bag with excitement. “I have my colorful scarves, and I’m going to sew them into a flowing dress.”

  “It will be great!” said her best friend, Rachel Walker. “I’m going to paint a glittery rainbow on my old jeans.”

  “And I’m going to have lunch with my friend Moira,” said Mrs. Walker. “So we’re all in store for a fun day!”

  They were standing inside the new Tippington Fountains Shopping Center. Kirsty was staying with Rachel for the school break, and they had been having a very exciting time ever since the new mall had opened. A design competition had been announced on the opening day, and the girls had been working on their ideas ever since. After the workshop, all the kids’ creations would be judged, and the winners would model their clothes in a charity fashion show at the end of the week.

  “Let’s go this way,” said Mrs. Walker. “I told Moira I’d meet her outside the wedding-dress shop, Top Hats & Tiaras.”

  They walked along slowly, looking from one side to the other at all the exciting stores. Then Rachel nudged Kirsty. “Look at that lady over there,” she said. “She’s wearing one pant leg long and the other one is short.”

  “And her son only has one sock on,” said Kirsty. “That’s strange.”

  “New fashions always seem strange at first,” said Mrs. Walker with a laugh. “Look, there’s Moira over there, and she has safety pins on her cardigan instead of buttons. What will the fashion designers think of next?”

  As Mrs. Walker went to give Moira a hug, Kirsty and Rachel exchanged a glance.

  “These aren’t funny new fashions,” said Rachel. “It’s Jack Frost and his goblins causing trouble!”

  At the beginning of the week, Kirsty and Rachel had gone to a Fairyland fashion show, but Jack Frost and his goblins had barged in. Jack Frost had created his own designer label named Ice Blue, and he and the goblins were wearing the new designs. He wanted everyone in the human world and Fairyland to wear his clothes, so they would all look just like him!

  With a bolt of icy magic, Jack had stolen the Fashion Fairies’ magical objects and brought them to Tippington Fountains Shopping Center. The fairies needed their magical objects to take care of every aspect of fashion — in both the human world and in Fairyland. Now everything was going wrong in both fashion worlds!

  “I’ll see you at the competition later,” called Mrs. Walker. “Have fun, girls!”

  Kirsty and Rachel waved good-bye.

  “We still have half an hour before the workshop starts,” said Rachel. “Let’s go and see if we can find any goblins.”

  The worried Fashion Fairies had asked for the girls’ help. Of course Kirsty and Rachel had said yes! They had already helped two of the fairies find their magic objects. But Jack Frost and his goblins were becoming cleverer and even trickier. Would the girls be able to find the other objects in time to save the fashion show at the end of the week?

  Rachel and Kirsty started their search for goblins in Hartley’s Department Store.

  “Don’t forget to look under shelves and behind the sales racks,” said Kirsty. “Goblins can hide in really tiny spaces. They could be anywhere.”

  Rachel started to check a rack of shirts, while Kirsty got down on her knees and looked under a low shelf.

  “Look at this,” said Rachel, holding up a blouse that was full of big holes. “What a fashion disaster!”

  Kirsty shook her head sadly and stood up, but then she immediately tripped.

  “Are you all right?” asked Rachel, hurrying over to help her friend.

  “I’m fine,” said Kirsty. “But what did I trip on?”

  They looked down and saw a pair of pants dragging on the ground from a clothing rack.

  “Those pant legs are way too long,” said Rachel. “We have to find the goblins and stop them!”

  Everywhere the girls looked in the store, they found clothes that were misshaped, ripped, or stained. They stopped beside a display of fall fashions and Kirsty groaned.

  “Look at that!” she exclaimed.

  The mannequin in the middle of the display had a tear in the back of her jeans! The girls looked at the others in the display, checking to see if their clothes were ruined, too. As Rachel examined a mannequin in a long bronze dress, she noticed something strange.

  “That dress looks like it’s glowing,” she said. “Down by the right-hand pocket — can you see it, Kirsty?”

  “Yes!” said Kirsty, moving closer. “It looks like . . . magic!”

  There was a fizz of sparkling fairy dust, and then Tyra the Designer Fairy climbed out of the dress pocket!

  “Hello, Tyra!” said the girls with excitement.

  Tyra looked cool in her ruffled skirt and funky leopard-print suspenders, but her dark eyes were worried.

  “Hi, Kirsty!” she replied. “Hi, Rachel. I’m here to try and get my magical tape measure back from Jack Frost and the goblins. Everywhere I go I see awful-looking clothes that don’t fit well, and it’s making me really sad that I can’t do my job!”

  “We’ve seen some strange fashions, too,” said Kirsty. “Don’t worry, Tyra. We’ll help you. We’ve already been looking for goblins this morning.”

  “Did you find any?” Tyra asked.

