The Mother in a Giant Skirt: A Nutcracker Feature The answer to yesterday's Nutcracker Trivia: Mother Ginger's towering costume weighs _____ pounds. Mother Ginger's skirt weighs 85 pounds and measures 9 feet in diameter just enough room for the 8 Polichinelles Mother Ginger is arguably the most precarious part in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker," says Corps de Ballet Member Gilbert Bolden III. "Around 90% of the shows go off without a hitch, then Mother Ginger a big crowd pleaser in Pacific Northwest Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' The Seattle Times