Haley's Homemade Halloween

The very first thing I wanted to sew with my new sewing machine was Halloween costumes for the girls.  Growing up, my mom usually made ours, and they seemed to last a whole lot longer than the plastic ones from TG&Y.  I think my sister and I played with the clown costume for at least a decade, and it lasted longer than the rainbow wig that went with it!

First up was Haley's costume.  Deciding what to make her was easy.  From the day she was born, I called her "My Little Octopus" since she never stopped moving.  Dressing an octopus would be easier than getting her pj's on at night!  Anyway, I found a great tutorial on marthastewart.com.  The directions were easy enough.  Bryon was able enlarge the pattern on his work printer, so I first pieced it together along with Shelby's "help".

She also helped me make the bobbin.  Something about the sound of the machine and her unending curiosity brought back lots of fond memories of my mom sewing for us.

Jealous of my craft room?  It also doubles as the bathroom!

Being quite the designer, I changed up the pattern a little bit, cutting some of the head section off and using pom-poms for the eyes to give it a little more whimsy. I also let Haley pick the color by holding her up to the bolts of fabric and buying the first one she touched.  Tim Gunn would be proud of her choice.

After two months of encouragement and practice, I've finally convinced Haley to wear her creation long enough to snap a picture or two! 

Lovin' the lollipop