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?

Superhero Capes

So I know this little guy who's turning 4 this weekend. (He just happens to be the son of one of my best friends, Kristina.) And this little superhero wanted a super birthday party, where, of course, it would all be about superheroes, but most of all Ironman--cause Ironman is awesome.

To make this birthday really super, I made capes for all of his little guests. I found a great tutorial on Creative Kismet for superhero capes and adapted it. Making the capes was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I just pretty much eyeballed cutting them and then serged the edges. I also made the tabs out of fabric and serged those too. Then I just attached them with a straight stitch. I made the capes in red, yellow and blue, so everyone could choose their favorite color.

Once they were all made, I couldn't figure out what to do with the backs of the capes, initials, symbols, the possibilities were endless. But then I figured the kids could all decorate their own capes (plus it would keep them entertained for a while). I attached circles of white felt on the back and then put out my fabric markers, so the kids could decorate them however they wanted. This was a huge hit. As soon as the first kid made their cape , everyone ran over to make one. The kids got busy decorating and grabbing markers. There were kids ranging in age from 3 to 10 and all of them loved making their capes. Check out the birthday boy working on his.

I decided to opt for velcro neck closures instead of the ribbons for safety purposes. This way if they got caught on anthing the capes would release easy. (As we all know there can be serious danger in cape wearing--just ask Edna Mode. LOL)

Both the kids and the parents were wild about the capes. It was awesome to see all those capes running around in the backyard. And each one was so different. The kids really made them their own.
So what do you think of them. Aren't they cute? I loved seeing all the kids dressed as superheroes!