Halloween 2017!

A little late on this one.  Sorry about that.  For Halloween this year I went as myself.  Now hold on.  I didn't Heidi Klum anything around here.  I went as myself as a Pokémon Go trainer.

To make this I used the two different trainer patterns available.  For the jacket I used McCall's 7556:

It wasn't very difficult.  Just the zipper was a pain in the butt.

For the sprint suit I used Simplicity 8410:

This was more difficult because the shiny fabric I bought was pretty cheap and ended up running a couple times.  Also, I could never get the zipper the sit straight, but I figured who cares as it's just a costume.

Here's the finished product (in two versions):

I actually ended up wearing this costume 4 times which I think is a record for me.  I just had so many events this year.

Regarding the Mimikyu hat, I made it by hand without a pattern, and I think it turned out pretty good considering it's the first time I've ever made a hat.

Here's a closer look:

I hope you had a happy Halloween!

Halloween preview 2017...

Hello!  It's officially the best month of the year and half way through it at that!  My Halloween costume is about 50% done.

Here's a sneak peek!

By the way if you guess what it is and comment publicly, I'll cut you.  Happy Halloween!

Halloween!

Wow!  So sorry I'm late here.  I actually revealed my costume on October 29th and then wore it again the next few days.  Sadly it wasn't as recognizable as I would have hoped; however, the few who did recognize it made me ecstatic. 

So here's the full size:

If you didn't guess it yet, here's a side by side:

That's right kids, I was Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6.  Kind of obscure but I think I nailed it.  I even had the bag (not pictured).  That's Hiro in my pocket.

Here's a selfie with Baymax in Harajuku:

To make the sweater I used Vogue 9698.  It's a vintage (80s) pattern which I had originally purchased to make a different costume.

I lengthened it a little bit and narrowed the sleeves considerably. 

To make the dress I used Simplicity 1609:

And I totally cheated and used knit so I wouldn't have to sew in a zipper.  I also shortened the hem.

The remaining accessories leggins, shoes, bag, and socks were purchased from eBay.  Baymax and Hiro are from Amazon.

I'm sad to see Halloween go but the wheels are already spinning for next year.

Halloween sneak peek!

Happy pre-pre-Halloween!  It's almost the most wonderful time of the year.  I just now finished the costume and I have two snaps to share.

I don't think anyone could guess from these shots are some pieces are missing, but hey if you do, that's pretty impressive.

So here are two shots before the big debut:

Look at these lovely buttons!

That's it!  See me tomorrow!

Halloween!

It's that time again kids!  It's the most wonderful time of the year!  This Halloween was particularly agonizing because I dyed my hair blonde this year, so I wanted a blonde costume.  I thought about Supergirl briefly, but it didn't really excite me.  Finally, I decided in September what I would do, and started procuring items for it toward the end of last month.  So far three things have arrived:

Yesterday, I bought fabric to make part of the costume:

The yellow is a little lighter than I would have liked but I think it will be okay in the end (at least I hope so).

So here are your first Halloween costume hints.  Stay tuned for more updates and the big reveal around Halloween time.  I'm so excited for this one!

Happy Halloween!

Well it's the most wonderful time of the year!  No more secrets kids.  This year's costume (unfortunately I only had time for one) is...

If you guessed...

Belle from Beauty and the Beast you are correct.  If you said Alice (in Wonderland), Maria (von Trapp), or Mary Poppins please watch your films more carefully next time.  Just had to get that beef off my shoulder.

Anyway, for this costume I used Simplicity 2539:

I made two slight adjustments.  I made the arm facing bigger and I made a lining for the neck facing.  It sat much smoother than the regular facing.

For the top I used Butterick 5711:

I made version C or the light purple one.  I made it without buttons and secured the neck with a snap.  I did this for two reasons.  One is to hide my tattoo and the other is because no buttons are visible on Belle's shirt.  Now before you get all up in my face, I know her shirt is a V neck but this is the pattern that I had, and yeah I had to hide my tattoo.  Also, you can't really see the bow in the above picture but I had it.

Next year's costume is already swirling around in my head.  I hope you had/have a great Halloween!  Until next year...

Halloween Hint...

