Halloween Costumes 2010

This years costumes are finally finished!  I’m so excited to show them off!  I know they’re not as amazing as the costumes that some people make but I think they’re pretty cool.

The first costume I decided to make was armor.  It actually took some convincing because my boy wanted to be a prince.  But since I pretty much made a prince costume last year (in a way) I really didn’t want to have to do the same thing again.  So I put on my best sales-woman approach and pulled out our “Narnia” collection book and sited all of the pictures that “The high King Peter” or “Prince Caspian” wear armor.  It worked!  He wanted armor after that.  The funniest thing about the whole scenario is that he still wants to be called “A prince, in armor”.

 

Here he is, looking fierce!

I love his stance!  So tough!

And because I never know when to quit….I also made some other accessories to make his costume more versatile.

Gritting his teeth with determination.

Now for the part that I’ve been waiting for my whole career as a mother!  My little girl’s outfit!  I have been wanting soooo badly to embellish clothing with glitter for years so I went all out and went crazy!  (Some of the material actually came glittered already, which was helpful ;) ).

And here she is, my little Fall Fairy:

I’m so happy she kept the headband I made on.  The trick was to tell her how pretty she looked the second I put it on and push her hands away from trying to take it off.  I’ve had to do that every time I’ve put it on her, but it seems to work. 

Back wing view!

 

Side view of her dress.  I loved the little petals on this pattern…thus why I had to make it when I saw it (besides that it came in 1/2 size….not many patterns this cute do!)  

   This one is just adorable to me!  I love her sweet little face and her pretty blue eyes!

So yes, I went a little crazy, and a little over-board.  But the point is, I’ve also had a LOT of fun. :)

Make-believe Sheath or Scabbard Tutorial

So Christian has ruined a belt and two ribbons that he has tied around his waist and used as a sheath while playing prince and so I promised to make him a sheath or scabbard.  I think it turned out rather well.  I think the next time I try this I’d like to try real leather though because the nature of his play is a little rough if you know what I mean.  He loves his sheath and it’s the thing he always has on at home if he’s not asleep. :)

   

It wasn’t too difficult though I wish that my eyelet’s worked better…they didn’t set well into the material so they turned out to be just holes but they look pretty cool if you ask me (the holes I mean).  It gives it a rustic look.  I’ll get more heavy-duty eyelets made for belts next time.

Materials Needed:

Sword (for measuring)

1/4 yd faux-leather/decor vinyl or other sturdy material

thread

heavy-duty needles

scrap of contrast material

 

Method:

1. Place sword on material and fold over.  Leave at least 2 inches on each side of the sword.

  

2. Fold bottom portion of scabbard in half and round off with scissors.

3. Measure contrasting material to match width of scabbard and cut to be 3 inches long.

4. Fold bottom edge of contrasting material 1/2 inch.  Press.

5. Pin Contrast over top portion of scabbard.

 

6. Sew in place using a decorative stitch if desired

 

7. Cut remaining material to be 6 inches wide and 5 inches longer than waist intended for (i.e. waist was 20 inches so cut material 25”x6”).

8. Cut a piece that is 6x5 for loop.

9.  Mark belt starting 2” from edge every inch for four inches.

  

10. Sew in female side of snaps at markings.

     

11. Fold Belt in half and then overlap  (as a belt does) and mark where male side of snaps go across from female snaps.  Sew snaps at markings (no photo).

12. Should have all three pieces prepared.  Can embellish by adding eyelets, grommets, or holes. 

  

13. Fold over top edge of scabbard and sew in place (can use a decorative stitch if desired)

14.  With right sides together fold scabbard in half and sew along the side 1/2” away from edge.  

15. Fold belt portion in half right sides together sew 1/2” along edge. Turn over.

16.  Fold in outer edge and hand sew with a heavy duty needle about 1/8” away from edge (this is very thick).

17. Sew top and bottom portion to area of belt desired (depending if you want it to snap in front, the side, and if it’s for left or right handed use).

18. For loop portion, fold in half right sides together so that it measures 6x2 1/2 inches.  Sew 1/2” from edge.

19.  Turn out.  Sew raw edges together 1/4” from seam.

 

20.Turn and slide onto belt.

  

21. Tada!   You’ve got a great accessory for your little prince, knight or solider! 

 

I just love this little guy.  He’s so expressive and isn’t he just totally made for drama?

Halloween Costumes Plus

11After some convincing (okay begging) from my son, I broke down and made him a musketeer costume for Halloween.  I also made some extra pieces to go along with the doublet and breeches of his musketeer costume so he could dress the part when he plays prince.  When I finished my son’s costume, my husband thought it would be really cool to have us all go as musketeers since this is the last year there will only be three of us.  I agreed that this would be really fun though I had my reservations at making yet two more costumes.  Well, since my husband was willing to fit the bill, I made two more hats as well as two more tabards.  I didn’t make all of the pieces such as the doublet or the pants but I felt like it still turned out quite cute.

 

Christian the Musketeer… 

 

 

Prince Christian…

 

 

 

The Three Musketeers…

 

I think they turned out well…though I feel like I look like “the brains of the operation” with my big belly.  So, technically, there are 3 2/3 Musketeers in the picture…