HICCUP:
I don't have a step by step for this costume. It might actually be embarrassing to show you the steps on this. I went to Hancock Fabric and searched their scrap/discount fabric for the right color and wha-la, probably $5 for the shirt and the pants. The downside to being so cheap is that neither of the fabrics I used had any stretch, which would have been more comfortable for him, however he seemed happy enough. I used his favorite shirt as a template and just laid it on a sheet of painter's paper and drew the outline. (I did the same for the sleeves.) The pants I was not at home and ended up just using a pair of his pants and a Sharpie marker and traced them. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this technique but it was what it was. I ended up having to insert more fabric in the crotch area because I cut it narrow and the pants fit but there was basically a space in the middle. I used scrap fabric and snaps for a waist band and eyelets for the strings around the neck. I used the same basic principal for the vest, I used a shirt for the template and then cut and sewed it until I was happy with the result. The boots idea was adapted from Make it and Love it's Mary Poppins accessory tutorials.
TOOTHLESS:
This costume was super easy. Honestly, I took a couple of looks at the 'real' toothless and decided on buying a hoodie and sweatpants from Walmart and some felt and I 'winged it.' (You know because Toothless has wings. Ha, ha.) I cut the felt in the shapes I wanted it, wings tail etc, all very easy and for someone like myself who is not much of an artist I was pleased with the outcome. I un-stitched the seam along the front and middle of the hood so I could sew the spikes into the hood. Did some magic with the other stuff and he was done. (I have better pictures somewhere but can't find them at this juncture.)
RAPUNZEL:
My dear daughter changed her mind about a million times on who she wanted to be, she finally rested on Rapunzel. I knew I would have a hard time replicating the costume on my own so I splurged and bought the Simplicity Disney Tangeled Pattern. Oh Simplicity how I loath you. Honestly, it turned out beautiful and she is over the moon happy about the costume, but it was a PAIN. I bought all the supplies according to the pattern, satin, organza, lace, etc. After I started cutting the pattern out and reading the instructions I knew I was in trouble, the wording was so odd to me. I automatically called my go to lady, my Mom, and she agreed to help me sew. All would have been lost if not for that cute lady. She helped me sew and figure out the wording. My first mistake was buying satin and organza, both of these fabrics are super hard to sew on, I'm not sure what would have been a better choice, probably anything. Everything went downhill from there. Because of my choice in fabric the eyelets keep slipping out and fraying the satin. A kid spills anything and it stains the stuff. But it is beautiful.
VS. The showdown.
WINNER:
My opinion based on my skill level (which is minimal) is figure it out on your own rather than a pattern.
The Toothless and Hiccup costumes turned out great and I got it all from my head. Now because my head makes sense to me I did not have to call someone for advice or to translate it just did. Also I could make adjustments (like the one above on Hiccup's pants) and not worry too much both because the fabric was cheaper and because I knew I could figure it out.
All in all the pattern was super complicated and I spent three times the money and five times the time on Rapunzel than I did on Hiccup or Toothless. My stress levels though minimal now were skyrocketing thinking that I would never figure Rapunzel out and that my daughter would be disappointed this Halloween.
Hoping your Halloween was as fun and stressful as mine was. Maybe next year I'll be normal and buy costumes.
My mother-in-law bought that pattern and materials as well. The dress is gorgeous, but she also had a difficult time getting it together and even had to pull it apart completely a few times. (And she's a way experience sewer, she even worked at a dress factory back in the day)...so don't feel too bad about it being a pain! I wanted to do it from my head, and I may still make another one a bit bigger if my daughter continues to like Rapunzel, because I think her dress is so pretty. Great job on all of your costumes, they are so cute!
ReplyDelete(On a side note, my sister-in-law thought my daughter should have been Astrid, as well. Weird coincidence!)