Pilot Costume

I offered to make my nephew's costume this year. I thought it would be fun to try to follow a pattern, and my daughter's costume was already done. I was happy to do it! It's from this McCall's pattern. It was pretty idiot-proof, even for a non pattern-sewer. I would reccommend a simple McCall's pattern like this one if you're a beginner like me. It takes some translation of sewing terms, but if you read it slowly enough, you can get it.

Except I messed up even before I got it home. I was very meticulous at the fabric store, buying the right notions and fabric, calling and texting reinforcements before I committed... 

I got it home and I had bought the wrong size.

Ooops.

Luckily JoAnn's was still having it's $.99 sale on McCall's patterns, so I just went and bought another. 

 The hardest part was the collar, but my sister helped me with it. We thrifted the white turtle neck. I think it totally makes the outfit (as do the sunglasses).

 JoAnn's had some amazing iron-on patches. I think little touches like this really make it look professional, and I didn't even have to sew them on . And that is my first real zipper. Thank you, thank you.

Handsome boy.

I think he really liked it.

This whole thing makes me appreciate my mother and how talented she is at sewing apparel. Quilting is so easy compared to all the technicalities of a pattern. I enjoyed learning it though.

Owl

More from Martha Stewart. I've had this owl costumed pinned on pinterest for ages. I like it because it's pretty gender neutral (I could use it again for a boy if I wanted), and it's over the top cute. The wings are detachable too, so she'll fit in her car seat super easy. The tutorial has virtually no sewing to it, but I sewed mine, just so it would be a bit more durable. 

You have to print out the pattern pieces then have them blown up. I got mine copied to 375% at my local print shop. Instead of tracing the patterns onto the dark felt, I just pinned and cut around them with my rotary cutter. (Thank you Project Runway for the idea)

I used this hand-me-down long sleeve onesie. I just covered the print with a little iron on interfacing so it didn't show through the white.

 Use pattern pieces to cut out more felt for the tummy feathers. I sewed them on like so. (You could hot glue if you didn't want to sew it.)

 Velcro to keep the wings on.

 She said to just iron the felt, but I liked how it looked more structured when I sewed it.

If you don't have clear thread, you should invest. It made switching from color to color so much easier. 

Backside with velcro and an elastic band for the arm.

Hoot Hoot.

Hat found here.

Mr. Potato Head

 We have a whole Toy Story theme going on for our Halloween. My boy is Mr. Potato Head.

I started by making a simple potato costume.

 Here is a pillowcase pumpkin tutorial, but instead of using an orange pillowcase, I turned this old brown fabric into a pillowcase (with both ends open, unlike a pillowcase) and went from there.

I also didn't cut and sew out the crotch area like it suggests in the tutorial. I just hemmed the bottom and allowed for a tie that will tighten around his waste.

See? Then I just threaded a thin ribbon through the hem.

I cut out Mr. Potato Head face parts, stuffed them with batting, and sewed them closed.

Felt makes things so easy because you don't have to worry about raw edges or fraying.

I'm still thinking about a black hat and blue shoes...hmmm. Ideally my boy would wear those items, but 1.5 year olds can be so uncooperative when it comes to costumes.

The face stays on with velcro. My thought was that the kids can move the facial features around like you would a real Mr. Potato Head. You know, make a Picaso?

Yarn Wig :: Tutorial

 I love when a project you imagine in your mind materializes just the way you want it to. I am so excited about this wig! It's a little bit ridiculous, but perfect for a Halloween costume.

Here's how I did it:

Post Edit: I've recently realized this tutorial has been viewed and used by lots of people, and I also realize it needs some updating since I made it three years ago.

Hopefully these updates will answer some questions you may have...

