Quick handmade Halloween costume - Skeleton shirt

I had a Halloween themed half marathon this past weekend. I wasn't going to wear a costume, cause I had no idea what to make, but then I had an idea. A sugar skill costume would be easy and festive. With not enough time for an Amazon prime order to arrive, I had to make something myself.

Since I had left this to the night before the race, paint was out of the question. I didn't think there would be enough time for it to dry. Fabric is my medium of choice anyways, so fabric it was! And I had a few shirts that were in the goodwill pile that were perfect to use for this purpose.

Here are the supplies you will need:

• 1 black t-shirt
• 1 white t-shirt
• Thread (optional)

And the following tools:

• Pencil
• Paper
• Scissors
• Needle or sewing machine (optional)

I skteched out a rough skeleton ribcage on a piece of paper, I foled it in half and cut our the "bone" parts. Then I opened it up and checked for placement on the black shirt.

I found that it was easier to fold the shirt in half, and then cut out the "bone" parts on the shirt as it was folded in half. This way both sides would be even. I pinned the pattern in place, and then cut the fabric where the holes were. I also cut them a little smaller than what I had on the pattern, since I knew it would stretch out when I put it on.

At this point you can just wear this black shirt over a white shirt. It will give the illusion of the bones peeking through.

But since I was making this a running costume, I decided to sew the white part on the inside of the black shirt, so I wouldn't have to wear a double shirt for my run.

*This part is optional, but makes for a lighter shirt.

Cut a piece of white fabric big enough to cover all the cut out parts of the black shirt. Pin to the wrong side of the black shirt. Stitch around the edge of the cut out design to hold in place.

And you're all done! Add some skull makeup to complete your costume, and maybe even some flowers for the sugar skull look.

This took me a total of about an hour to put together, and the hardest part was drawing out the pattern. There's no reason not to have a Halloween costume, even if you have left it to the last minute.

Happy making and happy Halloween!

Handmade Halloween

When Halloween rolls around for me it means picking out that costume and making it. My friends have asked me over the years why I don't just buy a costume, but buying a costume just doesn't feel like part of the holiday.

I was everything over the years....

a cheerleader,

a pumpkin,

a cavegirl, and so many more...

And this was the year, Mom tells me, that I insisted on a store-bought costume. Anyone else remember those terrible masks?

Since I was a little girl, Halloween was always a handmade holiday. I remember going to the fabric store and pouring over the pattern catalog until I found just the right costume. I'm thankful that Mom and Grandma were my costume magicians, making anything I wanted appear. Now that I can make my own costumes, I still love picking just the right one, and making it. It just feels right to me. Going to the store for a packaged costume is just not an option.

Anyone else have handmade costumes back in the day? How about now? Any ideas for this Halloween?

Costume time: Wicked Witch of the East

Everyone seems to know her very famous green sister, but the Wicked Witch of the East was also a force to be reckoned with in Oz. And I thought she would be a great inspiration for this year's Halloween costume.

All we ever see of the Wicked Witch of the East is her stocking and shoes (the famous ruby slippers), so I got to use some artistic license when making the rest of the costume.

I figured she should wear an awesome witch hat. That part was easy, but I attached her impending doom to the hat, the tornado with Dorothy's house. Getting that tornado to stay upright was no easy feat, but with some wire and a strategically placed headband underneath the hat it all worked.

Then for the dress, I made a skirt out of this awesome "decorated" organza. Doesn't it look like little funnel clouds? I thought that would be a cool wink to the Witch's ultimate demise.

All witches should be fashionable, so she had to have a ruby cape to match her slippers. And then I wore my newly glittered shoes, which made the perfect ruby slippers.

So what did you think of my costume this year?

What was your Halloween costume?

Costume time 2012: Honey Boo Boo

Honey Boo Boo was the pop culture sensation of the summer and she is everywhere you look now. My friends and I decided that someone had to be Honey Boo Boo for Halloween this year, and after some convincing, Yoanna finally did it.

Once she agreed, I got working on the costume. Since I had made so many tutus this year, I figured another one wouldn't be too bad, so I used pink this time and added a top layer of sparkly tulle to really make it pageant ready. The leftover tulle was transformed into poufy pageant sleeves that were added to a sequined tank top. Then a ribbon and some glitter paint made a perfect pageant sash to complete the look.

Honey Boo Boo needed to get into hair and makeup, so we got to work poufing up her hair and giving her pageant ready makeup. We added lots of sparkle and pink lips to match the dress. Then a bow and a crown and Honey Boo Boo was ready to go.

