To Do List- A Band of Pirates!, done

We had a great Halloween! How about you?

The kiddo already had his costume. He got it for Christmas last year and has worn it and worn it and worn it. I went to wash it, and noticed that the tag said spot clean only. But I figured, hand wash would be ok, right? Then I got nervous… So I followed the directions and they were right! The red runs! Easily! So glad I didn’t wash it! But then Wednesday night chocolate milk got spilled on it. Luckily the Pirate Booty Jewels covered it up!

With his costume already being done, I had to sew something! RIght? Most everyone was like, AWesome, you don’t have to make one… But I was sad! I love making his costumes! Instead I switched to Mom and Dad’s. And for some insane reason waited ’til Halloween day to make them…. Dad’s was easy. A sash and a fleece vest. And he wore a pirate party favor hat. And for me, I made a skirt! Tulle on the bottom, shiny black in the middle and red sheer on top. Of course, it all went along pretty well until I went to put it on…. When I sewed on the top layer, I accidentally sewed over the elastic…. I tried to take out the stitching, but it didn’t want to come out, so I got a bit of it out and had to do a little extra cutting of the sheers… (notice no pictures from behind!)

All in all we looked like a crazy band of pirates and had a hilarious night of trick or treating and I marked two things off my to do list!

Unfortunately I think even though I marked two things off my to do list, I think I have to add another… A new pirate costume for the kiddo! Yes, Halloween is past, but that doesn’t stop dress up in our house!

To Do List- John Smith Halloween Costume, done

The first thing crossed off my To-Do-List is the John Smith Halloween Costume!

Ok, have you seen Pocahontas lately? Because it seems like my husband and friends don’t seem to remember the outfit.. They keep saying, well, doesn’t it need this or that… Um. No. This is it.

This costume is for a friend of a friend 300o miles away in Florida. So I’m crossing my fingers that it actually fits. I used a 2T pattern, his size, but some pieces look too small (the arms) and other pieces look to big (the length of the pants).  Who knows! But I have to say I’m nervous! I don’t actually know if the kiddo is a tall and skinny 2T, short with a cute toddler belly 2T or just the run of the mill 2T.

There are a few things I’d do different if I did it again and had more time to spend on it. The boots…  I needed to angle out the boot flap so that it didn’t hug so tightly to the rest of the boot. The pattern I used was a pattern for shorts/pants, which perfectly showing me where the pants stopped and the boots began.

And the sleeves. I tried to make them big, but they look tiny. This is a repeat habit I seem to have… I always seem to make the sleeves too narrow. And the little poof sleeves (I’m sure there’s a more technical term, but…), I’d make those a little smaller.

But on the other hand… I love how the shirt turned out. I used the pattern, Simplicity 2907, for the shirt (and pants) and just turned it around. The front is now the back and the back is now the front. For the front I cut two peices and stitched them together down the front. Turned them inside out and sewed the neck line together for a finished edge at the top. I also added the ength tot he front for the pointed bottom.

I sooooo hope it fits!!

 

Shared with these Link Parties!

Curious George Dressed Up Like a Monster

I have this thing about making Halloween Costumes! not sure exactly where it came from… But it’s there, so I’m going with it until my son protests the Momma made costumes. The first one was Max from Where the Wild Things Are and last year was a Fireman.

I can’t remember if I mentioned this before or not, but of all things my 3 year old could have wanted to be for Halloween he chose Curious George Dressed Up Like a Monster! Once I asked, before the Curious George idea, he wanted to be the ‘Yes Man and the No Man.’ And then it was the ‘Guy Who Holds Up Signs’…. Ummmmm… No idea what those were, so I was super excited when the Curious George Dressed Up LIke a Monster came around. And he’s stuck with it for a few months now.

Some friends tried to make it easier for me by saying why not just a monkey or why not just a monster. But no, I was totally excited about his creativity in coming up with such a fun costume idea. So that’s what he got!

First I made the monkey costume. Nothing too creative. Basic pattern. Easy. Well, except for the hat… This is the fourth rendition. I just couldn’t get it to fit him… I wanted to get that perfect shape of brown around the face that makes Curious George recognizable as Curious George. The first one was nothing like what I wanted, but then as I started altering the pattern it kinda got bigger. Anyway… It’s cute none the less….

Second. The monster. How to make the monster part?? I kept trying to figure out how to make it part of the monkey costume. But then it hit me… He wanted to be Curious George Dressed Up Like a Monster. So why wouldn’t Curious George be wearing a costume! So, then came the hooded cape idea! Then once that came, the rest of it just fell together as I was going along. Including the scaley monster skin, AKA yarn pom-poms (recycled Dr. Seuss party decorations!).

And together we were The Man with The Yellow Hat and Curious George Dressed Up Like a Monster.

One of my favorite parts of the evening…. We had such a blast, there were many memories that made an impression, but this one… As the evening wore on the kiddos started slowing down. His buddy took a little snack break, so my son decided to take a little break as well. Right in the middle of the sidewalk. He just needed ‘a little rest’ while he waited on his ballerina buddy!

I hope everyone else had as much fun as we did!!

Shared with: