Sleeping Beauty for Halloween - an etsy pattern for little princesses

Happy Halloween! It looks like it is one of those times when a mom really can get it all together really fast. Eva told me last summer that she wanted to be Aurora for Halloween this year. And even if that made me do some research and get a pattern for it... the dress didn't happened mostly because no fabric seemed right enough for what I had in mind and  some details I didn't had sorted....Last 2 months also been quite busy and have been out of town and various other events so I just thought that she could just wear a nice white princess dress she got for a wedding last week. But talking to her last night to sort the outfit she seemed really disappointed in the dress and was so confident that mom can just make her a dress over night that I decided to try... "Don't worry mom! You can make it!"
   I used Playground to Palace Dress I have bought from etsy. I had the pattern printed but not taped or cut. So I had to start really low. Lucky that pattern is fairly easy and really nice explained.

Ar first I thought I would make her a blue dress from some nice lace I had but the fabric seemed a bit to heavy for the long gathered skirt I had in mind so at the last minute switched to a dusty pink combo of fancy knits I had.  I think It was a really good choice as the fabric was so much easier to work with and I think is looks very cute and delicate on Eva. I remembered I had some white lace accessories and used one for necklace. It might be a bit too big for her small figure but I think it adds a really nice touch to the dress. I also used a nice pink lace ribbon for the hem.
   As it is not summer any longer I added some sleeves to the dress with tight long cuffs so it will not bother her during the day.
  I cannot believe I did it in time. But I am really glad I try it. I love it. Is so sweet and delicate and so much better in my opinion then the satin ones available to buy. Even more happy to see Eva face light up in the morning when I gave her the dress...

I hope she will have a nice day today wearing it to kindergarten for the Halloween party! here is a picture with the other princess:

Happy Halloween! - Little Red Riding Hood for my little girl!

After doing Andrei's costume this year Eva asked me every day last 2 weeks when will her costume be ready! I had this little red riding hood idea and she loved it as she loves the story and often plays Red with her toys but I had so little free time lately and this pattern had a lot of pieces and fabric to juggle! If she had not been so insistent I don't think I would have made it!
  She need it this morning and I was up till 3 AM last night sewing it! She insisted I put her to sleep and not her dad and I told her that if I do that I might not be able to finish her dress! When she got up in the morning and her dress was ready she was so happy that the fairies come by last night to finish it!
  I used McCall's 7546 pattern for it:

The hood is rather simple and quick but the dress took quite a bit of effort!

Various red fabrics from my stash (quite proud of myself of not going fabric shopping for this one even if my fabrics didn't coordinate perfectly like I want them to)! Mostly cotton! And a few white trims left from my sister in law wedding dress sewing! I used embroidered cotton batiste for petticoat:

   I did wider straps for more coverage and add an embroidered flowers trim over it to make it a little different! Used the same trim as waistband as well!
   Added the long sleeve addition from another view as the weather is not exactly warm at this time of the year! used some white lace at sleeves hem.
   Trying to make my own florence for the neckline with the pattern piece from another view but I don't quite like the end result here - a bit too wide and stiff...
   I added horsehair band in the skirt hem so it will get a bit more volume less chances she will step into the skirt while she walks!
    She is so precious in her new costume:

Sewing 129 - Shopping 125.

Happy Halloween! - Grim reaper costume for my son!

Halloween is not big here. It is an imported holiday and is just commercial and superficial ... but there have been a few events for kids on kindergarten and school and dressing up is so fun for the kids. Previous years I got by with store outfits but this year I asked Andrei what he wants to be. His answer was Slender Man and took me by surprise. I was not quite aware that he was over superheros! I told him I don't think I can put together a slender man costume in less then a week and asked him to keep thinking and showing him options I could buy! He rated almost all the costumes available as childish and didn't got much interest in any untill from search to search he got to some adult grim reapers and zombies costumes with nice make-up and then his face light up, literally! So considering what he liked and what I thought I could do in a short time frame he choose to be death! There were some cheap satin robes I could buy but they all look so cheap and ill made and unattractive! So I decided to make the robe myself!
   I considered a few robes patterns but none looked exactly right to me. Even if I had little time I lost a lot of it choosing a pattern and a fabric!
  In the end I decided to draft the robe myself starting from a hoodie pattern from Ottobre. I just love the front cross over hoodies they have - looks stylish and covers the neck nicely:

I changed the shape of the hood to trail on the back a bit and slashed the sleeves for more drama. I went for a A-line maxi dress with it and the heavy twill I choose was so so perfect for it! I could not believe how well  it draped in this fabric and how reached it looked compared to the cheap satin ones!

To make it a little different I added black and white striped batiste lining to the hood and sleeves! Great effect!

I bought professional latex makeup for him but his party at school started very early in the morning with his classes and also thought he might to be comfortable with all that makeup so on the last minute replaced make-up with a cheap plastic mask he could take off at any moment. We trayed some latex masks as well who were better looking but he could not stand them over his face! It was nice that his hood covered the neck as well! I also got him a pair of black latex gloves and a skulls necklace! He was pleased with his outfit! And so was I!

I had bigger plans to add some bloody hand embroidery to the robe and a few other creepy elements but never got around to do it! I took great pleasure in seeing how nicely the hood, the shoulders and everything was actually fitting him.

My Little Pumpkin - Ottobre 6/2010 #15

My son had some special activities for Halloween at his day-care and we were required to dress them in black/green pants and orange T-shirt. Not a hard requirement at all but after spending some time shopping nothing seemed right to me.  All the orange tops I could find were covered in a lot of writings or pictures I just didn't like. So at the last moment I decided I should just do it myself. It sure goes with my determination to make costumes for him.
   I had bought some Ottobre issues for kids some time ago but I never got to sew anything from them. So this was my 1st Ottobre and I just love it. LOVE IT! The raglan sleeve had such a beautiful curvy shape and the fit was perfect. I think it really looks better then most of the store bought he has.

    I only had 2 orange fabrics in the house : a corduroy with spandex and a thin micro-fleece.The micro-fleece was very soft and I think he loves wearing it. For the sleeves I cut into an old black T-shirt of mine that I new it had good fabric. I skipped the cuffs since I thought the orange fabric will be to thick if putted on 2 layers.
   I traced and cut size 92 and it all come together rather fast. It is the 1st time for me when the neck binding actually fits in well. So one more thing to be happy about.
   The Jack-o-Lantern face applique is a free design that can be downloaded here.
   The pattern is more clear on the hanger:

   ....but a lot more cute on my boy even if I can't get him to stay still for 2 straight seconds :