I love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday of the year. I used to have all the decorations up by the end of September until little one was born five years ago in October, and celebrating her birthday seems to throw off my spooky groove.
I’ve gotten no further than eating 2 bags of candy corn (the thought of seeing any more of that stuff is making me feel sick). Oh yeah, and the 1st round of trick-or-treat candy that I hid in my closet was quickly discovered by the kids and consumed last week.
The only thing I dislike about Halloween is the stress over costumes. I’m surrounded by friends who sew amazing outfits like my neighbor/friend Melissa who sewed Mario, Luigi, and Princess Daisy and outdid the rest of the block combined. My kids never could commit to a costume choice until a day or two before Halloween.
I tried sewing two costumes once when my teens were little. I dusted off the sewing machine I’d never used and looked forward to the challenge. Fifty calls to my mother later, the needle was threaded, and I decided not to change the thread color…EVER. Once the bobbin runs out of thread, I suppose the sewing machine is disposable, and I’ll pass it on to someone who can actually use it. On a practice swatch of fabric I realized I couldn’t even sew a straight line much less a curve. However, NOT sewing my finger was a note-worthy accomplishment.
Staring at the mounds of fabric and two McCall’s patterns, I began to question why I took on this project 3 days before Halloween. I needed months just to cut it out. I read over the instructions that looked more like the schematics for building the space shuttle to me and didn’t understand anything. Perhaps this wasn’t the best project to start off with.
My sewing experience before this consisted of my Home Economics apron and Barbie clothes I made as a kid. My idea of sewing a coat for Barbie is taking a rectangle piece of fake fur and cutting 2 slits in it for the arms. It’s about a 30 second sewing project with no sewing involved…I know I totally should have copyrighted my designs. My Barbie had a whole wardrobe made this way. Grandma gifted my homemade Barbie fashions to my kids one Christmas, and they laughed till they cried. I’m sure I was just ahead of my time in design so I took no offense. Plus I found the girls dressing the Barbies in them when they thought I wasn’t looking.
Luckily I’m pretty stubborn and determined. After another 50 calls to Mom, who translated the instructions into newbie sewing terms, the Pikachu costume was birthed. I excitedly called my daughter in to try it on and noticed I sewed the head opening and one arm closed. I undid those mistakes whispering some pretty witchy things under my breath at 1am. The final masterpiece still sits in the closet to this day because you can’t just give it away…because who would even want it.
As you can see in the picture, it turned out OK as long as you’re viewing it from afar. True sewers would have cringed at the poor workmanship if viewed up close. It did the job, and I was a hero. Ash and Pikachu had a blast, and no tail or ear fell off while trick-or-treating.
I never got any better at sewing. When the kids got to 5th grade and had to do the Pilgrim/Indian costume Thanksgiving dinner, it was hard to tell which one they were in the costumes I produced.
I made my own costume one year when in 5th grade or so. I was a computer (yes geeky back then, too). I took a large box and cut a hole for the head at the top and two holes on the sides for my arms. I decorated it with all kinds of robot-looking things. Not much more than my hand reached out to the side, and this turned out to be a horrible design flaw which I realized at the annual neighborhood hot dog cookout event before trick-or-treating.
With your arms stuck out to the side you:
- can’t eat (arm won’t reach your mouth when you can’t bend your arm)
- you can’t open your bag to collect candy (arms don’t reach together)
- and you can’t sit down
It was a disaster.
Ash and Pikachu are now in middle school and high school, so they’re done with costumes. However, little one just turned five, so I have a long way to go. She just announced she wants to be a cat. Perfect! Black outfit, pin on a tail, cat-ear headband, and drawing whiskers on her face. Easy! My kind of costume..other than a completely store bought one.
Time to get decorating and save Halloween.
I personally think that Pokemon and Pikachu rock!! Have you ever seen my costumes up close?
What people don’t know what hurt them!! This year Sleeping Beauty is the only handmade costume for the Korta Krew, sadly (or not sadly) they have all outgrown my handiwork except for one!
Can’t wait to see your Cat’s Meow!
Twitter: findingthehumor
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Cat’s Meow sounds more professional than the “My mom just drew some whiskers on my face and called it a costume” actual slackness that it will be. Next year I plan to make up for this year’s lack of holiday preparedness.
