A Harry Potter Halloween III: Characters Most People Don't Remember Edition

 

I'm sure this will come as a major shock, but we chose Harry Potter as our family costume theme again this year (2011's costumes and last year's).  At this point, we're starting to dip into the secondary and probably tertiary characters, so whenever an average person (read: non-obsessed) asked who we were going to be, there was generally a lot of explanation on my part, followed by them smiling and nodding and most likely still having no idea what I was talking about. Ray was Professor Lupin, I was Tonks, E was Luna Lovegood, and O was a "generic Slytherin student."

Inspiration photos

Last week was Kid's Clothes Week, and while I didn't officially sew along and keep up on the blogging this time (I have such a major backlog from summer still to post about!), I did make a couple of the kids' costume elements.  As much as I love crazy costumes, I was happy that this time their things are all re-wearable on a daily basis.

I started with Luna's skirt, the Montmartre from Ottobre Design 4/2010.  It's a pleated woven skirt with a knit fold-over waistband and an elastic casing.  I made the size 98 width/104 length and cut the waistband only half as high to eliminate the fold.  I also cut the waistband off of some RTW knit shorts and serged them on at the same time as the skirt's waistband.  I love how it turned out.

The stars glow in the dark!  I think the "real" Luna would approve

Next up was a Hogwarts sweater for O to go with his button-down, black jeans, and Slytherin tie from Ebay.  I had some charcoal grey sweater knit in my stash and sewed it up using my old standby, the Fishsticks Designs Charlie Tee.  I sized up, as recommended for the hoodie version, and winged a v-neck based loosely on the Mamu Design Sabrina pattern.  I was a little nervous about both the fabric and the v-neck, since I'd never used either before, but it went together really seamlessly (heh).  I serged everything except the neckline and had zero problems.

So much faster than knitting a sweater!

His shirt is untucked underneath, so it looks kind of bunchy, but the fit is great.  I think he'll get a lot of wear out of this.

Then this week I made E's Luna jacket from the Ottobre 1/2010 Variksenmarja coat pattern, size 104.  It's meant to be corduroy with a lining, but I made it unlined out of sweatshirt knit that I ordered online.  IRL it's more of a burgundy than the pink I thought it was going to be and as it appears in most of these photos.  I was a little bummed about that, but it turned out so cute that I'm over it.  I rounded the collar and cut about 4" from the length.  

The sleeves were also just about perfect for her before I hemmed them, so to eek out as much length as possible, I used single-fold bias tape for the hems.

The neckline is finished with the same thrifted vintage bias tape. This technique always makes me inordinately happy.

This might be my favorite project all year.

The lion hat was from a thrifted costume that I cut the hood from and finished with bias tape.  We added tights and legwarmers over her AFOs and her usual footwear, Chuck Taylors, which Luna also wears.

It was super windy last night when we were taking pictures.  E was not a fan of that part.

Lupin's suit and tie were from the Goodwill Outlet (textiles by the pound!!).  There were matching pants too, but they were several sizes too big and I ran out of time to alter them, so Ray just wore some brown pants and a dress shirt he already had, and we added some facial scars with makeup.

I had planned to sew a more Tonksish coat for myself, but of course ran out of time. On the plus side, our costumes were actually ready before we needed them, and I was never sewing into the middle of the night.  My sweater, hoodie, t-shirt, and leggings were a combo of things I already owned and bought knowing I would wear them otherwise.  I also got to dig out my vegan Doc Martens that were a College Sarah wardrobe staple.

I remembered them being a lot more comfortable.  Those suckers are heavy!

 The driving gloves and wig were Ebay purchases.  I wasn't expecting to like the pink hair at all, since I don't do much pink, and pretty much never pastel.  But I really like it!  Too bad I'm both too cheap and too lazy to do it for real and keep it up.

I made the necklace from faux leather and ribbon clasps from Joann's and buttons from St. Vincent de Paul.  I don't know about you, but our St. Vinnie's has a fantastic button selection, and they're so much cheaper than buying them new.  I always try to check there first on the rare occasions that I plan ahead.

E was giving O some serious side-eye by the time we finished with photos.  It cracked me up when I saw this one.

I think she was confused by his spell-casting.  He was very, very into it.

KCW Days 1&2: Upcycled Pillowcase Dress and Charlie Tee

Hi!  It's been a while, huh?  I have a bunch of things on my to-blog list, but I've been lazy about it this summer.  Kid's Clothes Week is always good incentive to blog, though, so I'm planning to get back to a little more regular posting again.

Monday was mostly prep, along with pretty much the easiest dress ever for E.  I was inspired by the Tiered Pillowcase-style Dress, but made it from a linen skirt I'd thrifted for myself a couple of years ago and never wore.  Pastel pink is just not a color I wear.  BUT it made for a super cute dress for the girl. 

