Halloween Costumes - Part I - Handmade Narnia Themed Knight

Pintrest, Pinterest, Pinterest! What did we ever do without Pintrest?!

I love searching Pinterest for ideas for almost everything, so when I needed to find some costume ideas for E I got the browsing. I found this blog post online for a Narnia inspired birthday accompanied by an adorable knight costume. The next day I hit the fabric store and grabbed some velvety-maroon fabric, some grey yarn, and felt (along with some other things for myself) and crossed my fingers.  I couldn't wait to have a go. Although Eamon has never actually seen Narnia, both of his parents are big fans.

Here it goes!

The construction of the vest was quite easy to make but still took some time since little one would not allow me to measure him properly! After some squirming I decided it was much easier to simply grab one of his shirts and measure from there. I began with half a yard of fabric which I ironed some straight seams for the sides and applied fray block (don't worry, it does not stain, despite what the photo may look like). Although this wasn't a necessary step, I noticed that the fabric ends frayed easily so I found no harm in it. Next, I applied some black fusible interfacing (found HERE, however I purchased on fabric row here in Philly) to the back of the "smock" to eliminate having to sew a backing on it, especially since the fabric was already thick enough. The color of the interface makes it look clean and polished without adding any extra sewing steps.

For the neck I used a t-shirt to draw out a circle from the center, making sure it was large enough to pull over. After, I sewed on some matching bias tape (aka the devil!) to the collar and sides, but chose some gold fringe for the bottom just like the blog showed. I applied the bottom with fabric glue and allowed to dry overnight before I ironed the piece to get it ready for the applique. A piece of gold felt and a lion stencil (found HERE ON PINTEREST) finished up the vest. I applied this with a little tacky glue as well. Not exactly the cheapest costume, but nonetheless adorable, and I was able to buy a lot of the pieces from local shops.




Eamon didn't quite understand the vest but did like the fact that it had a gold lion, or as he called it, the Lion of Sodor (he is a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan). Since he wasn't familiar with Narnia yet we keep telling him he is going to be a Knight of Sodor for Halloween. 

Supplies & Cost:

Here's a quick recap on what was used...

- 1/2 yard poly/velvet blend fabric: $7.49
- black fusible interfacing: no cost, part of my stash!
- gold felt: $.49
- 1 pack maroon bias tape: $2.49
- fringe: $3.95
- thread: on hand

Although the original post uses a ribbon tie to secure the piece, I used some glue-on velcro since E is so small and I didn't want the tie to cover up the design on the front.

Check back to see the progress on the rest of the costume along with some tutorial and how-to guides.

It's Never Too Soon for Halloween!

Today I have been obsessing over Halloween (just about a month prematurely). I recently had an old friend contact me about crocheting some Halloween inspired hats for her new baby after seeing my posts in my Etsy shop! I was so happy to hear from her and to hear about a new baby! (Isn't he just ADORABLE!)

So with all this talk about Halloween and seeing the fall displays being put up in the craft stores, I have been inspired to get searching and pinning on my Pinterest boards. I also though it would be a good time to start searching for some great costume ideas to the pea. Growing up, my Godmother was an excellent seamstress and all around crafter. She was always my inspiration for all of the arts and crafts I did growing up and would teach me how to hand sew and make jewelry when I was a little girl. Every year she would make me a costume from scratch: witch, devil, flapper girl, rock star, you name it. I kept them my entire life until my youngest niece was old enough to play dress up in them (which was only a few years back). They were so beautiful and colorful. Nowadays it seems like parents would rather visit the party store and drop anywhere from $20 - $100 on a cheap, poorly constructed costume that just barely gets their kid through the evening.

There was an article posted on Etsy a few years back from Chappelle Ellison titled "Making the Case for Handmade Halloween Costumes." In the article she actually quotes a DesignSponge piece titled Art In The Everyday: Vintage Halloween Costumes. For those born prior to the mass marketing of big box stores (and I was actually somewhat on the borderline of that generation being a product of the last of the Woolworth stores), some of us had the opportunity to be corny and creative at least one time a year. Costumes were (and I assume still are) an opportunity for pride and competition amongst kids. Who doesn't want to win a competition or show off at school? Like now, there were still a lot of kids with store bought costumes like super hero or princess or Disney theme costumes, but EVERYONE looked the SAME and every year I must give out candy to at least a hundred Iron Men, Batmen, and Elsas! What fun is that? Maybe it is just where I live (fingers crossed), but kids are not expressing themselves anymore and it feels so sad. You don't see creativity and kids playing dress up like they used to (like we use to). Technology is probably the main culprit.  But is it only that? As the DesignSponge and Etsy articles tell us - parents are stretched so thin that there is little time to even cook an adequate dinner in some households let alone put together a Halloween costume. Although I can sympathize being one of those homes, look at all those moms (and dads) who make the time to keep Halloween special (and be a kid themselves). But enough finger pointing....back to costumes!

Every year we have two costumes for Eamon: one for his pre-school that he can pretty much destroy and have it not be a big deal and the other a well thought out, handmade costume. I was so proud of how he looked last year in his little Hobbit costume. The cape and pants were easily sewn without a pattern. The pants are an almost suede-like material I scored for a dollar in the clearance bin at what was my favorite fabric store (which, sadly, not is closed :( ) and were made by tracing a pair of pants a size bigger than he was wearing. Utilizing a method for an elastic waistband I braided cord instead and left the legs short and un-hemmed. The cape was about $4 in fabric to make and was knotted in the front and adorned with a little felt leaf. A long grey thermal shirt sat underneath a crocheted vest (the longest and most tedious part of the costume) and a pair of summer sandals received a little faux-fur treatment (since we all know Hobbits had hairy feet!). A play sword and a chain with a gold ring finished off the costume. Under $20 in cost and about five hours of preparation spanning about a week (most of it being the crocheted vest) and we had a simple but adorable handmade Halloween costume. No frills, no fuss, and most of all, it felt like real clothes - meaning that it was two-year-old friendly and easy to get on!



I have already spent an hour (ok maybe more) looking for inspiration for this year's costume(s). Of course, Pinterest is my BIGGEST inspiration for ideas right now. As it stands right now I am completely torn between this adorable fox found on Handmade Charlotte and a cute little Ewok costume just like this one on Costume Express for at least ONE of Eamon's costumes. Of course if it were up to him he would simply dress as Thomas the Tang Engine...probably every day.



There are too many cute ideas to choose from. I can't wait to get started on this year's project! What are your favorite Halloween costume ideas?