Accessories really made the look and her trophy and go-go juice (Mountain Dew) totally made her from regular pageant girl into Honey Boo Boo Child!

Crazy as it sounds, this was the only Honey Boo Boo in the whole office! She became a mini-celebrity and everyone wanted pictures of her and with her. Plus she totally got into character telling everyone to "Redneckognize" and "Holla for a dolla, Honey Boo Boo Child!"

What was your Halloween costume this year?

Costume time 2012: Finding Nemo crew

Happy Halloween! It's time to reveal all of the costumes I made this Halloween. You've already seen mine, but it really was part of a group costume. A few of my friends and I decided to go with a Finding Nemo theme for Halloween this year. My friend, Damaris, had been inspired to dress up as Darla from Finding Nemo since she got her braces this year, so the rest of us decided to coordinate with her.

source

Check out Damaris in her thrifted and customized Darla outfit. Her headgear is acutally the handle from a can of paint that she attached with a rubber band. She thrifted and dyed the sweater and took the shorts from her dad. This costume was amazing and had people laughing all day long.

I was Nemo, complete with gimpy fin.

source

I took a more creative take on it and made my tutu, fins (one big and one little), and I also embellished my tank.

 

Karina was Dory (if you know her, you know she's the chatty one, so it suits her perfectly!).

source

I made Karina's tutu and fins. She added a sparkly tank top and embellished the fins, her hair and ankle with a bit of yellow to mimic the yellow at the end of Dory's fins. Everyone totally loved her as Dory.

And once our friend Carlo heard we were doing Nemo, he wanted in. He loves Nemo and totally knew who he wanted to be, the wise Gill.

source

This was a total last minute costume, but I think it came out pretty good. I asked Carlo to bring me a black hoodie that I could add things to. I freehanded the top fin and stuffed it with a bit of fiberfill to keep it standing. Then I attached the fins, one whole and one all mangled. He was totally psyched with his Gill costume.

We had a great time with our costumes, and once people realized who we were they loved it. They are still counting the ballots for the costume contest, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

I hope everyone is having a great and sugar-filled halloween! I'll have another costume post up shortly.

Costume time 2012: Making a tutu

Halloween is only a few days away, and I've actually finished my costume. (I have to blame this on the Halloween party that I went to a few days ago.)

My costume this year was pretty easy, I embellished a store bought tank top and then made a tutu to finish off the look. I wanted my tutu to have layers of color that formed stripes, so I didn't make the strip tutus that are all over the internet now.

I used 2 yards of fabric for each layer. The tulle was 60 inches wide, so I folded it in quarters for the top two layers and thirds for the bottom layer. Then I just ran a long straight stitch across the top of each layer to gather it all up. I also sewed the short ends of the tulle closed, so I had a tulle tube.

For the top I used a super wide 3 in elastic. Just make the elastic big enough to fit around you where you want the tutu to lie, and then stitch it up. Remember to leave yourself enough room to slip it on and off.

Next is the part that I find the most tedious, attaching the skirt to the elastic. I'm not one to use pins usually, but this process kind of requires them. You're gonna need to mark the front and back of your elastic and your tulle tube. The back is where your seam is, so just fold your elastic tube in half right on the seam. Mark the side opposite the seam with a pin. This is your front. Do the same thing with your tulle tube. Next, you're gonna pin both seams together and then both front marks together. Pull your gathering stitches until the tulle is the same size as the elastic. Use pins to hold this in place.

Now change your machine to the stretch stitch. On my machine it's stitch J. It looks like a dotted zig zag. This will allow the elastic to stretch better than a regular straight stitch.

I stitched right over the gathering stitches.

Since I was making a tiered skirt, I wanted to tier my layers of tulle. So I attached my first layer about half way up the elastic.

Then gather your next layer and pin it in place. I put it right under the stitching for the last layer of tulle, so I could get the "striped" effect I wanted. I stitched this one on then added one more layer for my last stripe.

Then try it on and check the length. I left my tulle folded as I sewed and then cut it once I had tried it on and saw what length I wanted. Just cut it straight across, no hemming needed.

And voila! You have your tutu. It's great for any costume (cause who doesn't love a tutu), and you can even make a smaller version for your little ones. Here I am all decked out for my party. (I'm supposed to be Nemo--yeah, it's an artistic interpretation.)

What are you gonna be for halloween? Are you making your costume?

