handmade halloween 2013 : spider-man & skeleton fairy

October 31, 2013October 31, 201329 Comments

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

i ran out of days in the week to post these separately, so you get a double dose of Halloween costumes here on the blog today. mostly photos, less talking, since i’ve previewed both already. but now – they’re done!

presenting skeleton fairy and Spider-Man!

dun dun DUUUUUUNNNNNN!

okay who’s first…um….let’s go with skeleton fairy.

Em is normally such a little sweetie pie, but she really embraces the spooooookiness of Halloween. initial “pink princess” and “pink fairy” costume plans suddenly turned macabre after i bought her some skeleton pajamas, and her idea of a skeleton fairy emerged.

i posted about her skeleton suit here; it’s a flashback skinny tee and sunki leggings with freezer paper stencils that glow.

her tutu i posted about here, from little things to sew (affiliate link).

…with the awesome ribbon. can i admit i really enjoyed sewing in only black and white for her? it was totally refreshing!

her wings and glitter wand are from party city (somewhat ironically, they’re “angel wings”). and her fairy crown is loosely based on the one from aesthetic nest (thanks for the suggestion!).

the make up was all her idea – she asked for a white face with black eyes, a black nose, and black around her mouth. i went and got some glitter eyeshadow to sparkle her up a bit more for Halloween itself. this was a trial run.

she totally gets into character in this costume – slightly freaky but pretty cute too.

and now….Spider-Man!

this one all started with the felt mask from Jess, part of a superhero set she gave O. he hadn’t really been into much of the superhero thing until he got those masks, and then declared he wanted to be Spider-Man for Halloween.

happy to oblige, buddy.

his shirt is a hacked bimaa hoodie with freezer paper stenciled spider and drawn-on webs. i talked about it more here.

i ended up adding a drawstring to the hood, because it was pretty huge on him. when i first sewed the hood on, he was so upset about it, he said he didn’t want to wear it! so i sat him down with some classic ‘60s Spider-Man episodes on YouTube to show him that the real Spider-Man ALWAYS wears a hood, otherwise he’s just Peter Parker!

he was sold. now my kids are addicted to watching classic Spider-Man, which is admittedly hilarious. and i’m addicted to the meme (often NSFW…but this one’s my favorite i think).

anyway, every time we’ve let him wear this hoodie, it’s a fight to get it off so it’s not ruined by a meal/playing outside/pumpkin carving before the big day. i’m sure once Halloween is over, he won’t want to wear anything else, but that’s okay – i made it out of “real fabric” and ended up finishing all the hems, so it should last.

i’m most proud of the color blocking at the shoulders.

i actually realized at the last minute (post photoshoot) that he didn’t have a treat bag, so i whipped one up out of felt with classic Spider-Man’s back logo on it. it’s got just 6 legs and looks more like a fat potato bug, but hey, whatever ‘60s.

i’ve got two pumped up, fully costumed kids…

NOW LET’S GO GET SOME CANDY!

kcw fall 2013: day 5&6:: skeleton fairy tutu

October 27, 2013October 27, 201313 Comments

aside from a tweak or two, halloween costumes are now done! i finished up spiderman on friday and also sewed skeleton fairy’s tutu.

this is the tutu from little things to sew (affiliate link) by Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S, and i’ve made it a few times including for Em’s halloween costume two years ago! she still wears that one, and now this one will be added to the mix.

i made it out of shimmery white tulle with sparkly black tulle layered over the top and black chevron ribbon to tie it. that ribbon is perfect for a skeleton, right?

the black tulle is a bit stiff and “crunchy” and didn’t want to gather, making this tutu more difficult to sew, but the sparkles are great in person, kind of like a night sky.

we hit the store for the rest of her costume – wings and a wand. i’m considering some sort of hair clip or fairy crown or something, any suggestions for me there? frankly i’m a bit sick of looking at all the “sexy” adult costumes that pop up when i try to get ideas for this one online. they’re just so ridiculous (i mean, sexy bert and ernie?! SERIOUSLY??).

but hey, my kids’ costumes are done and that was my primary KCW goal! i’ll get photos of them and show ya this week.

how did you do?

kcw fall 2013: day 3&4:: spiderman start

October 24, 2013October 25, 201311 Comments

got some photos early this morning of O in his work-in-progress spiderman costume…

so early i was surprised my camera focused at all!

this is how i typically work, when i’m doing sort of “off pattern” sewing for my kids: i sew late at night, but leave key parts unfinished. i try the clothes on them the next day to assess fit and note the adjustments i need to make. for this suit, the hood is not yet attached (i’m using the bimaa pattern, hacked quite a bit), and the leggings (go to leggings pattern) are a bit too long.

i’ll shorten the blue parts of the leggings and sleeves, sew and attach the hood, and i think it’ll fit great!

