The charm of a homemade costume
The joy of solving problems while making things.
I love this part of being a parent. I find homemade costumes absolutely charming in their imperfections and I love to see how parents (or capable kids) solve the problem of making a human into a character. 100 people would make the same costume 100 different ways out of different materials and that delights me.
Although I throw no shade at parents who buy costumes, I will be devastated the day my son wants a store-bought costume. For me, I have the time (sort of, this one was done in several late night sprints) and I have the skills and will to do it myself. This one has particularly fun challenges like:Â
How to attach a hood and retain the stretchiness of the sweatshirt—attach with buttons after the shirt is on (next time, just buy a hoodie!)
Making the ears and tail in three dimensions—use cardboard to build a model / pattern
Getting the tail to defy gravity—a bit of fishing line between the tail and the neck to keep it up (reader Keeley suggests flexible wire from a wire hanger to add structure!)
I found that using an outfit that fits well and modifying the existing pieces is a lot more in my wheelhouse than constructing an entire garment from scratch. Last year, I made a vest with wings that fit over a coordinating outfit and that worked amazingly for a baby who is not gonna climb into a complicated costume. This year, I purchased a sweatsuit in light blue and added parts to it to make the final costume. I knew I captured the essence of the character when my son who is just starting to speak said the name as soon as he saw it. Please don’t sue me, Ludo Studio for my unauthorized replica of your adorable Australian puppy who happens to be blue!Â
Lastly, here’s one of my childhood favorites and possibly my unconscious inspiration for my winged bee last year. My mom made all of my costumes growing up and that seems to have passed directly into my spirit because I love making these costumes! I have a lot of memories of her working on them late into the night in the days leading up to Halloween and it seems that last-minute costume construction has also passed to me.
Other things on my radar
Wanting a kitchen apron and I found this free pattern I might try in the next few months: Allspice Apron from Hey June Handmade
A multi-day quilting class with Tara Faughnan at Madeline Island School for the Arts. The cost is $975 which is not cheap, but for five whole days it feels like a worthy investment.
Around the studio
Last call
Tuesday at 8pm Eastern is Making Things Club - a virtual get together for anyone who wants to make things! Bring you own project :)
If you celebrate Halloween or Samhain enjoy it!
See you next Sunday.
Bekka