Halloween in up and around the corner..and as you know I kind of have this thing with owls. I wanted to make a handmade costume for my daughter and since the Handmade Costume Series was underway and I was asked to participate..it worked out perfect. My only requirement (for myself) was not to spend a cent at the store. I had to use my supply here…so for the costume I simply went to my closet to shop..(well, actually to an old bin of maternity clothes) and what I found inspired me promptly to make an entire outfit out of things I already had. I didn’t have to go to the store for anything..thus why my project is called “Owl for free”..or “All for free” .:)
To start from the beginning, as I went through an old bin, this pink velvet jacket is what caught my eye. It was beautifully lined and the color was perfect. I cut the arms and collar off, tried it on my daughter to see how big I needed to make the dress and sewed a simple A-line up. I zigzagged the seams at the arm and the neck, but left the sides to fray a bit (do they not remind you of feathers!)
I took a panel of felt and a lot of fun scraps that I had of fancier fabric and lace with purples and golds and whites and got busy sewing ruffles. I kind of like ruffles!:) Don’t know how to sew ruffles? Click here for a quick tutorial. I thought this would be a fun way to make the owl a bit more feminine (it is a pink owl, afterall!) I layered the ruffles and then simply pinned down the panel and sewed the top and bottom and straight down the sides. Again, the sides will eventually fray just a bit, but it really does add to the feathered look. Aren’t those ruffles delicious!
You can see how scientific I was with my process. 🙂 I took another bit of felt and draped it over my daughters shoulder and cut the wing so it would lay around her arm and gently swoop in the back. I cut two panels and then got to work with the feathers. This is by far the most time consuming part of the project. I ended up cutting about 50 feathers per wing out of the same materials I used for the ruffles. Before I sewed them on, I added a crushed gold velvet to the back of the felt by simply stitching it on the back (around the sides). Next, starting at the top and working down, I added feathers one at a time and sewed around the outline. This was SO fun for me..I loved seeing the dimension that it brought and you should see the gold velvet..sweetly quilted to look like a wing of feathers!
To finish off the wings, I simply overlapped the back just a bit and sewed them together and added a button closure on the front. You can also see here I added a bit of the pink velvet on the part that closes on the front. Isn’t this cape of feathers so fun?!
My little model was very much being her 3 year old self when shooting these pictures, but I hope you can see how much texture and detail went into this outfit! This is a perfect outfit for Halloween because if you live somewhere where it is warm on Halloween (Hello, Las Vegas!) then this is just perfect all by itself..but if you live where it is cooler on Halloween, a simple long sleeve t-shirt and leggings would be perfect to finish it off!
Lastly, using this sweet template from [dead link], I made a cute little mask to complete the owl look. Isn’t it sweet?!
And there she goes..flying off to a fun night of sweets, sweets, and more sweets!
The most liberating thing about this costume is that you can make it out of anything..and each one will be completely different! And all the unfinished edges? Not only does it add to the look of the whole outfit, but it will only get better with time!
AND DO YOU WANT TO HEAR THE FUNNY PART? My daughter has decided she wants to be a mermaid for Halloween..SO I have this costume that wants to be worn with no one to wear it. I have decided to sell my owl creation…My daughter wears a size 4T. Do you have a sweet little 4T who wants to be an owl? Purchase would include the dress, the wings and the mask. You can email me at kikicreates at gmail dot com if you are interested!
Do you hand make your Halloween Costumes?