  “Not yet,” said Rachel. “Let’s keep searching.”

  “But we have to go to the workshop,” said Kirsty, looking at her watch. “It’s about to start!”

  “What about Tyra?” asked Rachel.

  “No problem,” said Tyra, zooming into Kirsty’s bag of scarves. “I’ll hide in here. Fabulous colors, Kirsty!”

  The girls hurried to the magnificent fountain area in the middle of the shopping mall. It was crowded with girls and boys, all sitting at long tables. The tables were piled high with ribbons, sequins, and colorful materials in lots of different textures and sizes.

  “Look, there’s Jessica Jarvis!” said Rachel when she noticed the supermodel who was helping to organize the competition.

  “And there’s Ella McCauley,” Kirsty added, spotting the famous designer.

  The two celebrities were setting up the last table for the workshop. As Rachel and Kirsty moved toward two empty chairs, they saw Ella look down at her arms in surprise.

  “Oh my goodness, this jacket has one sleeve that’s longer than the other!” she exclaimed. “How did I miss that? How embarrassing!”

  “No one will notice if you roll them both up,” said Jessica. “Look at what I did — I’m wearing two different-colored shoes!”

  Rachel and Kirsty took their places at one of the tables with some other girls and boys. Everyone was talking eagerly, and no one seemed to notice the strange f
ashion mistakes that the celebrities had made.

  “I don’t see any goblins lurking around,” said Rachel in a low voice. “I hope they stay away from the workshop!”

  Tyra peeked over the top of Kirsty’s bag.

  “I’m worried about the workshop,” she said, frowning. “If Jessica and Ella are having fashion disasters, anything could happen!”

  At that moment, Ella clapped her hands together and the chatting girls and boys fell silent.

  “Hi, everyone,” said Ella. “It’s great that so many of you have shown up for the workshop. Some of you already know that I’m a fashion designer, and that makes me very lucky. I get to do something that I love every day!”

  Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Rachel noticed that she had rolled up her sleeves.

  “When I’m designing a new dress, I start by drawing it on paper,” Ella explained. “Then I choose the fabric I want to use, and measure it carefully. Finally, I sew the pieces together to make the dress.”

  It sounded wonderful, and Kirsty felt her fingers itching to get started.

  “I’d like you all to meet Mabel,” said Ella.

  She brought out a life-size dressmaker’s mannequin, which was purple. There was a dial on Mabel’s back that looked a little like the face of a watch. There were numbers printed around the edge.

  “By turning this dial, I can change Mabel’s dress size,” Ella continued. “It means that I can design clothes for people of all different shapes and sizes.”

  Ella handed out some of her designs so everyone could see how to start designing.

  “You can find paper and pencils on the tables,” she announced. “Start planning your designs, and I will walk around and help anyone who needs advice.”

  Kirsty and Rachel picked up their pencils and started to sketch. They had imagined their outfits so many times that it was easy to draw every detail.

  “I love your dress,” said Rachel, looking at Kirsty’s drawing.

  “I’d buy your jeans if I saw them in a store,” Kirsty replied with a grin.

  “Me, too,” said a voice behind them.

  They looked around and saw Ella looking over their shoulders. She smiled at them.

  “I think both of your designs are fantastic,” she said. “Let me help you measure the scarves and jeans you’re using.”

  She took out a tape measure and stretched it along Rachel’s jeans. Then she took out a small white pencil.

  “This is a dressmaking pencil,” she said. “I use it to mark measurements on clothes without damaging them.”

  She leaned forward and then paused.

  “I don’t believe it!” she exclaimed.

  “Look at the numbers on this tape measure,” said Ella. “They’re all messed up!”

  Rachel and Kirsty looked down. Sure enough, the numbers were all in the wrong order.

  “That’s because Tyra’s magic tape measure is missing,” whispered Kirsty.

  “What are we going to do without a tape measure?” asked Rachel, worried that she wouldn’t be able to finish her design.

  “Don’t panic,” said Ella. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve!”

  She winked at them and pulled a ball of string out of her pocket.

  “You can mark the measurements using a length of string,” she said. “It’ll work just as well.”

  As Ella moved away, Tyra looked up at the girls.

  “I’m going to go and see if I can spot the goblins while you finish your clothes,” she said. “There’s a beautiful flower basket hanging from the railing on the second floor, and it overlooks the fountain area. I’ll be able to see any goblins from up there — and keep an eye on you, too!”

  The girls started making their outfits while Tyra fluttered up to the flower basket, being careful not to be seen.

  Rachel concentrated on drawing the rainbow on her jeans with glitter paint, while Kirsty started to sew her scarves together.

  After a few minutes, the girls heard a groan from the table next to them. They saw a boy holding up a shirt that was a few sizes too big. Rachel looked down at her jeans.

