Happy Halloween everyone!
Here we have the grim reaper. Easy costume. Didn't finish seams or hem, because he's death after all. Pattern is Simplicity 5512, size 8 but I added 5 inches to the length and the sleeves.
Glinda the good witch says hello. The zipper on her dress is one of the few things that makes this dress less than
fairworthy, but Macy loves it none the less. Pattern is McCalls 4948, size 7. I made her crown from a silver piece of poster board. Her wand is a Christmas ornament wired onto a dowel painted silver.
Eleanor our vampire looks ready for an evening of trick-or-treating. Her dress is one of my favorites and I wish it were
fairworthy. Unfortunately I burned a hole in the skirt with a faulty iron and didn't center the front bodice piece (which is drapery fabric, but I loved how it looked!), but she loves it all the same. This is the same pattern (McCalls 5731 or P277) I used to make her
Halloween costume last year, but I cut a size 7 this time.
She wanted a cape and I wanted it to flow with the dress. I used the cape pattern from the Snow White dress that Macy wore last
year (Simplicity 9384-oop) and added hooks to each end. I added the same trim on the cape's neck as on the rest of Eleanor's dress and then we were able to hook the cape onto the dress trim and it looked like a continuation of the trim. I was proud of myself for figuring out that one!
I also used size 14 snap source snaps for the snap in stand up collar. I applied them first and then sewed the trim over the rings. They were fast, sturdy and I didn't have to sew in any snaps. Woo
Hoo for me!!!
Finally the
pièce de résistance. Please welcome Claire starring as Sleeping Beauty. This pattern (Simplicity 9384-oop)-I cut the size 4-had many pieces and the skirt was a bit fiddly with lots of
godets and matching of dots, but I persisted and we have a winner! Unfortunately it rained and her skirt bottom got soaked and dirty. It's a long time till the fair, but maybe a good cleaning will make all right. I may just enter it anyway. I was dreading this dress most of all and as a result didn't get started sewing any of the costumes soon enough, but I'm glad I persevered, because it turned out so nice and wasn't as bad as I had thought. Macy's dress actually gave me the most trouble due to the bead like bumps on her outer fabric!
Did everything cost more even though I made them? You betcha! Will they last longer than those cheaply made costumes you can buy? YEP! Was it worth it? Of course!!!!
but Ben's dream of going up into the Washington Monument finally came true.
While we were waiting for the others, a bunch of wandering Santas, reindeer and elves came for a visit.
Macy got her picture taken with Santa when she discovered they were giving out free candy canes. I know, I didn't know them from Adam, but I let her eat the candy cane. It was wrapped well and she's okay.
Kate chose to wait while leaning on these marble benches. I'm sure this would be pleasant on a hot summer day when something cool like marble would feel good, but this was not a hot summer day. It was COLD.
Did I mention it was cold? There weren't a lot of people out and about. We always know how to pick those less crowded days. We live for those less crowded days, because lets face it, we are a crowd.
While we were down on the mall, we visited a few museums. Ben wanted a picture of this dinosaur.
Macy and Eleanor wanted this picture of a Shark's jaw.
Claire and Kate wanted their picture taken in front of this penguin.
