Snow White

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, prepare to see a lot of duplicate images. 

 A couple of weeks ago, I put together a little princess party at one of the local boutiques.  It was so much fun to play dress up, and take a bit of a  break from all of the superheroes and robots that fill my home.  To my knowledge, this was the first time that I've ever dressed up as a princess.

The party was an Elsa and Anna inspired meet and greet, but since I'd be at the party all day, I figured that I should dress  up as a princess too. So, in order to avoid purchasing a wig, Snow White was naturally my first choice.  After all, I do live with several little men in a small house.

The costume was thrown together in a hurry, but came together nicely.  I didn't want to have to draft a fitted bodice pattern, so I used a crushed velvet with stretch.  The sleeves are satin, and though I wish I'd made them a bit puffier/pouffier, they were fine.  I'd thought that I'd cut the pieces with enough extra material for gathering, but, I was wrong.  Since it was last minute, there was no recutting/sewing sleeves.  I ended up trimming the sleeves with a gold glitter fold over elastic.  It was an afterthought, but one of my favorite details.

The sweetest little Elsa you'll ever meet!

My dress, is actually separates, the skirt has a flat front, and an elastic back at the waist.  I like elastic waistbands on costumes, just so that they can stretch and be worn by multiple shapes and sizes.

 Add some red lipstick, and of course a bright red hair ribbon, and you're set.  Now who wants to see Anna's dress?

Halloween Costume: Boys Green Lantern

Here's costume number 2.  My friend's little boy LOVES green, and he's five.  Naturally, the only thing he wanted to be for Halloween was a Green Lantern.  

Like with the Wonder Woman Costume, I made my own pattern for the outfit.  I used some slim fitting knit pajamas as a guide, and went from there.  The top has some piecing on the front bodice piece, and the sleeves.  I probably should have thrown in some briefs, but what's done is done.

The thing that I love about making these outfits out of knit is that they can be worn as pajamas when Halloween is over.  They are soft, and will launder well.  

I made him a green lantern cape to go along with his costume (because boys love capes).  I added a small green ring to give him all of his green lantern super powers.  I found the ring at the Dollar Tree in the craft section.  It's actually a crayon ring, but I didn't find that out until I got home.  I was complaining to my husband, and he made the whole situation a lot better.  He suggested that I carve into the wax to create the green lantern logo.  Great idea.  Unfortunately my crayon carving skills are less than impressive, so no close up for you.

A simple felt mask.  Anyone making Green Lantern costumes this year?  Let me know and I'll share my mask pattern.  It was simple to make.  I cut out my initial shape on a single layer.  Then I pinned it to a second layer, and stitched around the perimeter of the mask.  Cut away the excess material, and attached the elastic. Done.

 Shoe boot covers to complete (or destroy) the entire look. I have a feeling that I should have waited to drop off this costume.  As soon as I showed the little boy he wanted to wear it around.  Hopefully it is still in good condition by Halloween.  His favorite part? The ring.

Want to make your own superhero cape?  You can find my pdf sewing pattern in my shop.  Great for the Holidays.  I've also decided to sell a limited number of my capes.  So if you'd like me to make a cape for you little superhero let me know soon.  I'm not going to overload myself with custom projects. Email me for details or to set up a custom order.

Wonder Woman Halloween Costume

Last week I finished up four Halloween Costumes. I got to choose what to make for my friend's two year old daughter.  It was harder than I thought.  Not having a girl, I felt overwhelmed with the possibilities.

Initially I thought I'd turn her into a Disney Princess, or maybe a butterfly, but then she'd have the same costume as every other girl between the ages of 2 and 10.  Then I worried that maybe she'd want to have the same costume as every girl between 2 and 10.  Finally I decided to turn her into a superhero princess.  After making her mom a cape a couple of weeks ago, I thought that she might like to be like her Mama. So the wonder woman costume was born.


The costume is complete with red leggings.  They reference her famous red boots, while still keeping her little legs warm.  The Star spangled hot pants were replaced with a simple knit circle skirt. And the bustier top was replaced with a long sleeve top with color block sleeves (because I ran out of red knit).

My favorite elements of the outfit have to be the armbands and the headpiece.  I love how they turned out.  The faux sequin fabric was picked up at Joann's.  The faux red leather stars were cut out with one of my new dies for my accuquilt Go! baby fabric cutter.  It made this costume to much easier to put together. Sew in Peltex interfacing provides the shape for the armbands and the headpiece.

I added a shiny gold applique to her cape.  I know that Wonder Woman doesn't traditionally have a cape, but in my opinion, if a kid dresses up as a super, they need a cape.  I used my Super Hero Cape Pattern, the pdf pattern is available in my shop.

I stitched the applique on the knit top.  I always trust a stitch better than a fusible adhesive, especially on stretch fabric.

One Super Woman, and Progress

I had the privilege of sewing a very special cape last week.  Just over a week ago, a good friend from our neighborhood was diagnosed with Leukemia.  She has two kids close to my boy's ages.  Her oldest started kindergarten this week, but sadly she didn't get to see him go to his first day of school.  Instead, she sat in her hospital room, dealing with the side effects of her chemotherapy.  She is a trooper, and has maintained a really positive attitude.  It is such a helpless feeling when people get sick.  There's nothing that I can do to make her sickness go away, and there's nothing that I can say that will change the reality of the disease.  Sewing though, that I can do.

I sent her a message shortly after she was admitted to the hospital, and offered to make Halloween costumes for her children.  I was absolutely thrilled when she accepted my offer.  I was even more thrilled when, in her response, she requested a superhero cape to wear over her hospital gown.  She was concerned about gaping in the back (which I always do as well), and figured that the cape would provide her with the coverage that she needed.  She also knew that her son would love to see his mom in a cape, and he did. Illness and disease is hard on everyone, and I love that she thought of a way to lighten the mood with her son, and make the experience a bit more approachable for him.

I typically make my capes out of satin, but satin just isn't practical when it is worn in the hospital, and will need regular washing.  I had inherited some sparkly purple cotton fabric, and thought it would be a good alternative.  The sparkle adds another dimension to the cape, and honestly, I had zero project ideas in mind when I received it.

If any woman should wear a cape, she should.  She deserves it, and all of the honor that comes with it.

At church we typically have a large crafting party a few months before Christmas, I am so excited that this year, all of the crafts and projects that we make are going to be handmade for her family.  She had wanted to make all of her gifts for her family, so this will give many of us the opportunity to feel like we are doing something to lighten the load, and ease the burden.  You can find many of the projects that we'll be working on, on my pinterest board "Relief Society Ideas".

Adding a few more projects to my list really kicked me into gear, but slowed down the progress on my half finished project challenge.  I'm happy to say that I did complete the following: 12 CTR bands, 1 sweet pea dress with diaper cover, 2 vest onesies, 3 pennant banners, 1 tortilla cozy, and 1 burp cloth.  Progress was definitely made, but my drawer still isn't empty:). I'm happy though.

Last week I did manage to make a few items for an upcoming birthday photo shoot, sew Clark's Halloween Costume, make a thumb print tree for my Sister In Law's wedding later this week, and sew the cape.  So it was a super productive week for me.  Hopefully I can keep things going and turn out another costume or two this week. Is anyone else feeling pressure to start on Christmas projects yet?  I honestly feel like I am booked through New Year's, and it's only the beginning of September.