Here is the first half of my costume in the cutting stage:

Today, I cut the blue pattern out, but couldn't do more because I am a bit achy.   I'll try to get sewing on it this weekend, depending on how much my homework tries to kill me.

I know that's not much to go on but that's all you get!

Happy sewing times in Tokyo...

Yesterday, my new partner in costuming crime and I headed to Tokyo's fabric town.  It was the first time for me, but she had been there before.  This is like Disneyland for people who sew.  I was immediately attracted to the ¥100/m wall (that's $1 a yard for my American friends).  Fortunately, my pocketbook allowed me to walk out of there with only 4 new fabrics.

I have three dresses and one top planned with these in mind.  Total cost ¥1365 (or about $13.87).  Unbelievable!  I'll be back.

Today, I got started on Halloween costume #2.  You can see #1 here.

I'm not telling you what it is just yet but I made the tunic for it today.

Getting started:

Fitting:

Almost finished:

I just need to hand sew the facing down and hem it.  Wait until you see the whole costume.  It's pretty marvelous.

I used Butterick 4237:

Sometimes I've had bad luck with Butterick being too big but this fit just perfectly!

Next, I started a dress:

This is me testing it out.  I need to hem the neck and sleeves as well as hem the dress but I ran out of daylight and the pain (from being old) was telling me to give it up for the night.

I used McCall's 6556:

October makes me want to sew.  Also, having a sewing buddy in Tokyo makes me want to sew.

I might do one more costume just for fun.

This is Halloween...

Hello!

Lucky for you, you get to see my costume early because it debuted on Saturday for a work event.

As usual, I put a lot of detail into the costume.  Here's some detail:

Letters before:

Letters after:

Earrings before:

 Earrings after:

 Finally here are the concept pictures:

Have you guessed my costume yet?  If you guessed Suzy Bishop from Wes Anderson's masterpiece Moonrise Kingdom, you guessed right!  (On a side note if you haven't seen this film, please do so.  It's wonderful.)

So obviously (because this is a sewing blog) I made this dress.  Striving for accuracy, I used this 1960s pattern:

It wasn't that hard to make.  The hardest part was sewing in those two side panels.  I have know idea what they are called.

I wish I would have taken a picture of my makeup because that was spot on too and I know you can't see it in the above pic but my dress does have a collar.

You can kind of see it in this pic:

Anyway, what do you think?  I personally think it's awesome.  ;)

It came!

Hello!

I still have not hemmed the costume!  I have been too too busy.  Maybe this weekend? 

Good news!  One of the accessories arrived.

I am still waiting for one of the other accessories to arrive and the final accessory I haven't ordered yet.  It's no problem because I'm just ordering it from Amazon.  It will arrive quickly.

Here's another hint:

Costume completion at 75%.

That's all for now!  I promise to sew soon!

Halloween...

Hello! 

The Halloween costume is 85% complete.  I need to hem it and finish some last minute touches and then I need to take it to the laundromat because I don't have a dryer and I ironed out some of the seersucker suckers.  Oops!  Hopefully, it will correct itself in the dryer.  That's the rumor anyway. 

So I have nothing to show you but here's a costume hint:

No, I didn't sew that but it's a crucial part of my costume and I just ordered it from Amazon.  I previously ordered another accessory but I think it's a dead giveaway so I'll keep that hush hush.  After, that I have one final accessory to obtain.

In other costuming news, I was ecstatic to find whilst in America I had purchased fabric to make a costume I've wanted to do for a long time.  That might just mean that it can be like old times.  The times when I had two costumes.  I'm seriously contemplating it.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

September means...

Hi all!  Long time no sew eh?  I had a bit of a rough patch and didn't feel much like sewing anything.  Plus, I also got heavy into gardening which took a lot of time, effort and energy. 

Needless to say after cleaning out my closet and being surrounded by piles of clothes I thought "Hey I need to f-ing sew something."  I may or may not have said those exact words (out loud...to an empty house).

Well, it's September and you know what that means.  It means it's time to start working on that obscure Halloween costume no one will understand.  (Or maybe one person will.)

