So, you've got all those Halloween costumes out of the way, and then you remember- your little girl needs a costume for All Saints' Day! My preschooler picked Saint Teresa of Calcutta for the All Saints parade last year and I was able to whip up this costume in one night with minimal sewing. Read on to see how you can put together your own!
Saint Teresa of Calcutta Costume
Supplies:
-white fabric
-1" navy blue ribbon
-3/8" navy blue ribbon
-1" elastic
-thick flat plastic headband
-white thread
-navy blue thread
1. First, you need to measure your little saint- do this before you buy fabric to make sure you have enough! Now, for our preschool All Saints parade, the little ones needed to be able to put on their own costumes over top of their uniforms, so it couldn't be anything too complicated like a real sari. I designed this costume in two parts- a veil and a sash. The first measurements you're going to take are for the sash. Measure one shoulder, from the base of the neck to the edge of the shoulder, and call that W. Next, take your measuring tape and hold one end at the edge of the shoulder, and drape the measuring tape down to the opposite hip, then around her body and back up the other side to meet at the edge of the tape (like a deacon's vestments). The entire length you just measured will be X. (This picture is a little deceptive, in that you can't really tell that I intend you to measure all the way around. What's shown here- a flat measurement from shoulder to hip- is really .5X, if you want to be pedantic.) For the veil, you want to first drape your measuring tape starting at one hip, climbing up all the way to the top of her head, then down the other side to the opposite hip- the full length of this arc is what we'll call Y. Now, you're going to take one last measurement which I couldn't show in this picture- start at the hairline and measure over the top of her head and all the way down her back to the hip level (so that it ends at the same plane as the ends of your Y measurement)- this we'll call Z.
2. So here's what we do with those measurements. For the sash, you're going to cut one rectangle of white fabric whose width is twice the W measurement plus 0.5" (for seam allowance) and whose length is your X measurement plus 0.75" (again for seam allowance- this one is going to be sewn in multiple directions, hence the extra 0.25"). For the veil, you'll need a rectangle of white fabric whose width is the Z measurement plus 0.5" for seam allowance, and whose length is the Y measurement plus 0.5" for seam allowance. (I've really done a terrible job with this drawing; your Z measurement will probably end up being a little over half of your Y measurement.) Of course I'm using 0.25" seams here, if you want to do differently then adjust your measurements.
3. To begin making the sash, first fold your rectangle in half, right sides together, bringing the bottom side up to the top as I've drawn it here (hence the need to double your W value). Sew around one long side and one short side, then turn it out the right way.
4. While you've got just one long white rectangle, you're going to attach the blue ribbon to form the distinctive stripes you find on Saint Teresa's sari. Place the wider ribbon along one of the long edges of the rectangle, and then two stripes of the narrow ribbon. Space them all about a half of an inch apart. To attach them, you could diligently applique around all four sides of each ribbon, but this costume probably needs to be thrown together on Halloween night itself, so ain't nobody got time for that. Instead, set your machine to the widest zig-zag stitch, and stitch right down the middle on each ribbon. Finally, fold the sash in half again, bringing the short sides together, right sides facing, and sew with a tighter zig-zag stitch to complete the sash. (This takes care of the unfinished ends of your ribbon and the white fabric. It's not perfectly finished, but it will do just fine for this simple costume.)
5. To make the veil, begin by hemming all four edges of the fabric (I simply folded over 0.25" and sewed with a straight stitch; again we're not going for perfect here). Attach the blue ribbon in the same way as with the sash to make the stripes again (this time you'll want to fold over the ends of each ribbon and stitch them down to make a nice hem).
6. Cut three pieces of elastic about 3" long each. Fold your veil in half, bringing the short sides together, and mark the center. On the wrong side of the veil, attach one piece of elastic along the center line about a half an inch back from the front edge (where the wide blue ribbon is). Attach it with a tight zig-zag stitch several times back and forth along only the short edges, so that there is a gap where you can slide your fingers underneath. If the edges fall under where your blue ribbon is on the other side, use blue thread. If the fall on the white fabric, use white thread. Attach the other two pieces of elastic in the same way on either side of the middle, about two inches away from your center piece.
7. To wear the costume, your little saint should put the sash over her shoulder so that the blue stripes are closest to her face. To wear the veil, slide the wide plastic headband through the elastic loops, and put the headband on her head as you would normally. (This holds the veil neatly in place on her head for a whole parade much better than if you just used bobby pins to hold on the fabric itself, and it's something she can put on by herself if you're not there to help.)
I hope your little one is ready for All Saints' Day!
Much love,
The Geeks
Saint Teresa of Calcutta Costume
Supplies:
-white fabric
-1" navy blue ribbon
-3/8" navy blue ribbon
-1" elastic
-thick flat plastic headband
-white thread
-navy blue thread
1. First, you need to measure your little saint- do this before you buy fabric to make sure you have enough! Now, for our preschool All Saints parade, the little ones needed to be able to put on their own costumes over top of their uniforms, so it couldn't be anything too complicated like a real sari. I designed this costume in two parts- a veil and a sash. The first measurements you're going to take are for the sash. Measure one shoulder, from the base of the neck to the edge of the shoulder, and call that W. Next, take your measuring tape and hold one end at the edge of the shoulder, and drape the measuring tape down to the opposite hip, then around her body and back up the other side to meet at the edge of the tape (like a deacon's vestments). The entire length you just measured will be X. (This picture is a little deceptive, in that you can't really tell that I intend you to measure all the way around. What's shown here- a flat measurement from shoulder to hip- is really .5X, if you want to be pedantic.) For the veil, you want to first drape your measuring tape starting at one hip, climbing up all the way to the top of her head, then down the other side to the opposite hip- the full length of this arc is what we'll call Y. Now, you're going to take one last measurement which I couldn't show in this picture- start at the hairline and measure over the top of her head and all the way down her back to the hip level (so that it ends at the same plane as the ends of your Y measurement)- this we'll call Z.
 |
| not drawn to scale |
2. So here's what we do with those measurements. For the sash, you're going to cut one rectangle of white fabric whose width is twice the W measurement plus 0.5" (for seam allowance) and whose length is your X measurement plus 0.75" (again for seam allowance- this one is going to be sewn in multiple directions, hence the extra 0.25"). For the veil, you'll need a rectangle of white fabric whose width is the Z measurement plus 0.5" for seam allowance, and whose length is the Y measurement plus 0.5" for seam allowance. (I've really done a terrible job with this drawing; your Z measurement will probably end up being a little over half of your Y measurement.) Of course I'm using 0.25" seams here, if you want to do differently then adjust your measurements.
3. To begin making the sash, first fold your rectangle in half, right sides together, bringing the bottom side up to the top as I've drawn it here (hence the need to double your W value). Sew around one long side and one short side, then turn it out the right way.
 |
| not drawn to scale |
5. To make the veil, begin by hemming all four edges of the fabric (I simply folded over 0.25" and sewed with a straight stitch; again we're not going for perfect here). Attach the blue ribbon in the same way as with the sash to make the stripes again (this time you'll want to fold over the ends of each ribbon and stitch them down to make a nice hem).
 |
| not drawn to scale |
7. To wear the costume, your little saint should put the sash over her shoulder so that the blue stripes are closest to her face. To wear the veil, slide the wide plastic headband through the elastic loops, and put the headband on her head as you would normally. (This holds the veil neatly in place on her head for a whole parade much better than if you just used bobby pins to hold on the fabric itself, and it's something she can put on by herself if you're not there to help.)
I hope your little one is ready for All Saints' Day!
Much love,
The Geeks
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