i color blocked the shoulders (somehow giving myself a difficult V seam to sew), and sides, piecing in the blue knit and ending up pretty pleased with the result. the blue fabric is heavier than the red, which actually turned out okay! the spider is a hand-drawn freezer paper stencil, and the webbing is also hand-drawn with a ruler and fabric marker. i googled spiderman tons of times as i figured out how to put it all together.

it was pretty labor intensive, actually. i still haven’t “webbed” the hood yet.

but you guys. he LOVES this costume. i was worried because the spider actually scared him when i first showed it to him, but when he tried this outfit on he WOULD NOT TAKE IT OFF. i tried reason, i tried bribes, i tried everything i could. but without the hood attached, the neckline was stretching out the longer he had it on, so finally i just had to take it off of him. poor guy. he really wanted to be spiderman all day.

it’s fun that he’s old enough to get excited about his costume this year. he’s SO pumped for me to finish it up so he can wear it nonstop…too bad Halloween is still a week away!

tomorrow i want to wrap this one up and see how far i can get on a tutu for Em’s costume. wish me luck!

kcw fall 2013: day 2:: skeleton suit

October 22, 2013October 22, 201316 Comments

here’s my KCW progress for today – and hey, you even get some modeled shots! spooky.

to start off Em’s skeleton fairy costume, i made a simple shirt and leggings combo out of black jersey knit with freezer paper stenciled bones (see Dana’s tutorial here – i use a foam brush and blot it on rather than brushing). as i mentioned in my last post, i’d recently gotten Em some skeleton pajamas but she wanted BLACK ones for her costume, hence the making.

i traced the pajamas, added a couple more vertebrae just to cover a bit more of the shirt, lengthened the femurs a bit so the joint hits at her knee, and added a split in the forearm bones, because i’m anal enough to need the costume to be slightly more anatomically correct than the pajamas.

ULNA AND RADIUS, YO!

i painted the bones first with white, then with two coats of glow fabric paint (affiliate link). it does really glow, but not as brightly as the pajamas. the freezer paper didn’t come off as cleanly as usual either – i think the glow paint sort of shellacked it on there. oh well.

the shirt is Rae’s flashback skinny tee in 4T. it’s unhemmed because a) i wanted her to try it on 2) i’m kinda lazy and D) i like the way the raw edges look.

the leggings were originally sunki leggings, but i long ago modified my pattern tracing to be just one piece rather than a front and back. i also added length and sewed them up like Go To Leggings (affiliate link), because the Go To waistband attachment method is totally genius and pro.

her batman mask was made by CINO and isn’t part of the costume. more on that later (i know i keep saying that!). i don’t want to spoil the entire costume reveal though, so you just get bits at a time (and with random accessories).

an unexpected sewing emergency (commission project deadline i thought was next week but got moved to NOW) popped up on me, so this is all i got done today, KCW-wise. we’ll see what tomorrow holds…

kcw fall 2013: day 1:: prep & plan

October 21, 2013October 21, 201319 Comments

fall kid’s clothes week started today!

i’ve participated in every KCW since spring 2011…some sessions more productively than others, but i always jump in the best i can. KCW is just too motivational, too inspirational, and too much fun to pass up. this time, i’m going to try something i’ve never really done, but something i’ve seen others do – i’m going to post in progress photos, and i’m going to work most of the week on a couple time-sensitive larger projects rather than churning out as many basics as i can.

this week, i’m sewing halloween costumes!

if i get them done early on, i’ll try to sew some much-needed wardrobe builders, but as long as i get these done, i’ll be happy. and actually, the prep on these costumes seems to be more work than the actual sewing will be.

O wants to be spiderman…

and Em wants to be a “skeleton fairy.”

i’m using tried-and-true patterns and hacking them where necessary. i’ll talk more about the patterns as i finish them, ‘kay? for now, i’m just freezer paper stenciling and fabric markering my little heart out.

my halloween costume making philosophy comes from early childhood – i don’t remember ever wearing a store-bought costume. my mom sewed them, we thrifted components, we used what we had, and i even sewed a basic one as i got older. i just don’t even think about buying one from Target. one of my earliest self-drafted sewing projects for Em was a Dorothy costume, and they’ve been either sewn (or borrowed) since. it’s just fun for me to make them, even if they could be much more easily (and cheaply) purchased.

that being said, Spiderman is gonna be a LOT of work! all that color blocking and webbing, phew! and yes, i totally could’ve gotten skeleton pajamas for Em’s costume – in fact, she HAS some. that was what sparked her idea to be a skeleton fairy, actually. but her pajamas are pink, and she wants her costume to be “spooky.” so there ya go.

anyone else sewing costumes this KCW? the timing is perfect!