Since it was already tiered, pretty much all I had to do was cut the arm holes and create the casing for the drawstring.  I even used the original drawstring from the skirt.  Felt a little like cheating!  I hemmed the armholes instead of using bias tape like the original tutorial.  I also kept it the existing width, which is larger than the pattern called for.  It's pretty roomy on Miss Skinny Minnie, but it also comes to mid-calf on her, so she'll be able to wear it for years.

Closer to the actual color

I thought I was done that night, but when I woke up yesterday, I decided I'd like it better with a centered bow.  It looked kind of sad and droopy with that narrow of a drawstring.  I ripped out the front casing, found a scrap of interfacing, and added two buttonholes.  Much better! 

It was crazy hot yesterday, so this was a perfect breezy little dress for E to wear.

Yesterday's make was O's billionth Charlie Tee (okay, really the fifth one, I think).  He found this Adult XL Stonehenge tee when we were at the Goodwill Outlet a couple of weeks ago and asked me to make it into one in his size. 

Speaking of, is there a Goodwill Outlet near you? There's one by my aunt's house, so we go pretty often.  Textiles for $1.79/pound?  Sign me up!  I have a ridiculous pile of things to upcycle, but at least this shirt is one thing done.

Lightened a little, but still looks mostly like a black blob.  Ha.

Not a whole lot to say about something you've made so many times.  I made my usual change of narrowing the neckband to 2".  I also zigzagged the hem this time, since he's been popping the hems I've finished with a twin needle.

Now I should get to work on today's project!

The Third Grade Tee

When I asked O last week if he wanted to wear his purple and silver tee for the first day of school, he said, "Aren't you going to make me a new shirt?  You always make me a new shirt!"  Which is true, except for last year when he was adamant that he did NOT want a special shirt.  I was a little sad that he had outgrown that tradition already, so I was happy to have a request again this year.

We went through my stash together and looked through some Ottobres before settling on a color-blocked Charlie Tee.  He was very specific, so I sketched it out for approval before starting. The pattern comes with some color-blocking suggestions, but he had other ideas, so I used the base pattern and split the front piece into equal thirds and added seam allowances.   It must have turned out how he envisioned, because I can't remember the last time he was so excited about something I made him.  His face lit up and he started clapping.  It was adorable.

KCW Days 6 & 7: More Tees

What happened to Day 5?  I had good intentions, but never got around to sewing.  Whoops.  Day 6 was spent cutting and prepping, two things I always say I will do before KCW starts and have yet to do. Maybe for the Fall challenge.  But probably not.

When I asked O if he had any requests, he said he wanted a purple shirt with silver stripes.  I suggested grey, thinking that would be easier, but no, he wanted metallic silver.  I wasn't sure what to do with that one, but decided to try cutting strips of freezer paper and painting on stripes.  He originally wanted the whole shirt striped, but I was concerned that would make it too stiff.  Not to mention it would take forever, so we compromised and did three stripes instead.

 

I used the Charlie tee pattern again. The only thing I did differently this time was a narrower neckband, since I used the existing one from an upcycled tee.  I think I like it better, so I'll have to remember that for the next time I sew one up.

When O saw the finished shirt last night, he immediately said he loved it and asked me to make him a long-sleeved one just like it for winter.  That was high praise coming from him!

I made E one more tee also.  Hers is Jalie 2806, which is one of my favorite patterns.  This is her third (one, two).  The knit is from a box of fabric a friend passed on to me, and I had it slated for this right away.  I really like the white on white floral.

I'm a big fan of the tulip sleeve too.  It adds just a little extra touch of girliness without being over the top.  It's especially cute on, but my model is still sleeping this morning.  I'll try to get an action shot later.

And that wraps up Kids Clothes Week for me. It was fun!  And this time I made a conscious effort to clean up as I went, so instead of being left with a disaster of a sewing room, it's still functional.  Woo-hoo!

Did you sew along this week?

KCW Day 3: Charlie Muscle Tee

It has been ridiculously hot and humid here this week, so yesterday's project was a quick sleeveless tee for O.  I used the Fishsticks Designs Charlie Tee pattern and trimmed off a bit of the shoulder, eyeballing it based on the Made Muscle Tee tutorial.

 

Next time -- if there is a next time, not sure if sleeveless is out of O's wheelhouse or not -- I will make the arm bands longer.  I measured and cut the ribbing at 70%, which is what I usually use for neckbands, but either I made a mistake or arm bands need longer ribbing.  Hoping it'll look less puckered when it's on? 

I'm quite pleased with how the hem turned out.  I seem to be hit or miss with the double needle, but this one looks pretty nice.

O's Birthday Tee: USS Constitution Style [with Template]

Originally guest posted at Once Upon a Sewing Machine as part of their Sew You Had a Boy series.

Most years I make O a birthday shirt.  Last year he even designed his own outfit!  His 8th birthday is next week, but he didn't have any suggestions this time around.

We recently went on a trip to Boston, and one of O's favorite things was a tour of the USS Constitution, so I used that as my inspiration.