If you know me at all you know that costuming is kind of a big deal to me and I don't let anyone know anything until the costume debuts.  Over the years, I've acquired many tattoos which means to costume properly (especially when playing a character) they have to be covered.  When I saw this one, I knew I HAD to do it and it (hopefully) wouldn't be a difficult endeavor.  I actually purchased the pattern and fabric last December when I went home for Christmas.  It's been on my mind since then.

Anyway, without further adieu, here's a fabric hint:

That's all you get for now.  I'll check in soon.

First look - Halloween 2011...

First look for blog followers!

First of all it's Trillian from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which is an awesome book and mediocre movie but I love Zoeey Deschanel.  I have some issues with this costume which I would fix if it were going to get massive play which it's not.  (But I do keep all my costumes in case of a costuming emergency.)  I know the shirt is buttoned too high but that's to hide the tattoo.  Maybe I'll undo it and see how it looks tomorrow.  I know I'm not as thin as Zooey D and the costume has been taken in many times because the pattern I bought 100 years ago is too big.  This is before I realized I had to make my clothes a size down from my actual size because every time I made my size in the past I was tenting it.  The crotch is way too long.  Maybe the pattern works best with tall women?  It's an 80s jumpsuit pattern btw.

And of course now that I look they have my size on eBay.  :/

So if anyone knows how to shorten a crotch, let me know.  Never tried that in my life.  I also need to lengthen the cuffs a little but I have a massive headache and am still in a lot of pain.  I might just say forget it tonight.  Anyway, I think it turned out okay.  It could be better if I wanted to devote more time and effort to it and it also could be better if I was a better seamstress.

 

Funny, today I read on Zooey D's Facebook that she also puts a lot of time and effort into costumes no one can identify.  I guess we're more alike than I thought!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Costume hint...

Costume preview...

This is all you get, sleeve detail:

Halloween: Made Awesome...

Today I purchased fabric for my Halloween costume.  Years ago I decided I wanted to make this costume and purchased a pattern for it.  So I've had this pattern and the notion to make this costume for quite some time.  Obviously, it never got made. 

Initially, I had wanted to be Ella form Cowboys & Aliens.

And I haven't thrown this costume out as a future costume.  It's just not for this year.

See for me costuming for me has become quite difficult the past few years as I've accumulated more and more tattoos.  Part of the importance for costuming (at least for me) is authenticity and I can't be authentic if I'm sporting a lot of tattoos that you normally wouldn't see on a character.  Without the use of make-up my only other option is to cover them with clothing which I don't mind at all as October can be quite chilly.  This brings me to my biggest beef with my beloved holiday.  It seems that within the last ten years, Halloween has become an excuse for girls to whore it up (or down depending on how you look at it).  Costume shops everywhere are telling girls that the less they wear, the better prepared they are to party down on Halloween.  This is an atrocity and particularly loathsome to someone like me who takes great pride in costuming.

My next hurdle for the 2012 costume would be that I just cut my bangs.  Save for someone like Chuck from sadly short-lived but brilliant "Pushing Daisies" there aren't a lot of choices for girls with bangs who are totally covered by clothes.  (No my costume is not Chuck.)

So my 2012 Halloween costume has been carefully chosen and probably no one will know who I am but that's okay.  I know that I will look awesome.  Stay tuned!

The Wendybird...

Peter Pan has got to be my favorite story of all time.  Of.  All.  Time.  If I ever go mad and deiced to spawn I want to start a tradition with my children including Peter Pan.  I love the character Wendy.  I love the fact that she's maternal yet has no desire to grow up.  In that sense I can relate.  For a while I've wanted to make her costume from Disney's Peter Pan because it could be easily recognized out and about on Halloween.  I bought a couple patterns some time ago.  I decided on one that was perfect and it wasn't even a nightgown pattern!

I used Simplicity 4055 and I combined aspects of both dresses to make Wendy's nightgown.

I used a light blue flannel because hello it's supposed to be a nightgown!

The pattern is quite simple.  The only problem I had was the ribbon.  It wouldn't stay in place so close to the girls.  In the end I just sewed it on the front.

I think I did pretty good with this one.  In fact I won third in a costume contest.  Not bad if I do say so myself.  :)