2008 Halloween

I babystepped my sewing room into shape in September and celebrated by taking L & C to Hancock for Halloween costume fabric. Ch wanted to be Hermione and Lovie wanted to be a Vampire Girl. No problem. A robe and another robe.

For Hermione's robe, we found some black satin and gold satin to line it with. Any true Potter devotee would have nailed me on the gold lining. Technically it should have been lined in red, but Hancock did not have what I wanted in a price I was willing to pay. I rather expected Ch to comment, but she seems to have let it slide.

I wanted to use my embroidery machine to add the Gryffindor crest to the robe, but while I was away the embroidery software went from version 2.0 (what I have now) to 8.0, and computer makers stopped using the port that connects the embroidery card reader/writer. My new laptop won't talk to my old embroidery designer. HP's dino work laptop will, so I could have created the design if I had reeeealy wanted too. That would have been a project in itself and would have seriously cut into my Sugar Skull time.

I found a plaid uniform skirt on clearance at Target for $3. The skirt is so cute and was such a steal it was hard not to buy one for Vampire Girl also but I am trying not to spend money just because something is cheap. Vampire Girl will have a a crack at that skirt soon enough and it will be good as new. Plus by then it will have averaged out to $1.50--an even better deal! We borrowed Sh's tie, which may be the second time it's been worn and used a black laquer chopstick for a wand.

Vampire Girl's cape is an unlined but self-faced beauty of shimmery silver. It reminds me of water with how splasy and drapey it is. It makes me think of the Invisibility Cloak. It stitched up surprisingly well; a little bunchy but it pulled out fine. I put a zipper in it and surprised myself with what a good job I did, but then the robe looked all pulled and poofy over the dress, so I took the zipper back out.

I cut and constructed the dress in an afternoon and had only the hemming and back closure to finish an hour before Zoo Boo. I machine-hemmed and used safety pins for the back closure, saving that zipper for another day!