I am so impressed that you sew! Sew impressed! That was dumb. Seriously, those were such cute costumes! I am amazed that we figured out our costumes last week. Mine are only 2 & 6, but we’ve already developed a last-minute Halloween-costume-getting habit. (Oh, and BTW, I have mentally added a bruised apple to my “don’t” list- foshizzle!)
I’m following you now!
Kelley recently posted..7 Alternate Uses for Your Halloween Candy
Twitter: findingthehumor
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Saying I “sew” is like saying I sky-dive when I only jumped off the bed with a sheet parachute. Kelley your blog is hysterical. I’m adding it to my sidebar. We were all baffled at the bruised apple. It is like some people run out of candy and just look around for anything they can hand out. Some old screws, a can of furniture polish, etc.
Sewing always LOOKED like fun when my mother was doing it. So much so, that I fiddled with her machine until the thread was all tangled up and my behind was sore for a week.
The only thing I learned was how to make a not-knot by wrapping the thread around my finger and pulling the whole mess off. I was always fascinated by that bit of legerdemain.
Happy Halloween!
Mitch
Mitchell Allen recently posted..How to Vote
Twitter: findingthehumor
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As long as it took me to thread the needle I would have been mad if someone messed with with it. ha ha Mitch..sounds like you were a curious little guy.
Oh, yeah. I was a regular mad scientist of the Monsters vs. Aliens variety.
Unless I pretend to be hooman.
Speaking of aliens, now I can’t check the GASP box
I was enjoying all the Halloween memories your blog post has kicked up. We never had a pamphlet lady, but we had a fruit lady. Unfortunately, it was in the ’70s and my mother threw out the fruit because some real life witches were putting pins in them.
Cheers,
Mitch
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Twitter: JessicaSieghart
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Halloween is my favorite, too! I admire your sewing skills. I haven’t sewn anything since Home Ec class where I made a tshirt with uneven arm holes. Bravo!
Jessica Sieghart recently posted..Hook Me Up
Twitter: findingthehumor
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Home Ec should have been my clue to never own a sewing machine in the first place. My mother is a sewing expert and actually made my prom dress one year, my wedding dress, and all the bridesmaid dresses. I can’t even sew a square tablecloth. I missed getting those skills.
Remember when we were little there was the guy in the neighborhood with a car he made out of wood who would give out handfulls of pennies at Halloween? Oh, and the neighbors with the pamphlets… LOL
Twitter: findingthehumor
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I forgot about the pamphlet house! We were obligated to go there because they were friends. And there was a fruit lady, too. We had some terrible Halloween houses in our neighborhood. I wonder how we ended up with all the chocolate we got.
BTW Bit-O-Honey should only be handed out by dentists who like to replace teeth/fillings or need more business because who can even bite one of those things without them sticking permanently to your teeth and you need a crow bar to get it off.
Halloween, the greatest holiday ever! Better even than Christmas in my book. One of the things my GF and I actually hope to include when we look for our new location to move to will be whether or not the nieghborhood has kids. For several years we have decorated and done the whole 9 yards, and all we get are teenagers looking to kill pumpkins or steal decorations. Halloween just isn’t the same if you don’t have groups of kids who have to work up the courage to get past your ghouls and monsters to get their candy;)
Twitter: findingthehumor
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I can understand that. There is only one kid that is trick-or-treating age on my end of a very long street. All the action is far away. It is so disappointing not to have many come by the house. My 12 year old has big plans for scaring people walking up the driveway..it will certainly be disappointing if it is only a handful. I’ve had a few friends do mini-haunted houses (put on by the teens) which the kids just loved going through. I love seeing creativity. Once I have no tricker-treating age kids…I will go all out on a wicked door experience. I have a secret wish to be the Wicked Witch of the West from Oz. bwaa haa haa
What are you talking about? The Pikachu costume looks fantastic!! I wouldn’t even TRY to sew, it would just end in disaster like all my home ec projects. Looking back, I wonder how I even passed that subject. I was always so lame at it. Ooooo I want to go out looking like Elphaba too! Unfortunately, Halloween is no biggie here in the Philippines so I have no excuse.
Twitter: findingthehumor
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lol I wonder what happened to my apron from Home Ec
Twitter: findingthehumor
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HA HA Mitch. Now that I think about it I should change that because I might like comments from aliens. What if they are studying human life from my blog…yikes… because that might give them a warped view, and I may need to clarify something.
I think that the Pikachu and Ash costumes look great! I don’t know how to sew, only mend, so I guess you’re still better than me when it comes to sewing! I love the cat costume too!
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