Halloween Prep

Last Halloween was a bit of a bust, while Greg and I carved pumpkins (well it was really squash since the pumpkins were all sold out), gave out candy (to five children despite living close to 3 schools) and decorated the house (but not enough so anyone could really tell from the road) it just didn't seem to really do the day justice.

This year we have learned from our mistakes: we've purchased pumpkins in advance, have lots of decorations to catch the eye of passing trick or treaters and of course have time to make great costumes (last year we moved from Saint John to New Glasgow on Halloween weekend and unfortunately costume making wasn't high up on the to-do list. I really didn't know where my sewing machine was at that point).

This weekend I started to put together my costume after finding all of the pieces (well enough to get sewing). I am going as Little Red Riding Hood and this is what I started with:

I picked up both of these dresses from a second hand store downtown and was happy at how they fit and that I don't have to do much tailoring.

The red dress came with really awesome shoulder pads which I promptly cut out and tossed in the garbage can. I also snipped off the little black bow but kept it just in case it seemed to fit the costume somewhere else.

I cut off the cream coloured dress just above the stitching at the high waist, that way I didn't have to hem anything there. I did have to sew in a draw string to pull it snug around my waist (top picture below). The embroidery is covered by the leather 'belt' I also made. Rather than hemming the cream dress I gathered and sewed to give an 'older' feel to it, I'm not sure why this was something I thought necessary but I think it turned out okay (bottom picture):

I'm not done the dress, I still have embellishments to add and I also have to start the hooded cape but I'll give you a sneak peek of what I have so far (keep in mind that yesterday was particularly cold so I'm wearing leggings which won't be part of my costume, and that Greg wasn't home to take my photo so I had to take matters into my own hands):

I'm not sure about the boots. I also have black shoes I could wear but I will be making that decision when everything else is done.

So there is my costume so far, let me know what you think!