Sewing is a Treat, Not a Trick

Recently I was asked to sew a Halloween costume for a three year old girl - a very exciting proposition for me. When my children were young enough for trick or treating, I made almost all of their costumes, and so for years my Octobers were spent in a frenzy of sewing, stuffing, and shaping. To be asked to make one for this Halloween transported me back in time to those golden days of mothering.

It all began when Sarah Ferguson, a 5th grade teacher at Hershey, showed me this picture of a scarecrow costume in a catalog.

Pumpkin, black cat, and scarecrow costumes.

It cost $79, more than she wanted to pay. Knowing that I love to sew and am very fond of her three year old daughter, Grace, Sarah asked if I might be able to make the costume for her. As you can imagine, I leaped at the chance! After taking a look at the picture and talking to Sarah to make sure I was clear on what she wanted, I agreed.

We shopped together with Grace one afternoon after school at JoAnn's Fabrics. Total cost for materials? $15 - a far cry from $79.

Since I have several drawers full of patterns from the outfits I sewed for my children, we didn't buy one to make the costume. I figured I could adapt what I already had, so I got Grace's measurements and sorted through the children's patterns tucked away in my closet with my other sewing supplies.

Using one from a dress I'd made Lisa when she was little, I lengthened the pieces of the bodice and drew a pattern for shoulder straps that would button in the front. With the photo in the catalog as a guide, I added two large felt buttons to the straps and some patches to the bodice. I left some of the edges a bit rough to simulate the untidy look of a scarecrow.

 The finished bodice.

Next up was the skirt. Oh, dear, all that tulle... 

Shades of the disaster with the prom dress from last spring! But this skirt did not have 35+ pieces to layer and gather, so it was much simpler to construct. I cut three layers (brown, taupe, and orange sparkle on top), angled the sides so Grace wouldn't look like a tube of sausage, stitched the sides, and then layered and gathered the three skirts. I improvised a waistband out of the orange sparkle tulle, then strung elastic through it to further gather the tulle and to give the skirt a floaty look.

It turned out so beautiful!

Grace LOVES her costume, especially the skirt. As soon as she tried it on, she jumped onto the bed and began dancing and twirling around.

Actually, I think it is too big and would've liked to tailor it some, but Sarah is over the moon and  pleased with how it turned out. It was fun helping out a friend, and even more meaningful to be involved again in making someone's Halloween costume dreams come true.