I love making Halloween costumes. It gives me justification for my sewing machine other than replacing buttons! Below are costumes I've made over the years.
My mom taught my sisters and I how to sew. As I was going through old pictures looking for costumes I put together, I saw so many dance recital costumes and Halloween costumes that my mom made for me and my siblings. I'm so glad she taught us how to sew. Last year I bought the girls their own kid sewing machine. Its about time I taught them.
Corn Cob Costumes
Growing up in Ohio, I have a special place in my heart for corn. I learned how to drive a tractor at 10 while planting rows of corn with my dad. I just knew I wanted to make a costume honoring it. I didn't have a pattern but used a fleece sleeper as a base. It was SO difficult to find one in September. I never found a white or even off white one, I had to settle for blue. You can see some of it peaking through the kernels. I made a yellow hood and attached it to the sleeper. The bottom is open for easy carrying of the child and ventilation. Part of the corn husk (dark green) are actually connected to the arms of the sleeper, so they child is not restricted.
2006 - our little corn cobs.
Lots of yellow fabric stuffed with batting to create kernels. Kept the girls warm at Halloween. No I'm not one of those moms that make the babies go trick or treating just for the adults to get the candy! They just had fun looking at all the trick or treaters come by our house.
Maple Trees
2007 they were maple trees. I only have one photo of them and it doesn't show the detail. I've recently taken another photo of the costume (no child in it as they are 7 years too old for it). Although it looked great and took hours to make, It was a failure as they couldn't really walk in it. I made a textile of the trunk by running stitches up and down the fabric backed with batting.
Lightning Bugs
2008, our last year in the Chicago area. I like to try and recreate nature. So what better at night than lightning bugs! I followed a pattern for the base of the costume (either Simplicity or McCalls) but created the wings, hat, and rear end light myself. Still one of my favorite costumes to date.
Lightning bugs 2008
Lightning bug 2008
Its cool in Chicago, so I insulated the costumes with extra batting.
The white patch contains an LED motion sensing light that would emulate a lightning bugs natural habits. I actually had neon green fabric underneath so when the light light up, the little bottom turned from white to bright green. At the time I made the costumes, LED lights were just becoming available and weren't cheap (close to $20 a light). I still have them in the attic and every time I pass the costumes, the little tail light lights up!
Hot Dogs
2009 - Our little hot dogs. Our first Halloween in Texas. I create the pattern as I went along. I used 1" foam to form the body of the hot dog, cutting a generous size hole for the head and arms, covering it with hot dog red fabric and lined with soft white fabric. The chopped onions were made of iridescent fabric and slightly stuffed with batting. The bun was filled with stuffing to give its volume. The mustard and ketchup lines created extra support by going over the their arms while being connected to the bun. Velcro was used to secure the bun to the hot dog as well as a closure for the hot dog.
2009 Our little hot dogs.
Tinkerbelles
I was able to hold of 4 years, but Disney finally had an influence on their costume request. Introducing our little Tinkerbelles! I used a stiffener to keep the top up without straps. They wanted to look exactly like Tinkerbelle. I made a feeble attempt to create a wig out of yellow yarn... bad idea... Ended up spraying a little yellow hair spray in their hair before going out trick or treating.
No pattern used. The wands and wings were a gift from their great Aunt Irene.
Read or not, here we come!
In September 2012 I had back surgery and wasn't able to make their costumes. I would have, but being hunched over a machine for several hours while trying to recover would not have been my brightest moment. Disney won out that year... Girls loved Brave the movie, not sure if it was for the content of the movie, or the fact that Andy is from Scotland, but either way a bit of serendipity... two Meridas that year.
Rainbow Fairies
2013 - the girls wanted to be different costumes this year. Great, they decide, I'll make what ever they want. I knew though I better be prepared if one decides to jump to the other costume because it looks "cuter" than theirs. I was right... One wanted to be a witch. Talked about if for months... as soon as I started to make the rainbow fairy for the other, the witch never got a say again. One thing about girls... glitter, every holiday, every project! It never leaves the crevices of our house! I ended up buying the wings, but embellishing them with lots of glitter to match the costumes I made. Not using a pattern, but an undershirt/tank top as a base, I stitched several thin pieces of glittered tulle to it. The flower/pearl trim hid the underwear like straps of the tank top. They wore stretchy shorts underneath for bathroom ease.
I embellished the store bought wings with even MORE glitter.