Butterick 4910 & Simplicity 2561

Well, back to the costumes.  But this is the last one - really!  Myra's Red Riding Hood dress is sweet, but without the hood (which she won't wear), really isn't very much like a costume, and really isn't very Renaissance-y, so I decided to make her a princess dress for the Ren Faire.

She chose pink, naturally.  I saw it as an excuse to use up this wretched poly taffeta that she made me buy.  It was also a nice way to finish off the trim that I used on my dress.  Yay for stash busting!

The dress is Butterick 4910, and the belt (?) is from Simplicity 2561.  The Simplicity pattern got a lot of use last Halloween when I dressed a pirate band.  It's a fun costume pattern with lots of different options.  I suspect that I will use it again.  Butterick 4910 has been in the stash for a while.  It is a simple peasant style top and dress as well as shorts and pants.  Butterick claims that it is not to be used for sleepwear, although the line drawing on the pattern shows a bunch of cute girls with their blankies all ready for bed...  Anyway, it has very simple lines and was a quick sew.

I borrowed the sleeve treatment from Joy's cute medieval dress.  It is just elastic shirring on the upper arms.

For the lace up belt/corset thingie I used some darker rose satin from the stash and the waistband pattern piece for one of the pirate skirts.  It's lined with the pink taffeta of the main dress, which I interfaced with heavy craft interfacing to give it structure.  Sort of a training corset, if you will.  I don't think a 2 year old needs boning...  I did attach it to the dress with a line of stitching at center back.  Myra doesn't have much waist definition at this point, and I didn't want it to slide around.

I think the sleeves might be a little long.  I can't decide if I want to hem them up a little, or just let them be long.  She'll drag them through everything she eats either way.
At least now we are all ready for the Ren Faire!  And just in time - we go next weekend!!!  More pictures then...

Renaissance Costumes

Yesterday we took our trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival, and the kiddos all wore their costumes! Here are Peter Pan and Wendy. His tunic is Butterick 4632 and his leggings are Ottobre 04/04-38. Her dress was made from Simplicity 5695 by my friend Laurie. It was her first time sewing clothing and I think she did a great job!!
Another shot of Peter Pan. It was a little tricky getting a good picture of him...
Here is my little pirate lass. Her costume is Simplicity 2561, except for her peasant blouse, which is Simplicity 5695. She wouldn't keep her hat on, of course.
Here is our entire little band. Whew, was it tough getting a decent picture of all four of them!

Ren Fest sewing: Pirates done!

After all that delicate wedding sewing, it was pretty nice to get back to plain old jersey and broadcloth. Whew! My iron was so relieved to finally get back to the "Yay, natural fibers" setting after being set to "Don't melt the polyester" for so long.

Of course, first up was to finish the pirate costumes for our trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival.
To complete the "look" I made a couple of fringed sashes. They are just big rectangles, sewn and turned with fringe stuck in the ends. Easy, but effective.I couldn't imagine our wee pirate lasses wanting to wear the coats for long, particularly since it is frequently still quite warm in October. So I made a couple of quick peasant blouses from Simplicity 5695, which you have seen before here. This is such a great pattern! I know I am going to get tons of use out of it. This version is made out of jersey, for comfort. I gathered the sleeves with clear elastic. Whoever invented that stuff should be sainted!! That was the easiest gathering I have ever done. It stretches like a mad fiend. I'd never have been able to get regular elastic to do that. The pattern calls for you to make a bias tape casing, which is fiddly to do. This was way easier! The neckline is cased the traditional way, since I didn't want a ruffle in the girls faces. Besides, I think this is a more traditional peasant blouse look. I also followed the sage advice of my friend Britta and made the top long, so that next year I can use it as a chemise. You can't see the extra length in the photo, since I tucked the blouse into the skirt. Myra will just need an overskirt for next year and she'll be the cutest 2 year old bar wench ever! Good call, Britta!

Although I didn't include them in this photo, there is also a pair of ridiculously cute (and easy to make) hats. You can see them here. The hats, along with the coats and skirts were made with Simplicity 2561, which also conveniently has an overskirt/baby corset that will be perfect with Myra's chemise. We are so set for next year!

Ren Fest sewing: Pirate hats

I had thought that I would save these for the week after the wedding in that nonspecific "when I have time" period, which I fear would mean that they would never get done, but since I don't have my bridal fabrics yet, I decided to move forward with the pirate gear, and so I made up these hats. I'm glad that I did. I really think that they will "make" these costumes!

Wow, were they quick and easy! I have made a hat of this style before, but with 6 panels and lined. This one is only 4 panels and is not lined. The Jolly Roger is just fused on with Heat and Bond. The pattern calls for you to glue the brim up to the crown, but I stitched it up there. I think it will hold better than glue would. I did think about lining it, but it is a costume, and really, what are the odds that two toddlers are actually going to wear their hats for any reasonable length of time?? The four panel version was SOOO much easier than a 6 panel! These went together like a dream.Myra likes it!

