Halloween! It's almost here, and if you regularly use a sewing machine that means it's time to think costumes. Stephanie of Swoodson Says has put together a great blog tour to help you out; Halloween Hacks; PDF Patterns Halloweenified. For my part of the tour, I'm going to show you how to take three simple patterns (a dress, pajama bottoms, and a raglan tee) to create a flexible, sit-down-able Robot Baby [in our house Robot Baby is always said in our best robot voices].
When faced with a request for a robot costume, many people turn to the trusty cardboard box. But The Peanut made this request when she was 3-years-old, and I just didn't see her hanging out in cardboard very long. So I headed to the fabric store to think. After walking all the aisles I found myself in the far back corner of the store where the foam lives. Huzzah! The green foam I used in making this costume measures 1/2" thick but very similar to this foam listed as 1". The best part of using foam for a costume is that, unlike cardboard, it bends -- your little robot will be able to sit for costume story hour at the library or the Halloween Parade in town.
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| Robot Baby sits! |
To make the main body of the robot, I used a simple a-line dress pattern similar to this one from The Lily Bird Studio. I made a couple of modifications and construction changes to accommodate the foam. First, I used one size larger than what would currently fit; then, I scooped the back neckline down to fit over The Peanut's head and removed the opening/closure. After cutting the foam and the silver vinyl from the pattern I then trimmed 1/4" away from the foam at the neckline and armscye and 1/2" off the bottom (again, just on the foam). I sewed the shoulder and side seams right sides together through all 4 layers: foam-front/vinyl-front/vinyl-back/foam-back. To finish the neckline and armholes, I used single fold bias tape which I stitched first to the outside of the vinyl, then folded to the wrong side and over the foam to stitch it in place trough the foam and vinyl. At the bottom I simply hemmed the vinyl and left the foam untouched. After that, I embellished to my heart's content with stick-on gems and sewn-on trim.
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| Experimenting is a large part of the fun when making costumes; wobbly stitching is okay, too. |
To make sure my Robot Baby [you read that with your robot voice, right?] was comfortable, I used two loose-fitting patterns for her arms and legs. I made robot legs with costume satin and simple Pajama Pants like this pattern from Ella Full of Grace. For the arms I used the same costume satin, but attached them to a gray knit bodice on a raglan tee like the Field Trip Raglan T-Shirt from Oliver + S.
To finish out the costume I created a head piece from a sparkly, silver plastic headband and pipe cleaners. I also made two back patches for Mr. Wren and myself with my trusty ink-jet printer and some muslin. We pinned them to our backs and TaDa! family costumes.
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| The ink streaked across the fabric when printing -- I like to pretend it adds a greasy, authentic look to the patch. |
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| Pre-blog, pre-camera, phone pics from the 2012 Halloween Parade. |
Just think of the costumes you can make with foam! This simple a-line shape can easily become a Dalek (for the Dr. Who fans), but you can also make boxes for train and car costumes, or cylinders for fire hydrants (yes, I knew of a little fire hydrant trick-or-treating a few years back).
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| While I was making this I was hunting for a way to get actual lights (battery-operated LEDs maybe?) onto the costume. Didn't happen, but wouldn't that have rocked?! |
Check out all of the other Halloween hacks on the blog tour!
BLOG TOUR!
Wednesday, October 1st: Rebekah Sews & Dog Under My Desk
Thursday, October 2nd: Friends Stitched Together & Sew Pandi
Friday, October 3rd: That’s What She Crafted & Everything Your Mama Made & More
Monday, October 6th: Shawnta Sews & Handmade Boy
Tuesday, October 7th: Muse of the Morning & Swoodson Says
Wednesday, October 8th: Call Ajaire & Sew McCool
Thursday, October 9th: Once Upon A Sewing Machine & imagine gnats
Friday, October 10th: The Sewing Geek & Feather’s Flights
Monday, October 13th: Get Your Crap Together & Needle and Ted
Tuesday, October 14th: The Shaffer Sisters & The Inspired Wren
Wednesday, October 15th: Pattern Revolution & Just Joshin
But wait! There's more… A SCAVENGER HUNT!
Time to go trick or treating! Use the Rafflecopter below for a digital scavenger hunt. You’ll be looking at each blog’s posts for the month of September to find this icon:
for a chance to win one of THREE awesome sewing prize packs! Three winners will be chosen randomly (and their form completion verified) and emailed within 3 days of the hunt’s closure.
A big thank you to all the sponsors who donated prizes!
Pack 2 {$30 to The Fabric Fairy + Kids Pattern Package from imagine gnats}
Pack 3 {$30 to Fat Quarter Shop + 2 patterns from Everything Your Mama Made & More +Ramblin’ Raglan Mega Pattern Pack from Muse of the Morning}
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Ren Murphy writes for The Inspired Wren.
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You should really see all that goes into each project!
From my marathon sewing sessions, to all that I do when I should be sewing, catch daily updates on Instagram (and Flickr) of works-in-progress. Get that behind the scenes view you’re looking for, and sneak peeks of First Tuesday Tutorials, too.
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