Halloweeeeeeen!

I don't often post pictures of my kids, but since this is kind of a craft blog, I needed to show off my Halloween costumes. My kids' Halloween costumes are the reason I learned how to sew in the first place and I will sew them Halloween costumes as long as they'll let me. I'm pleased to say that they really do seem to love them and R often says that she thinks store bought costumes aren't nearly as nice. Score!

R decided she wanted to be Princess Leia a long time ago. And she's been talking about it non-stop. Her teacher actually asked me if we were big sci-fi fans because R talks about Star Wars all the time and is constantly drawing pictures of herself in her (then) hypothetical Princess Leia costume. H wanted to be Darth Vader to compliment the Leia costume, but I wasn't about to let a two-year-old wander around in a full face mask. I managed to convince him to be a pirate, with the promise that he'd be "very very scary."

The Leia costume is the angel costume from McCall's 2350. I thought about adding a hood and a mock turtleneck for accuracy, but ended up just making the pattern as is. R didn't care. I made a simple belt that buttons in the back. Easy peasey.

H's was a little more involved, but very satisfying. I used the toddler pirate costume from Simplicity 3650 and skipped the sash because the shirt wasn't particularly long. It was really fun to make. I planned on using the same white broadcloth as I used in the Princess Leia dress, but there wasn't very much left. So I fished through my stash and found a huge swath of sheer drapery material. It was perfect. My new machine whizzed right through these costumes, and if I may say so, several people asked where I bought Henry's custom-made costume. Success!

Pile of Halloween

Halloween, how the heck did you sneak up so fast? For the past couple of weeks I've kept thinking "Oh no, Halloween is this week!" and then I realized that it was actually a couple weeks away. Now, it's almost here, and I am sadly underprepared. Costumes to make, a playgroup party to plan, pumpkins to carve and I'm kind of pretending that none of it is happening.

But the costumes are actually almost finished. Of course, I can't show them to you until the day comes (mainly because I don't want to overexcite the kids with a costume modeling session), but I'm really really happy with them. After the hellride that was last year's mermaid costume, this year has been a breeze. Ruby was easy: she's going as Princess Leia, and after the investment of a proper wig, all I had to do was make the angel costume from a Christmas pageant pattern and a belt. Easy peasy. Henry is going to be a pirate. That one was a little more involved, but it was actually really fun and despite some risks, seems to have turned out great. Feeling good. Full costume pics and specs on the patterns after everyone is sufficiently filled with candy.

Under The Sea

As promised, here's the post-mortem on Ruby's mermaid costume. As previously mentioned, I used the Simplicity 4043 costume to make Ruby the costume that she'd been asking for for a year. I thought I'd be able to find an official Disney-sanctioned Ariel costume, but alas, the pattern books only had Cinderella, Snow White and maybe Jasmine. Because most amateur sewers aren't crazy enough to make a mermaid costume. Time to start calling me crazy.

Regular readers know that I like to sew but I'm more of a doll and pillow sewer. Basically, other than a very simple skirt, I would never make myself something to wear, because I take pride in the way I look when I go out in public. I like the instant gratification of sewing, but I'm not great at paying attention to meticulous detail. So, this pattern was definitely a challenge for me. Also, the material was a bit finicky -- stretch knit with a sequined lace overlay, lots of poly lining, and a shiny, very synthetic satin-y thing. Basically, that meant that the magic of pressing was not an option and I actually did melt the fabric in a few places. Oops.


I did make some modifications to the pattern to make it easier/less time consuming. I skipped on some of the sequin applique, and hand-stitched the stuff I did use, rather than machine stitching (though I did do a machine stitch under it to get a quilting effect). I skipped the zipper and the boning. I did not properly finish all of the inside seams of the lining. But I finished it and Ruby loved it. And I did take a look at some of the store-bought Ariel costumes in the Disney Store (which were basically just a cheap-o pencil skirt with some fins sewn on the side) and, frankly, mine is waaay better.

A note on the photos: why did I not actually take a full body shot of Ruby in costume so that I can admire my work 20 years from now? And prove to her what a doting mother I was when she was little? Either way, you get the drift, and believe you me, she did look like a beautiful mermaid.

Mystery Gnome Revealed

So, since I figured that this was the last year I had to totally humiliate the child at Halloween, I made Henry dress up as a garden gnome. It took most people a few minutes to figure it out, especially since he would only wear his fake beard like a bib, but all in all, I think he's adorable. And he wore that elf hat all day without complaint. I was very proud of him.

And boy, did this kid ever dig trick or treating. I stayed home to hand out candy, but apparently he'd march up to every door, drop his plastic pumpkin bucket on the welcome mat and yelp "treat!" before looking up at the resident with his big chocolatey eyes. His bucket was more than full by the time he got home and he's been begging for the candy ever since. Poor guy. Little does he know that I'll probably throw it all out long before he has a chance to slip into his desired sugar coma.

I'll post some pictures of Ruby's mermaid costume tomorrow. NaBloPoMo, you know.

Nearing the Witching Hour...

