Isa wanted to be Queen Boudica. She needed a leather armored chestplate and she also likes corsets, so I created a heavy leather corset which looked very armor-y. I used a leather needle but this leather was so thick I had to manually help the wheel on my sewing machine with just about every stitch! Luckily the seams weren't very long, but there were four of them. She also wanted a plaid cloak. The fabric arrived on the 31st, so we didn't have time to cut it into a semi-circular type cloak and it ended up being draped. The leather, which a friend gave me, is tough enough for shoe soles, and in fact, I did use it to make the boot soles for the last costume described here.
Here's my costume.
The main thing was, I got the idea that I would use up some fabric from my stash that had no other chance of emerging from the closet. I started sewing this dress on Halloween, having cut most of it the day before. I used a regular peasant-type dress pattern but cut the sleeves bigger and let them dangle instead of gathered at the wrist. I wasn't sure what it was going to be, so I asked my husband, and he said "Fortune Teller!"
Eamon is happy with just about any costume and I picked this for him. He is a big Monty Python fan. All the materials for this I had in my stash except for the pleather which was new from the Denver fabrics closeout. That darn lion applique was supposed to be ironed on with a fusible but it wouldn't stick to the nylon taffeta. I had to sew it on by hand, and no, I couldn't just pick regular thread, but a metallic thread that kept fraying! I made the boots with pleather uppers and thick leather soles. The toes weren't intended to be curled up but that's how they came out and it has a very funny effect. I had this metallic knit which I used for the sleeves. The sleeves were attached to one of his old T-shirts he wasn't wearing any more.
Next year? I guess I'll try to start earlier.
