Alright - you ready? Not that this will be surprising, but the kids decided to be Star Wars characters for Halloween this year, so here they are in their handmade costumes:
Two Rebel pilots and Princess Leia! The boys' costumes started as solid orange sweats, and I added a muslin quilted 'flak vest', lots of webbing (about 8.5 yards between them), and a chest panel appliquéd from felt, suiting, and cotton.
I was going to go for a more 'realistic' control panel, made with a painted box, but decided that I wanted this all in one piece. So everything (vest, straps, etc.) is sewn on to the shirt, which makes for easier dressing up and washing, since I think these will be worn a lot. The boys' costumes ended up costing about $12 each.
The 'data scrolls' on the sleeves are stenciled on, and my mom helped me with the helmets/hats. Well, actually, she made the helmets (from an old pattern from 1981: Simplicity 5299) and I added the sewing details,the felt symbols, and the chin straps.
The boys are thrilled, and after seeing their costumes sans hats made sure I knew they were expecting helmets.... and spaceships to ride in.
They really think I can make anything. I guess that's a compliment! :)
My mom made the Leia costume (here she is balancing on one foot - she's doing well, a foot update soon).
We looked everywhere for a Leia costume pattern, but didn't want to spend major $$ for it on eBay. My mom ended up using a Nativity Angel pattern (Simplicity 4797) and altering it a bit (shortening sleeves and adding a hood). Instead of adding a high neck to the pattern, she thrifted a white turtleneck to wear under. Genius, Mom! It's made out of a white knit (on sale - Mom estimates the costume cost at $6 - including the turtleneck).
Inspiration for the belt came from this (there are 3 silver symbols, I guess it's on a little crooked in the photo).
We made the wig/hat together. This year I wanted to incorporate hats into the kids' costumes, as it's usually COLD and sometimes snowing on Halloween night. I had a piece of fleece left over from what I used for the back of the boys' scarves (which I bought as a remnant, so it was cheap!), and it was the perfect size. We sewed down the middle to make the part (which is lacking in most Leia wig/hats) and simply twisted up the sides. The coils are hand-stitched together. A little piece of elastic is sewn to the bottom of the back to help hold it on. It fits perfectly - the buns cover her ears like in the movie, and are in concentric circles, not sticking out like some wigs do. (And is pretty hilarious, I think).
So, the kids are happy, people at the church carnival thought they were pretty cool, and I'm pleased with them. You can see last year's costumes here for Princess, Monkey, and Thomas