There was one little area that I just couldn't get, and messed up on both hats! When you attach the cap to the brim, the instructions say to pin the RIGHT side of the brim to the WRONG side of the crown, and in the picture, you end up with a seam in the inside of the hat, but both times my seam ended up on the outside. What did I do? Fortunately, the brim folds up over the seam. I trimmed it really close and ran a zigzag over the seam allowance, so you really can't tell.Can you?

Ren Fest sewing, Part 2: Pirate coat the second - done

Since I don't have the fabric for Kali's dress yet, I went ahead and finished Lily's coat. Other than the size changes I made, I also remembered to put the gold trim the whole way round the hem of the coat, which I forgot on Myra's.
I also decreased the sleeve cap by about 1/4 inch, tapering to nothing at the ease dots. On a sleeve that small it was a pretty big change, but there was still plenty of fabric to ease there. No gathers this time, though, so it was enough. I also didn't do a double folded hem. I overcast the hem edge and folded it under once. Definitely easier, but not as pretty. I resigned myself to the fact that this pattern is a costume and drafted to be a costume.

I still need to make the hats and some white tops for underneath. I was thinking some sweet little peasant blouses would be perfect and in keeping with the pirate theme. That way, even if the girls don't want to wear the coats, we can just tie a sash around their waists and they'll still look like wee pirates.

Ren Fest sewing, Part 3: Pirate coat the second

Since I didn't have my pattern yet for Kali's dress, I decided to go ahead and alter the pirate coat pattern to fit Lily. Here you can see the pattern after I added 2 inches of length, and took in 2 inches of total width (1/2 inch from each pattern piece, front and back). When you do this, don't forget to alter your facings as well, and if you change the neckline, you may need to adjust the collar.I realize that in my last post I said that I would take it in and then lengthen it, but I wanted to correct myself. Everything that I have ever read about fitting says to alter length, then width, so that is what I actually did. I got it all cut out and ready to go, but it will have to take a backseat for the moment. Wedding first!

Ren Fest sewing, Part 2: Pirate coat the first

Today Vogue patterns are $3.99 at Hancock's, and what timing! I'm heading out to get the pattern for Kali's dress and some muslin so that I can get going, but in the meantime, I managed to get the first of the pirate coats finished.

Those girls are going to be so darn cute!! I still have Lily's to make. Since she is so slim, I am actually going to use Myra's pattern (which is the smallest size) and take it in even further to fit Lily, then lengthen it in the body and sleeves. I am also planning to reduce the sleeve cap somewhat. Easing this sleeve in was ridiculous! The cap is way to high for the armscye. I also think that for the next iteration, I won't do a double folded hem. It was too fussy. Not quite curved enough to need to be eased, but curved enough to make me want to swear. I'll just overcast the edge and turn it under.

Here is Myra, modeling her outfit so far. We've got a little midriff showing, so I think we'll need a little white shirt for underneath. And some different shoes. I'm not thinking pirates were into bright green sandals.

And I don't think she's a fan of the lace...

So, one more coat and a couple of hats, but first a wedding dress!! I'm so excited!

Ren Fest sewing, Part 1:Pirate skirts

Well, it seems that I need to get myself in gear on these pirate costumes, as my sewing time just got a little more complicated. More on that later.

For now, I finished the skirts for my merry pirate band! Can you tell that the two fair maidens are VERY different in scale? Lily is long and lean and Myra is well, round.
This is a surprisingly nice pattern, considering that it is a costume pattern. There is a separate waistband cut on the cross grain, which is pretty cute. The pattern instructed you to gather the skirt into the waistband right sides together, then just fold it over and sew it with no edge finish, which is a bit shoddy in my mind, so I turned the edge under. Made for a nice tight casing! The pattern did call for this cute lace trim.
It is just pregathered lace and gold braid stitched above the hem. I like how it turned out! I stitched the gold on with invisible thread, which is the first time I had ever used it in my machine. Let me just say - that stuff is strong!! At one point the thread got caught on the spool and rather than breaking, it bent my needle! That gold braid ain't goin' anywhere, y'all.

Next, I've got a couple of red coats to make.

Project planning:Ren Fest

Now that Logan's Peter Pan costume is done, I'm turning my attention to the two wee pirate lasses in our fair band. Myra and Lily will be all dressed up as the wee pirate maid in the middle, with the red coat, black and white striped skirt and black pirate hat.

Mitch already has a great pirate shirt. Here he is at our first Ren Fest together. He doesn't like these pants, though. They are too hot for Texas in October. And I agree that the look isn't very pirate-y.Mitch wants some pants like this guy, who we saw the last time we went.

I'm not sure he's very pirate-y either, but I do think his pants are cool. It looks like just strips with a waist and knee band, but I haven't found a pattern quite like them. I think the ventilated aspect is what draws Mitch, but he'd still have to wear tights or some other under layer, so I think it'd still be pretty hot. I bought this pattern because I LOVE Captain Jack, but the pant pattern really isn't anything particularly special and I am confident that he won't be wearing a coat. It is just too hot. So, I'm not going to waste my time on one.

What about me? Well, I already have a corset and dress. I don't love them and they aren't very pirate-y either, but they will do.

If I have time, I'd like to make a new corset and a knee length peasant dress (maybe in a stripe like the girl's skirts?) although I'm kind of digging this pattern. We'll just have to see what I have time for...