My original plan was to somehow applique or stencil the ship onto the front of a tee, but fortunately I realized that simplicity is a virtue and a life preserver would be less likely to make me want to tear my hair out.

For the shirt itself, I chose the Fishstick Designs Patrick Curved Raglan, which I have sewn more than any other pattern.  It is definitely one of my go-to boy patterns!

The life preserver is a combination of raw-edge applique and freezer paper stencil.  I sewed the left side seam, then placed and sewed the applique before sewing up the other side.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I hope O likes it too!  If you'd like to make one for your own little history lover, you can download the applique and stencil template here.

KCWC Day 7: Retro Captain Rex Tee

It turns out O had very specific plans about his tee.  Not just any clone trooper helmet would do, it had to be Captain Rex's, and he wanted to be able to wear it to his Star Wars birthday party next week.  I was thrilled.  He's so picky about his clothes being plain, I'd thought our days of special outfits for birthdays were long over!

Captain Rex's helmet has blue accents, and in my stash there are a few yards of super soft heathered blue knit that has a great vintage feel to it, just calling out be made into a ringer tee.  Yes, another one. This time I used the Fishsticks Designs Charlie Tee pattern in size 6.

This was my first freezer paper stencil attempt and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  There were a few spots I was going to touch up, but I was instructed to leave them, as Rex's helmet is scuffed up and stuff from battle.  My mistakes make it more authentic, I guess.

 
O usually loses interest in sewing projects soon after we finish the design process, but this time he was all over it.  I think the paint was a big factor, and perhaps some fear that I might screw up his beloved Captain Rex.  Ha.

I think the helmet could've been placed a bit higher, but O still said it turned out even better than he'd imagined.

And that's it for me for KCWC!  In each of the three previous challenges, I've sewn three things, so I'm excited that I managed four this time, especially considering how busy this week was.  A big thanks to Meg of Elsie Marley for hosting KCWC.  It's such a great motivator, especially seeing what everyone else is making in the Flickr pool.

KCWC Day 6: Girly Patrick Curved Raglan

No KCWC sewing yesterday; I was busy cleaning the house to make it respectable for the babysitter in the afternoon.  Oddly enough, the only room other than the bathroom that was reasonably clean was the sewing room. I did sew a gift bag for the wedding that we went to last night, but then managed to forget the present and not realize it until it was too late. This isn't the first time we've done that, so I put it in a very visible place in the living room to no avail. I'll be sending off a package on Monday, I guess.

The wedding had a baseball theme.

I got back to it today, though.  Regular readers (aka my sister and aunt) probably know that I can't get through a KCWC without using at least one of my TNT Fishsticks Designs patterns. I had a cut of interlock with an owl design embroidered on it from a few years ago when I'd gotten some PUL cuts embroidered for E's medium pocket diaper stash. The design was too long for a baby garment, so I set it aside and completely forgot about it until the great sewing room cleanup last week.

It was calling out to be made into a Patrick Curved Raglan, and in the middle of the night, I remembered this floral knit print on brown that I thought would coordinate. In the morning when I checked, it was pretty close.  I cut the usual 3T width/4T length and narrowed the neckband piece to 1.5" wide to girlify it a bit.

It needed a bit more of the solid brown, so I added ringer-style armbands, cut 1.5" wide by 7.75" long.  I also trimmed 1" off the length of the sleeve before sewing on the bands.

Only one more day of KCWC!  Not sure what's on the agenda yet.  There's been talk from O. of a tee with a clone trooper helmet on it. We'll see if he's serious about that request or not.

E's Birthday/Valentine's Day Outfit

E. turned four on Valentine's Day.  In birthdays past, I've tended to not emphasized the whole hearts and flowers aspect, but since she's in school this year and she's in the perfect age for such shenanigans, I went for it this year.  I was, as usual, cutting things a bit close, so swapped my original, more elaborate dress idea for the beloved Fishsticks Designs Emmy pattern (Bonnie's discontinuing the design, so if you want one, jump on it!  Looks like the little girls' pattern is sold out, but there are still a few big girl patterns in stock).  I've lost track of how many of these I've made, so it went together easily -- I was going to say seamlessly, but that would be a poor word choice in this case.

I'd also picked up some owl and hearts knee highs a couple of weeks ago, because I am apparently *still* unable to resist anything with an owl on it. Since we walk to school (well, I walk, she rides in leisure, all bundled up), I thought she could use another layer on her skinny little legs and decided to finally make some legwarmers.  I can't believe I've never done this before, as the girl has a ridiculously large collection of Babylegs and Huggalugs.  It took maybe five minutes to make these.  There are a ton of tutorials on how to sew them; mine were like this.

It was a bit of a crazy busy ensemble, but if you can't be dressed a bit over the top for Valentine's Day when it's also your fourth birthday, when can you?!

E. is generally uninterested in modelling, and I have apparently forgotten how to use my camera in low-light situations with a wiggly subject, so the full-body shots are pretty terrible.  I'll just leave you with this one.

You want me to show off the legwarmers, right, Mom?