1. Measure your child's head from the middle of the forehead to the middle of the neck - ours was about 16 inches.

2. Cut out a base strip of felt 16 inches long, 4-5 inches wide. This will be the "spine" of the wig. (Preferably you should use the same color of felt as the color of your yarn, but I was too excited to start this project, and I didn't have red. So I used light blue. You can see mine is only 1.5 inches wide in the picture, but I think wider would be better. )

3. Cut the yarn into "hair". I cut it about 55 inches long. This is a generous length, but you want to ensure that there is plenty of wiggle room. Don't worry about lining the hairs exactly side by side. Just make sure there is a good amount so there aren't any bald spots.

4. Center the hairs over the the spine.

 5. In order to transfer the hair to the sewing machine, I placed another felt strip on top, sandwiching the hair. Pin the two felt strips together.

6. Now you are going to sew the hair to the spine using a zigzag stitch.

7. As you go, press the yarn/hair flat and taut as you feed it into the sewing machine. Peal back the top felt piece as you go.

Here is what the underside of the wig will look like.

 Here is the top.

8. Take the wig into the bathroom and put it on your own head to straiten and braid. (Trust me, do not use your little girl's head; she will be way too excited and won't hold still). Trim off the uneven ends.

So...how does the wig stay on your head? Good question. Braiding it into two braids helps balance it, but what worked for us is wearing a hat on top. Some people have sewed in the crotch/waistband area of pantyhose (new of course haha). 

Here is a picture of the final ensemble.

The hat really anchors the wig into place. 

Here is another example of what you can do with the wig.

Mary (who also posts amazing things on this blog) created this whole Raggedy Anne costume.

She ended up sewing the wig onto the bonnet and giving it a hair cut.

That costume deserves a post of its own though, am I right?

Jesse the Cowgirl

I always get the crafty bug around this time of year as Halloween costumes start dancing in my head.

This year my girl is going to be Jesse.

My favorite craft blog, MADE, has this awesome pattern and tutorial for a frontier vest.

(i love her style and aesthetic)

I added my own details that are reminiscent of Jesse, but not necessarily her exact generic outfit. I like it when costumes aren't the exact storebought replica of the characters.

While thrift store hunting for some boots and buckle, I found the Jesse hat. Yee haw!

red embroidery,

edge stitching,

pockets.

Now I am going to attempt to make a red yarn wig. I'll let you know how that goes.

Sew Saturday: Halloween Costumes

This year my niece wanted to be a "Barbie Musketeer." I'm not sure if your familiar (I sure wasn't), but barbie wears an apron that can be converted to a cape. Yep. So that's what I made this week. 

It was pretty simple. The way you make the bottom skirt is a lot similar to a simple receiving blanket or burp cloth. 

I forgot to take pictures mid-project, so I made this diagram...

You will cut 2 separate pieces of fabric, then sew them together. I kept the top at 44" (the width of the bolt of fabric) then cut the edges so they were rounded. The height depends on your little Musketeer. I just measured her from her hips to ankles, then added 1" or so for seam allowance.  

Sew both pieces, right sides together. Clip seams around the corners. Then flip so it's right-side out. Iron edges.

Topstitch about 1/4" from the edge.

Then do a set of basting stitches along the top of the cape (the 44") and gather until it's your desired finished width. Mine was around 14". You don't want it to go all the way around their waist, just around the front.

 Gather a couple layers of tule and sew to the bottom cape fabric. It takes some time to play with the widths and spacing to make it look good. Then sew all 3 layers together, and finish by sewing ribbon or bias tape along the top.

The final skirt is totally reversible, and totally cool.

For my costume this year, I wanted to dress up, but I wasn't in the mood to make an obnoxious bulky outfit. 

So this is what I came up with: 

 The preggo Skeleton Shirt.

Technically not a "sewing project" per say, but cute nonetheless.

I used white fabric and Heat'n bond to make the skeleton parts. I don't have a pattern, I just looked at a picture and free-handed the pieces. I placed them all just right on my T-shirt before ironing. (I also found a great tutorial that uses freezer paper stenciling here.)

We found out we're having a baby girl at my ultrasound that day, so I sewed on the bow for a cute touch.