I'm making my neice's first birthday cake. My sister scoured the internet for a cake for me to make and finally picked this one http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkS_hsEaC0o/S37VA7ZIiJI/AAAAAAAABNk/g-EYphegqxI/s1600-h/minnie1.jpg

The only problem is that I'm not sure how to do the trim. I was thinking about just buying ribbon at the store, and wrapping it around the bottom. The only problem is that, having fondant polka dots would mean that the polka dots would protrude form the cake, but the ribbon wouldn't. I'm looking for a solution. The only problem about making a strip of fondant for the bottom is that it's SO hard to get it straight, and long enough. Can someone help me?

I use a pasta roller to roll out fondant "ribbons" for the bottom of cakes. It takes a little practice to hold that long of a piece but it's not too bad. Then I use a fondant cutter that has two cutting wheels so I can cut both sides at the same time. You do need a pretty long counter space.

Ribbon would work too, just roll your polka dots very thin so they look similar to the ribbon.

I use a pasta roller to roll out fondant for the polka dots, too. I can make them so thin that I can press them into the buttercream and they lay flush. You could do it with a rolling pin, too. Just when you think the fondant is as thin as you can roll it, roll it some more!

Here's a suggestion for making your fondant ribbon. Roll your fondant into a sausage first. Then, when you go to roll it out, it will be long and thin rather than short and wide.

Once it's a good length, fold it in half. Now one side of the ribbon is perfectly straight. Use a pastry wheel or sharp knife to cut the other side. Let the ribbon rest for a few minutes before you put it on the cake so it doesn't get all misshapen when you pick it up.

to figure out how long you need your ribbon to be you'll need to figure out the circumference of your cake.

Take the diameter of the cake and multiply it times 3.14, then add on a couple of inches for good measure.

After you roll out your fondant (the sausage idea above is what i do) and cut it to your desired width let it sit on the table/counter a little bit to "firrm" up a little. Then roll it up and then unroll it while you're going around the cake. Since it's a bottom border it's a little easier to keep it straight b/c you can use the cake board or bake below as a guide.