So Olivia went with Lara Croft again. I couldn't convince her to try something new, and I suppose it's all about making the kids happy... hehe. Here's one of her fancy action shots. What you can't see is the big 3 inch diameter splotch of black paint on top of her head. Some kid's art project fell on her head at school, and I didn't have the time to give her a bath until the next day!
Sammi was Sweeney Todd. And... if you were wondering... it's nearly impossible to find a pattern for a double breasted pointy collared vest in an 11 year old girl's size. I finally found a pattern for a long double breasted coat in a man's size. I figured I could size it down, leave the sleeves off and and leave the long front and back off the bottom. Umm... yeah... sizing down from a man's XS to Sammi.... not fun. My first attempt might have fit a 5 year old. Luckily I tested my new patterns out on some muslin before I committed it to the vest fabric. I finally got it right the 3rd time.
Her shirt sleeves were interesting... I sewed the first one on inside out... unpicked it and sewed it back on right. Then I sewed the 2nd one on inside out... I picked it off and sewed it back on... inside out again... DUH! Why are sleeves so hard for me? Then I sewed the first cuff on wrong... but at least I got the 2nd one right the first time. hehe. Also... I'm very proud of myself because this was my first time to do buttonholes! Each sleeve had six, and the vest had 5. I got lazy and only made one row of the vest buttons real.
Here's Sammi's rendition of Johnny Depp's pose from the movie. Riley & her friends did her make up. Yeah.. I know I didn't make the little razor holder that hung from his belt.. but frankly.. at 12:35 a.m. Halloween morning.. I was just DONE.
Riley's costume came with the customary cheesiness and terrible fit you get from mass made costumes that have to fit a variety of sizes. She was all bummed because she thought it made her look fat. So I took darts in the bodice to make it fit closer and not poof out. Also the costume came with all the detail on the front and nothing on the back. On back the bodice was just plain red, and the skirt was just white. Which if anyone knows Riley, was totally unacceptable and was accompanied by much complaining.
So I bought some white organza? I think that's what that fabric is.. not sure.. it's shiny and a little see through. Then we spread it out on the kitchen floor over cardboard, laid out lines of painters tape and painted it with 3 coats of black fabric paint. The black lines on the costume had black glitter in them.. so on our 3rd coat we had to sprinkle black glitter on the wet paint. Which is a bigger pain in the butt than you might think. The glitter apparently had an aversion to fabric and tried to stick to every other surface in our house and on our bodies. Matt was having a COW. Hehe. Once it was all dry and sufficiently glittery we peeled it up off the cardboard and peeled all the tape off, outside of course since Matt was having conniptions about the glitter. Then I sewed two panels to cover the back bodice. And another panel to drape across the back of the skirt. Then I made several long strips into ruffles and sewed them onto the new skirt back. And used some more ruffles to make the hangy down pieces that she has in the movie. Whew. Oh.. and a side note here.. in the movie the stripes in front are vertical and most of the back is horizontal. I didn't want you to think I would be that lax in my costume design and shame myself.
The 'slip' that came with the costume was a stiff bulky piece of I Don't Know What with a sad little piece of red netting stuck on the bottom. Umm.. yeah.. that was something I couldn't let slide. It was just butt-ugly. So... I got yards and yards and yards of black & red tulle and made my own stinking slip. Oi. That was interesting, but I really think it made the costume look a lot better. Plus maybe we'll be able to use it again.. maybe?
Livie and Sammi did a lot of posing for me while Riley and her friends took over the downstairs bathroom to beautify themselves.
And here is Matt & Riley's Pumpkin King scarecrow! You might recognize it from the opening Halloween Parade on the movie A Nightmare Before Christmas. Riley's been begging for us to make one for the last few years. And Matt finally buckled.
So.. that was Halloween. I now have a little time to get my sewing machine fixed before I have to think about next year's costumes... though... not as long as usual since we already know what Riley is going to be.. I might as well get started. hehe.
