This is the Halloween costume for the middle child. She saw a costume very similar in a catalog and wanted it. I used McCalls 5499, which has quite different lines, but I love this pattern and had enough yardage.
I'm not sure why I already had this crushed stretch velvet, but I did. In three colors, no less. The stretchiness makes it very forgiving. The real fun for me was the head piece. I found super big cotton cording and covered it with fabric and wrapped it with trim. It was like working with huge noodles. Or intestines. In an art installation kind of way.
It's sort of a weird feeling copying janky costumes from catalogs to make for them. These catalogs are not my favorite source material and it's unlikely if it's less expensive to sew them. But because I already had the fabric, it feels like it's free. Especially since I can't remember buying it. This one turned out really pretty and it doesn't itch at all, unlike the catalog ones. The next one I am finishing is a Movie Star costume, also copied from a costume catalog, which is highly questionable and definitely tacky. But whatever. It's been fun to make, too. I need to finish the fur stole, which again, is probably cheaper to buy. We did purchase one costume this year, for the 5 year old— cheerleader outfit. It has sequins, so, you know, it's an extra fancy cheerleader outfit. I got blank stares when I asked "who wants to be a maid?!"
Unrelated, (but in a way related to everything) I just read this quote from a book I am loving.
". . . once you begin to respect what you do —not in an egocentric way, but with appreciation and self-worth—then any activity becomes meaningful. Life is to be respected, appreciated, and lived full—instead of chastised or rushed through.
—Running with the Mind of Meditation, Lesson for Training The Body and Mind, by Sakyong Mipham