Nearly all of my crafty time lately has been dedicated to full-on Halloween sewing mania, mostly because I elected to make Ruby such a ridiculously complicated costume. Here's a sneak peek at little Henry's equally simple costume. I won't totally disclose what he's going to be -- pictures will come after Halloween (conveniently, as part of NaBloPoMo).

What you see here is a Woodland Elf Hat, as seen in Amy Karol's Bend The Rules Sewing. I've made a few of these before, but they were adult sized and I kind of free-handed the pattern and cut and re-seamed as I went to size them properly. Let me tell you, when you do this pattern properly, it is the easiest thing in the world. I think the whole pattern (including cutting) took me about a half hour. Seriously, even a complete non-sewer could make this (I suppose if someone threaded their machine for them).

Now, how does one convince a 1.5 year old to keep a costume on? That, my friends, will be a much bigger challenge than making the hat was.

Seasonal

When we re-did our kitchen, Aaron really pushed for cupboards that went all the way to ceiling, meaning I had to give up a lot of prime display space. The cabinet designer left a little space for stuff above the pantry. Since I have so many vintage kitchen knick-knacks, I figured it was best to cycle stuff in and out throughout the seasons (to be honest, the main reason for this is so that I can cycle in my Christmas stuff. I'm crazy that way). After some delay, here is the fall display, which will stay up until Xmas (except for the stand mixer, which lives up there permanently).


And, speaking of seasonal, Ruby and I put up window decals this year for Halloween. On a rare trip to Walmart (I hate it there, but the fabric store was out of the felt I needed for Henry's Halloween costume), I picked up these weirdly retro decals. They seem like they may have been unearthed from the back of a rarely cleaned warehouse, but I suspect that some company is still manufacturing these, unaware of how cutely cool they are. It's nice to add a little friendly boo to the house.

I Long To Be A Part Of Their World

Do you ever find yourself watching Project Runway and cursing a particular designer for their crap sewing skills? Then do you later find yourself working on a project on your own and saying "Wow, I feel bad for mocking Mitchell for sending a model down the runway wearing a sheer sheet. Compared to me, that man is a sewing genius." That's how I've been feeling these days. And I blame it on the Little Mermaid.

Last Halloween, while trick or treating, Aaron (who does not sew) innocently suggested that Ruby may want to be the Little Mermaid the following Halloween. Of course, Aaron had no idea that mermaid costumes are about as hard to sew as a little girl's costume can be, nor did he realize that Ruby would hold on to this suggestion for a whole year and not accept any alternative costume. So, I picked up Simplicity 4043 and bought my fabric.

Of course, being the relatively novice seamstress that I am, I did not realize that this pattern is fully lined. Or that it has a zipper. And involves quilting. Or that the fabric I chose melts under the heat of an iron, making proper pressing impossible. Yet I press on. Stay tuned peeps. I plan to conquer this one. That kid is going to be the little mermaid on October 31 if it kills me.

Boo To You

Happy Halloween. I'm not a huge Halloween person (no holiday can hold a light to Christmas), but I am a fan of anything that's fun for my kids. Yesterday Ruby's school held a class party and it was really fun. Ruby has recycled her Queen costume from last year (it's actually a princess costume, but she insists on being the Queen), which made for way less work for me, since I refuse to buy a pre-made costume. She's so cute and is excited for Halloween to come and go, since she knows Christmas follows fairly soon after. The apple does not fall far from the tree with this one.

This morning we carved up our pumpkins, with Ruby drawing the faces. I love these. She's still pretty new at actually drawing stuff that looks like stuff, so I cherish every attempt. And I'm sure once lit, these things will actually look kind of scary.

On a side note, has anyone seen any examples of Obama-themed cupcakes online? I want to make a special treat for Tuesday to celebrate (or alternately, drown our sorrows in sugar) with.

UPDATE: Check this out for all your Barack-baking needs. And, on a similar note, this has been making me smile all week.

Fit For A Queen

Well, I just alleviated one source of October stress. The sewing of Ruby's princess (excuse me, I mean QUEEN) costume is complete. I know this picture isn't the greatest (kids' clothes never look great on a regular sized hanger), but I had to capture this moment of victory. Hooray.

I know it ain't perfect, and a master seamstress I am not. Sure, it looks like a nightgown (Sleeping Beauty, perhaps? The Princess and the Pea?). And yes, the hem is a little too short and the arms a little too long. But damn it, it's done. I winged it and it wasn't a total and complete disaster.

As previously mentioned, I based the costume on an old Butterick pattern that was a staple of our family's Halloweens in the '70s. I picked up my copy at a church garage sale a while back -- the problem being that it was sized for a 10 year old. So, I glanced at the shape of the pieces, loosely followed the instructions and just went for it. Like I said, imperfect, but entirely suitable for a two-year-old. Even better, it seems to fit and should even fit over her coat.

Now I just have to make her a foil-covered cardboard crown. Oh, and one for Aaron, who Ruby has decided must dress up as her king when he accompanies her on her trick or treating. Pictures of costume on kid to come at the end of the month. If I let her pose in it now, I'd never get it off.