Oct 19, 2013

Bewitched!


This week's challenge for Refashion Runway was Halloween.  I love costumes, so this was a fun one for me.  In fact, if you'd like to see some of my previous costumes (or some by my family members) over the years, you can click on the costume category in the side bar.  Make sure when you get to the bottom of the page that you click on "older posts" to see more of them.  Anyway, onto the challenge...

I began with six thrifted items that I had in my stash—a blouse, skirt, dress, jumper, brocade dress, and sweater.


I'll try to break down the process the best I can.  




The Overskirt



I cut the jumper at the waist, then cut the bottom half into angled strips.


I also cut the dress at the waist and followed the angled pattern, cutting it into strips also.



The last green strip on the front edge was folded in half, then sewn to give it a finished edge.  I left a space in the front when I reattached the top and bottom so that the final look would show the skirt underneath.


I did cut the neckline a bit lower and added trim to finish the edges.  (Not shown.)

The Brocade Jacket


I separated the top of the dress from the skirt, then cut the top up the center.


I cut away some of the sleeve length and saved the excess portion for my witch's spats.


I bound the front edges with leather.




When finished with the leather binding, follow the manufacturer's instructions to add eyelets.

To make the peplum, use scrap fabric for draping.  When finished with draping, your pattern should look something like below.  Note:  The curved edge is what gets pleated, the straight edge will actually become the curve of the finished peplum.



The width and length measurements will be used for the peplum lining.


Cut the lining about 1 1/2" shorter than the length and the width.







Stitch your peplum to the jacket.

The Spats


Okay, these were rather tricky.  I'll just tell you that up front.  But maybe you'll get somewhat of an idea from the process pictures.











When finished, I added some decorative buttons to the front.  I also added a large velvet button on each side of the heel and connected them with an elastic hair tie.  This cinched up the back of the spat a bit.  I also stuffed the curled toes with a bit of fiberfil.


The Hat



I measured the circumference of my head and drew a circle in the center of the brim.  I cut the circle 1/2" in to allow for seam allowance.




Note: The underside of my brim is purple since I didn't have enough black felt.



I used 17 gauge electrical fencing wire.  It's what I had on hand.



After stitching, trim away the excess at the seams.  If desired, cover the cut edge with ribbon or lining.  Trim out your hat however you choose.

The Leggings





 The Blouse

 The only things I had to do to the blouse was to take it in a little on the sides, and add wire to the collar.  I used the same 17 gauge wire as for the hat.



The Skirt


The skirt was dyed a deeper purple.  I left the bottom edge in longer to try and give it an ombre effect.


It was a beautifully foggy morning...perfect for us witches!




And, it was the perfect evening for flying!


This was a fun costume to create.  I figured the total cost for the thrifted clothing, including the boots, was under $12.  That's a pretty bewitching price!  Be sure to check out the amazing costumes going on in the competition at the Renegade Seamstress and vote for your favorite!  (Update: Voting is over for this challenge.)

Thanks!

I like to link to these great parties!

27 comments:

  1. So much to love! The mixture of colours, the spats and hat and broom, the attention to detail and the creativity - and then the perfect setting to photograph in ... what a wonderful job you did! I'm off to look at your other costumes listed in the sidebar now ...

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    1. ... I'm back and all I can say is WOW! You must have a ball making and wearing these! (and your kiddos, too) Very creative! I loved to make costumes for my kids when they were young. Maybe my husband and I need to find - or host - a costume party some time :)

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  2. Holy hocus pocus, girl!! That's a magical transformation! I suspect a win for you this week!

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  3. Oh WOW!!! What an amazing outfit - that one is gonna be hard to top. I hope you get to go to a party and have some fun wearing it. thanks for the how-to. I really appreciate the effort that it takes to do this. I have learned heaps from your refashions. thanks .

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  4. This week's entries were all so good, it was hard to pick a winner...but I think you might just be in-front by a whisker. I can't wait to see more of your refashions :)

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement! It was a fun challenge, but now I've got to get busy on the next one!

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  5. Ah, this is cool , I love your outfit! Happy Walloween ;)

    hugs from Brazil

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  6. Wow, Susan!! This is outstanding! I love all of your details.

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    1. Thanks Trish, your butterfly dress was beautiful. My husband and I really liked the colors of it!

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  7. Susan when I saw your submission on Renegades blog yesterday I was blown away! You are the winner in my book--hands down! Thanks for taking time to give us this wonderful, detailed tutorial. You are amazing!

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    1. Thanks Diane! The competition is pretty fierce right now. Thank you also for appreciating the time it takes to do the tutorial. Hopefully, it will be helpful to some!

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  8. This is amazing...I can't stop looking at it and being truly amazed by it. I wish I could be a fly on your wall in your sewing room and just watch the process that goes on from start to finish on one of your sewing projects.

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    1. Thanks! I don't know how exciting it would be to be that fly. There is a lot of sitting, thinking, staring, draping, then staring, thinking, and finally sewing. Not to mention the mind going full steam when I finally quit for the night and try to sleep! My best purchase for my sewing room (besides the machine, of course) was my dress form. I love being able to put the project on the form and drape and pin, then stand back to look at it. Sometimes I'll drape something in place, then go about my normal day, coming back to my sewing room on occasion to just look at the project to decide what to do. I honestly don't know how the Project Runway contestants complete their projects is such a short time!

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  9. Susan, What a fantastic job you did this week! (You got my vote!) I just wanted to come over here to tell you congrats. The other ladies all also did a great job, but I really loved all the little details you put into your creation. Well done!!!

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    1. Thanks for your vote!! I thought all the costumes were great, too. I had such fun doing all the little details, even though they took some time and head scratching!

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  10. Wow, Susan, you really put a lot of work into this! Your eye for detail is amazing, and all those accessories - fantastic!

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  11. This is a fantastic costume, Susan! I love the combination of bright, whimsical colors and prints! All of the details really pushed it over the edge and made in fabulous! And my hat is off to you for those amazing spats! So creative!

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  12. Oh Susan, this seriously is one of the best witch costumes I've ever seen. I love how detailed you made this post and I can't see what else you create next. Wonderful!

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    1. Thanks Magda! It was a fun costume to make. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  13. Congratulations on winning this week! Sam and I are so happy for you. Awesome job ... as always!

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    1. Thanks Heather (and Sam!) for your support. It's been fun having a new challenge each week, but my sewing room is sure wiped out!

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  14. Susan, you are a great artist. What a fantastic costume! Thanks for the inspiration to create fashion by re-purposing. Time for me to haul my old junk out of the closet and garage. My favorite item: the spats. WOW!! LOVE them!

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    1. Thanks! It was a fun outfit to put together...and, it helped reduce my pile of "old junk" since it used so many pieces!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the feedback and always look forward to reading what you have to say! Susan