Monday, October 3, 2011

Halloween: Does Little Red Riding Hood really NEED a hood? oops.

HALLOWEEN SEWING TIME!!!

Halloween sewing time for all the little minions!  This season I have agreed to make a Red Riding Hood Cape for my (almost) 2 year old niece, Lila, as well as a Dracula costume for one of my boys (Jack) and a, ah-hem, Sauske costume for the other (Wyatt).  Who the heck is Sauske you ask? We'll get to that in a  later post.

So this weekend I got cracking on the costumes; partly because sewing is fun... and partly to dodge the "is my costume done yet" bullets that somehow were flying at me every 30 minutes this weekend (like seriously, I have been sitting on this couch next to you for the last hour, how do you think I magically disappeared and made your costume, only to return unbeknownst to you... surprise!).

Actually, capes are something I would highly recommend to any beginning sewer (the very first thing I ever made was a cape!).  Minimal number of pattern pieces yet large enough to get some sewing practice.  The only downfall with a cape is that if you screw up... it's a LOT of seam ripping.  Ugh.

So anyway, I found among my vast vintage pattern collection a red riding hood pattern which appears to be a 70s or 80s-ish copy of a 1925 original pattern.  The instruction sheet/cover is an old old typed then xeroxed copy:


The pattern pieces themselves are craft paper copies with the transfer markings written on them by hand:


This pattern is for a child's size 8.  My niece is only (almost) 2 so I needed to do some serious pattern modifications.  This was actually pretty simple with a cape though.  Since a cape is merely a semi-circle, it was just a matter of shortening the length all the way around the bottom.  I did so by first creating my own cheap version of pattern paper.  This is actually a roll of tracing paper which has been rolled out and taped together with masking tape.  Works just as well, it's thicker than tissue paper, easier to see through and about $60 to $70 cheaper than having a roll of super heavy oversized paper stock shipped to my house at this time.

Tracing Paper Rigged with masking tape :)
So, my sister loaned me the dress that Lilia will be wearing on Halloween and I used it to figure out the approximate length that would be needed.  I then used a yard stick placed at what would be the corner of the semi circle and subtracted the length all the way around.


I actually guess-timated with the hood.  I didn't want it as big, but bigger is better than too small so I just subtracted a little bit.


Then I used my new, modified pattern pieces to cut out the much much smaller fabric.


The two pieces after they have been cut out

After this it was just a matter of sewing on the hood.  The instructions were, um, not good. So I guessed.  I guessed badly.  I sewed the hood shut instead of on.  Yes, I sewed the effing hood together.  Hood no longer.  Now... cape & head sock.


Something to ponder:  Does Red Riding Hood actually need a friggin hood?!  I hate seam ripping.  I hate seam ripping! I could sew it on, cut eyeholes into it and she could be a red ghost. Or a turnip. ugh.  Okay. I ripped the darned seam back open.

Almost Done

Notice the hood in the cape above.  It look this way because this hood was made to have elastic go around the top and chin and tie shut.   I realized this after I had already cut it and had to come up with a plan.  I figured that my sister wanted her daughters face to actually be seen during Halloween so I didn't want to elastic it to her head,  so I sewed a bit of the hood to make it into a pointed type hood.


It actually turned out quite nice!


I can't wait to see it on her! I think it's going to be adorable!! Sewing for kids is so much friggin fun.

I also finished Dracula this weekend for Jack!  I'll have that up in another post here shortly!!!

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