Tangled Hair

I think my kids finally decided on what they are going to be for Halloween. It is a very difficult decision because they are both totally in love with costumes and dressing up. Finally I put my foot down and told them to choose. Elizabeth chose Rapunzel from Tangled. She already has the dress but in order to really become Rapunzel she needs the long, golden hair.

Enter mom and grandma. We started with golden yarn. We used the entire spool cutting pieces about 90 inches long. Once the entire spool was cut we split the pieces into 3 sections. Then I added a purple ribbon to one of the sections. I twisted each section just to keep the yarn tight and in place. Then I tied the sections together using a rubber band at the top.

Next we braided the sections together, tightly. (This is very important because the yarn comes loose if it is not braided tight. If you want a thicker braid just use more yarn.) I used a rubber band to hold the bottom of the braid together. Then I measured the braid around her head to make a large loop (make sure this is tight or a little smaller than her head because the yarn stretches). I held the loop in place with another rubber band and tuck the end underneath the braid. Then I covered each rubber band with a ribbon tie. You can also add flower clips or glue flowers to the yarn for the full tangled effect.

Elizabeth has been running around the house talking about how beautiful her magical hair is and how much she loves the braid. I think it really completes the outfit, bare feet and all.

Cowboy Costume

October 1st, my favorite month. Aside from being on baby watch I whipped up a quick cowboy costume for Jackson for cowboy day at his preschool. He already had a base, a plaid shirt and jeans. All he needed was to cowboy it up a bit. So I made a vest using a shirt as a pattern. All you need is two front panels and 1 back panel. I used suede so I didn't even finish off the edges. I added a yellow felt star to the front. Then he needed some boots. This is a little more tricky.

Here is what I did:

 I started with brown suede and cut a pattern based on his calf width and the length of his lower leg.

 Then I cut a "u" shape for the bottom of the boot (the foot section).

 Next I used wonder under and ironed on some batting to both the leg and foot sections.

 I finished off the top of the boot with some bias tap, enclosing the batting and suede together. This also gets rid of a raw edge on the top of the boot.

 Then I attached the foot flap to the bottom of the leg piece with RST. Then fold the boot in half with RST and sew up the sides making a tube shape.

The boots fit over his shoes and the batting keeps them stiff and upright. We finished the look off with a foam hat from Joann's.

He loved it. He was so cute trying it on, telling me that "it looks great mom, thanks." And he wore it for 3 days straight. Pretty good for an hour project and no pattern. Maybe he will wear it for Halloween, probably not because the kid loves costumes and changes his mind daily.

Darth Vader Costume T-shirt

My son loves costumes and dressing up. He has a big imagination and becomes a new character every day, sometimes a few different ones throughout the day. Lately he has really been excited about Star Wars (it was on TV so we tried it out, instantly hooked). He saved up his money doing chores around the house to buy a Darth Vader costume. Unfortunately Target did not have the whole costume just the light saber and mask. So I suggested I make him one. At only 4 years old, he is still easily please and was so excited for mom to make him a Darth Vader costume.

 I used a plain black t-shirt (it is really hot right now so we went with the short sleeves) and added some felt. I pretty much just cut out the pieces and hand sewed them onto the shirt. I created the button panel and the belt on the shirt. Then we used a pair of black pants for the bottoms. He was so happy with the final product he wore it for 3 days and nights straight (I had to pry it off of him and immediately throw it in the wash).

 

 

He walked around the house for a week sneaking up on me in his new outfit and mask, scaring me and then whipping off the mask saying, "Ah mom, it's just me Jackson." What a funny kid!

Tinkerbell Costume

My daughter is so excited to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. I know it is unimaginative and boring but that's what the girl wants...and she is determined. So I decided to make the best Tinkerbell costume ever! I started with a tutu naturally, light green, white, and sparkle green tulle. Then I used green costume satin to make the bodice. It is lined with fabric covered buttons up the back. I cut out leaf shapes and added those to the bottom. And to make it a little more modest I added leaves to the shoulders as well. Finish it off with sparkly silver shoes, wings, and you have the perfect Tinkerbell costume.

How to make hair like Jack's!

About a month ago I was at Costco with my kids and we browsed the Halloween costumes for ideas. Jackson immediately wanted the Jack Sparrow costume. At that time it was only $15 so I figured "what the heck" and bought it expecting him to change his mind by Halloween. Well he didn't. He loves it and wears it almost every day. Talk about getting my money's worth.

The costume is decent but needed a few adjustments. One thing that I noticed first off was the hair. It was stringy and light brown. SO NOT JACK SPARROW. So I changed it. I used this beautiful brown yarn that had hints of red and black. I cut it into long pieces and bunched them into groups of 10-15 strings. Then I used clear rubber bands to hold the yarn in place. Some of the bunches I braided, and some I just made into loose pony tails. In the front I left a few loose strands that I strung beads onto.

 Then I took a bandanna and some red felt. I took strips of felt that I sewed the yarn to, sandwiching the yarn in between two strips. Then I sewed the felt strips to the bandanna in four clusters; two on the front and one on each side going towards the back.

It is perfect and he LOVES wearing the hair. He is officially Captain Jack.

Disney Pirate

My son loves all things pirates. Doesn't matter what pirate he loves them all. His favorites are Jack Sparrow and Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (Disney). There is tons of girl dress up clothing out there but not a lot of boy stuff. So I decided to make Jack a Jake costume that he can wear when he is pretending to be a pirate. I didn't have a pattern I just made it up but I was pretty easy.

SHIRT
First I took a white collared shirt that had a few stains on it. I cut off the sleeves in a zig zag and I cut off the collar. Then I cut the button strip off the front of the shirt. I sewed up the the middle of the shirt about 2/3 from the bottom with the right sides together. I also stitched the open edges down to even it out. Then I cut holes in the top open section and threaded some leather stripping.






VEST
For the vest you will need:

3/4 yard navy blue felt
1 package of yellow quilt binding
4 yellow buttons

Step 1: Begin by tracing a t-shirt creating a pattern. You will only need the front and back, no sleeves. Then I used my white shirt collar to create a collar pattern. Next you will need to make 2 triangles for the front part of the collar. Pin all your pattern pieces to the felt and cut out your pattern.
***For the back you need to cut on the fold. For the front you need to cut two pieces. For the collar and triangles cut 2 of each piece. I also cut under wonder for each piece, to give it the stiffness.

Next attach the under wonder to 1 of each of the triangles and collar piece. Then you will attach the other fabric pieces creating a stiff collar and triangles.

Now you will attach the under wonder to one of each triangle and the collar piece. Then attach the other triangles and collar piece. This will make the pieces stiff. Don't worry about the raw edges, they will be covered by the binding.

Step 2: Attach the shoulders of the front and back right sides together.Step 3: Attaching the collar

Now you will attach the collar to the vest right sides together.
Press the collar up and lay the vest down with the front facing up. This gets tricky...Attach the triangles to the front of the vest and the collar.
Step 4: Attaching the binding.

Now you need to pin the binding all around the vest. You will need to do it in pieces and several times you will need to finish off the binding to make a nice edge. If you need directions on this see here.

Sew it down to the vest and add your buttons.

DONE! Add some basic blue pants and a red scraf...Arrrhhh.