Trunk or Treat 2019

This year's costumes for the annual trunk or treat really began about a year and half ago when my husband and I saw movie props from Guardians of the Galaxy at a pop culture museum in Seattle.  We thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to dress as Star Lord and Gomora?"  The thought hung around awhile, but then left when everyday life kept me occupied with more important things.

Then one day I made a quick stop at Goodwill.  I was about to leave when the thought occurred to me to check the men's leather coats on the really off chance that there would be a red leather jacket in my husband's size.  I mean, what would be the odds?  Apparently, pretty good!  There just happened to be said jacket...half price...and senior discount!  All in all, a very thrifty $9.00!

A Pirate's Life!

It's that time of year again!  When I was a kid, this was the time of year when we opened up the large steamer trunk to an explosion of costumes!  I have always had a thing for costumes.  Now that I'm older, though, I don't have a steamer trunk...I have a whole room!  With the kids leaving the nest one by one, I commandeered one of the bedrooms recently and turned it into my very own costume room.  I love it!

Now this year, I could have just went to the room and picked a costume to wear to our annual church Harvest Carnival, and even though we decided on a pirate theme and had enough pirate attire, I just felt the desire to update it a bit.

I really wanted a leather corset to wear, and since I had recently picked up two leather coats for $1 each, I knew that it was going to be on my list of things to do.

The main coat was black, had big poofy sleeves, and two-toned leather inserts.  The other one (not pictured) was a men's bomber style jacket and was only going to be used for trim.

I thought about ordering a pattern from Harlots and Angels, but since I was repurposing I thought it might be hard to follow the pattern with everything that was already going on with the coat.  I did use one of their corsets for inspiration, though.  

(Image source: Harlots and Angels)

If you're not repurposing, I highly recommend buying a pattern...they have some really awesome designs!

I figured that since the shoulders already had some curve to them, they would make a good start to the bodice.  So, after opening all the seams to make the coat lay relatively flat, and taking measurements to get the right size and shape, I made the cut from each sleeve.

This became the front of my corset.  The back of the corset was cut from the back of the coat.  From there, it was a matter of placing it on my dress form and working with it to get the right fit.  I wish I had more process photos, but this was a trial and error kind of project.  It took some time, but I'm very happy with the results!

Refashion Runway: The Riverside Blue Challenge

Well, here we are on the last week of Refashion Runway!  It's been a lot of fun this season.  The ladies who have participated are all so talented and friendly!  Beth, The Renegade Seamstress, has been the perfect hostess, as always!

This last challenge consisted of refashioning something in Pantone's color of the fall season, Riverside Blue.  I always find the color challenges a bit harder since you are limited as to what you can find in the thrift shops.  But, sometimes those limits help to push the creativity.

My challenge began with a black leather coat that I had in my stash.  I picked it up for $2.00, stored it away and forgot about it.  When I came across it again, I thought it might work well for this challenge.  All I needed was some denim in the right color.

The Leather Challenge

This week on Refashion Runway, the challenge was leather.  As has been throughout this whole competition, I have only used things that are in my refashion stash.  I had a couple of leather items to choose from.  A black coat and a grey suede shirt.  I preferred the grey over the black, so that's what I started with.  Also in my stash was a sweater that my son was getting rid of, and some wool fabric I had picked up long ago at a thrift store for $1.50.  Considering that the sweater was free, and the shirt was $2.00, this outfit cost me $3.50.  And, I have lots of grey suede left over for future creations!

Since this refashion consists of four parts, I'll show you how each was accomplished.