Costume FUN!

Sometimes I take the Grandma role seriously. Like in late September, when my youngest granddaughter, age 4, wanted to “come and sew”. Her mommy came along and talked about Halloween and the costume the kiddo had in mind. The young one has a one track mind, and she is not likely to forget the “GREAT IDEA” that she had 2 or 3 weeks prior. She had mentioned her planned costume at least twice previously! She was going to be TINKERBELL for Halloween and needed some Grandma Moofie help.

As they explained to me what the costume would look like, they asked me for help with one aspect. They wanted to drape a garland of leaves around the shoulders & neckline of the top she would wear. A quick search on Google gave us lots of images to look at, and one that stuck with me was something on Pinterest —https://www.pinterest.com/pin/720646377865548172/ , and that took the “GREAT IDEA” into a reality.

We picked through a stack of green fat quarters, and made a template, and I put my daughter to work with a rotary cutter. She cut the leaves out, and cut batting scraps and my granddaughter and I got busy sewing. Grandma guided the machine on slow speed, and the 4 year old used the stop/start button to do the stitching.

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I decided we needed a few more after they left to go home, so I stitched up another batch and brought them into the kitchen to turn after dinner. (They still needed pressing and top stitching.)

I measured the “drape” around her shoulders and came up with a length that I thought would work. I cut a 2″ wide strip of fabric the length I wanted, then folded and pressed, first in half, then folding the edges to the middle and pressing again. (Much like you do when making apron ties or mask ties.) I inserted each leaf in the gap, overlapping a bit. This is where that basket of little clips came in SO handy. I put matching thread in my machine, and stitched a narrow zig-zag along the edge to catch the leaf in the layers of the strip. When it was all finished and pressed again, this is what it looks like.

leaf drape

I used snaps to attach to the collar ribbing on the shirt at the shoulders. Just one snap at each shoulder on the shirt. I draped the leaves on the shirt and picked a point that would be right for the drape and attached the other half of the snap to the leaf garland. At the back of the garland, where the tails come together, I put one set of snaps on the edges of the tie section. This makes it completely removable, and the shirt just has 2 little snap sections left in the neck ribbing at the shoulder. The shirt is from a set of pajamas ordered for just this occasion, but will be well worn this winter after Halloween is over. Costumes out of pajama base make for little waste at Halloween.

I love helping with the kids and their costumes, especially with a lot of lead time. This costume was helped along by Auntie Moose, who found the perfect set of Tinkerbell wings at the Dollar Tree. Not sure where the wonderful tulle tutu came from, but it will be glorious in the dress up bin for the year ahead. Grandpa has ideas that the color of the green is perfect for a Christmas garland and a St Patrick’s day garland! He is SO helpful!

The 4 year old and her friends from pre-school will gather for a little “distantly social” Halloween party “out in the countryside” at a friends home, and do “TRUNK OR TREAT”. The idea is to limit exposure and contact with strangers going house to house, but still have a fun celebration.

Tinkerbell at Trunk or Treat party

I’d say the costume was a success and I was happy to play a small part. (You know I used those quilting skills, even if it is NOT a quilt!)

Do you enjoy sewing costumes for kids?? Or adults?