Hand Made Halloween 2014

 I spent a lot of time putting together my families Halloween costumes this year. It was really fun. I do love it when it all works out.

 My other half  and I are Hiccup and Astrid from 'How To Train Your Dragon'. Admittedly, neither of us have the hair for these characters, but it is fun anyway. The fake fur for the vest/waistcoat and boots, was a mess, and making shoulder armor for me was tricky. I am really happy with how my Fimo scull buttons turned out.

 Little Miss I is Batgirl. I saw this image on Facebook a while ago, and knew immediately that I wanted to recreate this outfit for my youngest. I found the perfect jacket at a thrift store and painted the bat on it. Also I painted an old pair of boots yellow. I had to sew a hat, cape, and utility belt. I probably spent the most time on this costume, and I think it's my favorite. I love doing something a bit different.

 Little Miss M wanted to be a Sheriff/Cowgirl. All I had to make was her vest/waistcoat. I found the hat and shirt at a thrift store, and someone gave us the boots.

 My oldest was 'Steve' from the game 'Minecraft'. This involved cutting up and taping boxes to the right size, and a lot of painting. The head took almost three hours. it's not the most comfortable costume, but he loves it. His 'diamond' sword is bought. I got sick of cutting and painting in the end and saw this on sale at Walmart.
 They had a great time at my in-laws Halloween Party, and we've been the the 'Trunk or Treat' at Church already. Tomorrow is time for the real thing.
 I've moved on to the beginnings of making Christmas presents. I should have a couple more things to share soon though.

The (not so) Wicked Witch of the West!

 I've had this Alan Dart pattern for years (thanks to a knitting friend). I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to make her for my mother in law. I know that might sound a bit weird to some of you. But if you know my MIL at all, you will know how much she loves Halloween.

I put off knitting her for a multitude of reasons, but finally I bit the bullet, and went for it. I knew she would be fiddly. The pattern is written so you knit every piece flat and then seam everything. I didn't want to do that. A few other knitters on Ravelry said they knit the majority or her in the round, so I went ahead and did that too.

The ruffles on the bloomers and boot cuffs I picked up stitches and knit. I had to stuff as I went on her body. On the fingers, I knit I-cord. The hair was so funny looking, I wish I'd taken a photo before I sewed her hat on, she is completely bald under it. I separated the plies of yarn to make it look as much like hair as possible.

 Putting her all together was so satisfying. Her fingers were the most tricky part, but so worth it! I then had to make a broom for her with bits and pieces I bought at JoAnns. I am totally thrilled with the finished product. I packed her up and sent her out west to her new home.

 My daughter, Little Miss M., was so reluctant to let me give her away. If she hadn't been for Grandma I think she would have had a fit. I love the picture she drew of her on our very dirty chalk board. I used almost all of the black yarn, but I have plenty left of the other colours. I used Berroco Comfort DK. It was pretty hard to find the right yarn for this project. Luckily they had this at Webbs. I hope to make us our own witch in the not too distant future.

The handmade part's of Halloween 2013

 For this years Halloween, and knit up just a few accessories to complete our costumes.

Little Miss. I. was little pirate. I made her hat from this free pattern. It was fun to knit. It was supposed to have a knitted eye patch with it, but I just used one we already had. She made a great pirate, don't you think?

Mr. M. was a stealth ninja. I knit him his balaclava. The pattern is available as a free Ravelry download. I wasn't paying enough attention while I was knitting this one, so it turned out less than perfect, but my boy loves it. He's been wearing it to the bus stop on those colder mornings we've had.

I had the tiniest accessory of all. Just my little red bowtie for my Mary Poppins costume. It's another free download on Ravelry.

Every thing was made using Lion Brand Wool-ease yarn. It just goes to show, a little can go a long way. I hope you all had a fun Halloween. It's such a fun celebration.

Flower Fairy

I just made one costume this year for Halloween. My crafting time and budget has been slashed. Little Miss I has decided she is done with napping, and I don't really have the financial backing to make whatever I like. So this costume was made entirely from my stash. I even already had the pattern. It's the McCalls Flower Fairy Friends Pattern. It was supposed to have a waistcoat/vest with it, but I didn't have any contrasting fabric on hand that I cared to use. I found this tutorial on making fabric flowers. I made two, one bigger than the other and joined them together, then sewed them onto some elastic to make a hair band. She already had the wand and wings. My son said she looked a lot like the Little Princess from the Tony Ross books that we are loving right now, and I have to agree.

What do you think? Hope your Halloween is all treats and no tricks.

Cobra Costume

 My eldest has a wild imagination. He also has and enormous amount of faith in my abilities to make anything. He really loves snakes. His favorite is the King Cobra. It came as no surprise to me when he asked to be one for Halloween. I got searching on the web for a pre-made costume and came up with nothing. Then I went searching for a pattern or some idea of how to make a snake costume and I came up with nothing still. I headed to JoAnns with a vague idea of what I was going to do and came back with some sparkly, stretchy, scaly, fabric and a pattern for a kangaroo costume. Obviously I had to make many changes to the pattern. The hood was the trickyest part. I made it once and wasn't happy with it. I wanted the cobra flaps to not look like monkey ears. I took it apart and used some plastic and some wadding/batting to line them and give them structure. I used felt for the eyes, teeth and tounge.

Mr M. was plenty happy with it, so I was happy too. I think this might be anouther costume that I will have him wear for years.