Final costume: Come fly with me

I thought I was only doing two costumes this year, til Mom called. She called grandma first to make her a skirt and suit jacket. Then she called me to make a bag. I knew what she had in mind. Mom was gonna be a Pan Am stewardess.

Now I admit, if I would have had more time, this would have totally been up my alley! But I just didn't have time this year. But Mom brought over the bright blue fabric and we got to work. Grandma made the skirt and jacket (and her own pattern, of course), mom made the hat, and I was making the bag.

I made the bag with no pattern, kinda winging it along the way, but I love how it came out. I added a zipper and a gusset and everything. I'm even thinking of making a similar bag for myself.

The biggest obstacle was getting the logo on the bag. If there would have been more time, we would have screenprinted or stenciled the it on. But since this bag was made in a couple of hours, we got creative. I used a printout of the logo that Mom gave me. We put it in a ziploc bag and I pinned it in place. Then I zig-zagged around the edge of the logo and cut away the extra ziploc bag. I wasn't sure this was gonna work, but it did. And it was a great way to get the logo on there quick.

Mom got some little black pumps and white gloves to finish off her look. I think she looks great. I'm sure she was totally the most creative cosutme at the office today.

That's it for costume making for me this year. Happy Halloween to you all!

Halloween costume 2: Red Riding Hood

So I was invited to a Halloween party this week, which meant I had to come up with a costume for me. Someone suggested I go to the store, but I couldn't imagine getting a store bought costume.

So since it was the week before Halloween, and I didn't want to go to the party store or the fabric store, I checked to see what I had at home. I had a ton of red fabric and found some gingham too, so I decided on Red Riding Hood.

I made myself a cute cape with a hood. It was pretty easy, especially since I had a costume pattern for a cape. That helped me get the general idea of how to make the cape, and then I modified it to work with the amount of fabric that I had. I also made a simple skirt in gingham to give me that "I'm walking throught the forest" feel. I added a red sash, cause I needed to break up the black a bit. (And I'm totally wearing a black tank top, cause it was rainy and HOT!... this is Miami after all) Not bad for a two hour costume. I added a pair of red heels, and I was ready to go!

The next day I had a crafty Halloween get-together, and my friends and I decided to go in costume. So, I switched out my red heels for my red glitter flats that I made at a Crafter-noon. I also took my potluck goodies in that basket I'm holding. I think it was the perfect touch.

I did get asked where my big bad wolf was a time or two, so next time I may need a sucker to dress up alongside me. I really loved this costume, it was cute and comfy!

I received a special request for another costume accessory for yet another costume, so you'll see that in tomorrow's post.

Costume time: Jake and the Neverland Pirates

It's that time of year, and even with the Craft Carnival the week after Halloween I've actually managed to make some costumes this year. Well, I've made one so far, and plan on making another this week.

My first costume was Jake from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." My newphew Xander asked for this costume, so I had to make it for him! This costume wasn't too complicated, it was just about the details.

I just made some basic elastic pants, and then a black belt. Since I didn't have Xander to measure here with me, I made the belt adjustable with velcro. And he'll be able to use it for dress up for a long time. The head sash was also super easy. Just a strap with some topstitching.

The vest and the boots were really where I got to so the details. I adjusted a vest pattern to make the lapels bigger and then trimmed it in handmade bias binding. The buttons were just that same fabric wonder-undered to the vest and then zig-zagged around the edges.

I wanted to make boot covers for him to wear over his sneakers. I couldn't find a pattern for this in the stores, but I finally found one online. I made them out of felt, so they would stand up and I added a cuff, since Jake has cuffs on his boots. Then i made the buckles out of the same fabric as the buttons and wonder-undered and zig-zagged the edges too. Some velcro in the back and elastic on the bottom and they were ready to go.

I just shipped up his costume, so I hope his Mom gets some really good pics of him wearing it for me. I can't wait to make his costume next year and one for his new little sister too!

I also plan on making myself a costume before Friday. I was invited to a Halloween party by one of my co-workers, so I need a costume STAT! I'm thinking of doing Little Red Riding Hood. I have tons of red fabric, so it should be pretty easy to whip up tonight. Just a cape (a short one) and I can wear a little dress underneath. Now there might be a hurricane coming this way for Friday or Saturday, so the costume might not even end up being used, but at least I'll have it all done. I hope to show off my costume in a couple of days.

Have you made your costume yet? What will you be this year?

Happy Halloween!

From me & my doggie Tiffi, and our fabulous pill-box hats