To be completely honest, I've been dreading Halloween all summer... how could I ever top the Pharoah and the Sphinx? *sigh*
I almost made them hippies (inspired by some of our neighbors, which would have been a bit unfortunate...), when I came across this super adorable fabric at Stonemountain one day and thought, hey, that kinda look like Bryson...
And a couple of yards of flannel and lace, a pair of thrift-store reading glasses, and a few hours of quality time with my sewing machine later...
Voila! Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf aka Grandma materialized:
Nothing will ever top the pharaoh and the sphinx, but I have to say I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
Bryson's "outfit" is basically a lacy-shower-cap-type-thing, plus a coat with more lace (he has to channel "grandma"). I used the same flannel as the inside of Eva's cape, and based it loosely on a few shower cap tutes I found online.
For the best Big Bad Wolf Posing as Grandma look, you want the ears to show. I contemplated making a bigger cap and cut holes for the years, but I wasn't sure if I had enough lace, so I made a smaller one that sit between the ears.
For this effect, you wanna eyeball the amount of real estate between your doggy's ears, and cut out a piece of round fabric a few inches bigger (for the rim and puff-factor). Then cut out a piece of lace (the more grandma-sy the better) and pin it all around the flannel:
Sew the lace on near the inside edge, then another line about 1/2" on the outside. Then, I was supposed to have 2 pieces of elastic, one threaded through the 2 lines of stitches to cinch it, and another that'll go around his chin to secure it. I was lazy and just used one continuous piece, and I didn't even bother sewing them in place... they were all safety-pinned (shh...). Oh well, it's a pile of lace on top of a dog head. It's good enough.
Oh, and for optimal puffiness, stuff it with tissue:
And for Eva's cape, I looked and looked and found mentions of a couple of patterns in a 2 sewing books. I looked through the reviews, I compared the projects, I debated which one's better...
I broke down and bought both.
I can't help it, look how adorable they both are!
First is the Oliver + s book by Liesl Gibson. You may be familiar with their super adorable kid's clothing pattern. I love the retro twist. Sooo cute...
Then I got the Growing Up Sew Liberated book by Meg McElwee. So many beautiful and practical projects for babies and kids.
See, both capes are on the covers! I browsed through both, and based on the time I have (not much) and how much the cape I think will be used (not much), I opted for the easier one from the sew liberated book.
As you can see, it's basically a semi-circular piece (or 2 if you want it lined) of fabric with a hood attached to it. This is my first time making anything with a hood. One trick I found out is that if you use thicker fabrics (like I did, I used 2 layers of flannel, I imagine fleece or velvet would be the same), see how thick the seams get? Make sure you clip the curves really well, and I clipped the seams a little too to make it less bulky.
Another trick to up the cute-factor? Find a really gorgeous button! It's really front and center in this outfit, so make sure you choose well. For the sweet fairy-tale look, I chose a really big and woodsy button.
Oh, and one more thing I've observed from this pattern. The hood is really pointy. I've rounded it off just a litte, but it's still gnome-ish. If that's what you want, that's great. I'll probably use a round plate to round it off some more next time (if there's one).
So there. Another Halloween! Now that my sewing brain is tickled, I'm really looking for more time to whip up a few more things this holiday... We shall see.
