My friend asked me to make a graduation cake for her daughter and she would like it to represent her school years (e.g., tiered cakes for each school attended). Anyway, her daughter attended a Catholic elementary school and she would like the bottom tier to look like the skirt she wore to school. Any ideas how to do this? Would it be easier to airbrush or use fondant?

Hi, Not sure if this is what you are looking for but there is a great clip on youtube by aine2 Type in "How to make a tartan pattern on fondant" and it should come up or type in "aine2 sugarcraft videos " and you will get a list. Hope this works for you.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully, that will work.

aine2, one of the best there is. I have all her tutorials.

You should watch colourlovers.com, maybe there something you could use.

Could you post a pic of the plaid pattern? I had 2 patterns to do on a skateboard cake and Aine2s tutorial was great, but just did not suit my needs. I did one with a combo of painting on fondant and using edible markers (the bear) free hand. For the other pattern on the cake (base), I used edible images - just got a photo from the Mom and got them made at Co-op. See my skateboard cake in my photos. Chocolate transfers were also another option I looked at.

Thanks for all the advice. I actually made a plaid pattern using food color pens and cut out skirts and put them around the bottom of the cake. I then made fondant legs and attached them to the skirt and then made saddle shoes to finish it off.