  “Oh, no!” she exclaimed. “Look, Kirsty — my rainbow stripes are all crooked.”

  Kirsty put her arm around her friend’s shoulder.

  “I’ll help you fix them,” she said in a comforting voice. “I’ll just go and try on my scarf dress, and then we can repaint the stripes together.”

  She carefully picked up her dress and took it to the curtained-off dressing room in the corner. A few minutes later she came out, swishing the dress around and smiling.

  “That looks wonderful!” cried Rachel.

  Kirsty stood in front of the mirror and looked carefully at her creation. Then her smile faded.

  “The hem is lopsided!” She groaned. “Look, Rachel — it’s longer on the left than on the right. And I thought I measured so carefully!”

  Kirsty changed back into her ordinary clothes. When she came out of the dressing room, Rachel motioned to her and put her finger to her lips.

  “Do you hear something?” she whispered.

  Kirsty strained her ears. Over the chatter of the other girls and boys, she could hear a faint voice like the far-off ringing of bells.

  “Kirsty! Rachel!”

  “It’s Tyra!” the girls said together.

  They looked up and saw Tyra leaning out of the flower basket. She was beckoning to them. She had her wand pressed to her throat.

  “She must be using magic so we can hear her,” said Kirsty.

  “She’s pointing at something over there,” Rachel said. “What did she see?”

  Tyra was pointing to a group of four boys arriving at one of the workshop tables. They were all wearing bright blue outfits with high shoulders and tight pants.

  “Look at their enormous shoes!” said Kirsty. “They’re goblins, I’m sure of it!”

  “That must be why Tyra was pointing at them,” Rachel agreed. “Come on, let’s get closer. We have to find out what they’re up to!”

  The goblins’ table was piled high with fabric in many different shades of blue. Beside it was a dressmaker’s mannequin on wheels. But this mannequin was nothing like Mabel. It was tall and blue. When one of the goblins spun it around, Kirsty gasped. It looked exactly like Jack Frost!

  Suddenly, Kirsty felt something tickle the back of her neck. Tyra had flown down and hidden herself behind a lock of Kirsty’s hair.

  “Can you and Rachel go somewhere private?” said Tyra quietly. “I think we’ll have a better chance of finding the magic tape measure if I change you into fairies.”

  Kirsty touched Rachel’s arm.

  “Tyra wants to turn us into fairies,” she said in a low voice. “Let’s hide in the fitting room.”

  They told Ella that they were going to get something that would help them with their designs, and then they hurried into the dressing room. Tyra fluttered out and waved her wand over the girls. Their skin tingled as a puff of rainbow-colored fairy dust billowed around them and glittery wings unfurled from their shoulders. In no time, the girls were fairy-size.

  The three fairies fluttered out of the dressing room and made their way toward the goblins’ table. They flitted between baskets of material, being very careful to stay out of sight.

  “Let’s hide in here,” said Rachel, slipping under a large pile of blue fabric. “Now we’ll be able to hear everything the goblins say.”

  The goblins were chatting and giggling. They sounded very proud of themselves.

  “Does anyone need any help?” asked Jessica, who was just walking past the table.

  “Not from you!” said the rude goblins.

  Jessica looked surprised, but walked away.

  “Jack Frost is going to love this outfit,�
� said a short goblin with a long nose. “He has to reward us for this.”

  “I think he’ll like my part the best,” said another goblin, who had a blue scarf wrapped around his waist like a belt.

  “No way,” sneered a third goblin, who had a blue top hat balanced on his bony head. “Mine’s better than yours.”

  “Each goblin is making a different section of the outfit,” Kirsty realized. “Look — that goblin has the collar, and that one has a pant leg.”

  “What a funny way to make an outfit,” said Tyra, frowning.

  “Give me that tape measure,” demanded a skinny goblin with a pimple on the tip of his nose.

  “What’s the magic word?” demanded the goblin with the scarf.

  “NOW!” yelled the skinny goblin.

  There was a little scuffle and then the skinny goblin grabbed a shiny golden tape measure from the other’s hand. Tyra gasped.

  “That’s my magic tape measure!” she said, clasping Rachel’s arm in excitement. “We found it!”

  “No wonder the goblins are having better luck making their outfit,” said Kirsty. “They have your magic to help them, Tyra!”

  “That’s it!” announced the skinny goblin. “I’m finished. Let’s put the outfit together.”

  The goblins scrambled over to the mannequin and started to dress it, sewing the pieces of the outfit together as they worked.

  “They left the magic tape measure on the table,” said Kirsty. “Now’s our chance to grab it!”

  The three fairies edged closer to the golden tape measure. They stayed close to the piles of fabric in case they needed to hide quickly. The goblins finished putting the outfit together and stepped back to admire it.

  “It’s a work of art!” said the skinny goblin.