Crafting Adventures: Misty

 

Of course with a Pokemon theme, our little redhead obviously wanted to dress as Ash's friend Misty and, fortunately for me, this costume required exactly zero sewing!

Supplies

-yellow tank top

-red suspenders

-jean shorts

-optional, for cold nights: long sleeved skin-colored shirt, skin-colored tights

This costume is, thankfully, assembled with just a few pieces of actual clothing that can be worn again when it's not Halloween.  A yellow tank top and some jean shorts with red suspenders clipped on are all you need.  Of course, the look isn't complete without Misty's signature side ponytail.  If it's cold when you trick-or-treat, you can always wear a long sleeved shirt under the tank, and some tights under the shorts.  A Pokeball is always the perfect accessory for Misty.

Much love,

The Geeks

Crafting Adventures: Nurse Joy

 

Of course, if my hubby was going to dress as Brock for this family costume, I would naturally be choosing between Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny.  Nurse Joy seemed like an easier outfit to assemble, so here we are!  The only pieces that I created were the apron and the hat; I found the pink dress on Amazon and have worn it a couple of times since, and while I briefly considered dying my hair pink, the thought of bleaching my hair at home terrified me, so I got a cheap pink wig instead from the costume store.  Here's a quick and easy tutorial to put this together yourself.

Supplies:

-white fabric

-2" wide white ribbon

-1 1/5" wide white elastic

-3x5 index card

-red fabric paint

-hair clips

-pink dress

-white tights

-pink wig

1.  So let's start with a (very much not to scale) sketch of what the finished product is going to look like.  This apron is essentially an hourglass shape with sharp corners and very defined lines across the top and bottom- again, a stylized, anime look.  I just played with a measuring tape to figure out dimensions that would work for me and arrived at these; feel free to do the same for your body type.  I took this design and turned it into 2 pattern pieces- one for the top and one for the bottom.  Remember to give yourself a 1/4" seam allowance all the way around (that effectively means adding 1/2" to each of these measurements).  You'll want to cut 2 top pieces and 2 bottom pieces out of your white fabric.  Whatever you settle on as the measurement for the short sides of your trapezoids (that's my 10" measurement here), cut a piece of white ribbon that's the same length (+ 1/2").  

2.  Take your two bottom pieces and line them up, right sides together.  Stitch around 3 sides (leaving the short side- the 10" bit in my drawing- open) using a zig-zag stitch and a 1/4" seam allowance.  Turn it right side out.  

3.  Your ribbon is going to act as a crisp little waistband, connecting the bottom piece to the top.  Line up the edge of your ribbon with the short, unfinished end of the bottom of your apron, right sides together.  Using a straight stitch, sew as close to the edge of your ribbon as you can to attach the two.  Unfold the pieces and press the seam flat.

4.  Now, a word about the back of this apron.  Because I was planning to wear this while chasing some kids around at both a trunk-or-treat and a Mall-o-ween, I didn't want to actually have to tie any ribbons and worry about them coming un-tied.  So I thought- why not use elastic instead of ribbon?  That way I could sew it all in place, exactly how I want it to look from the back, and it would stretch and let me pull it on and off over my head.  I could even attach a finished bow that would never come undone so the whole look was clean and sharp.  I sketched out the above look.  The finished product involves having two straps of elastic that attach at the top corners of the apron, go over the shoulders, make an X in the back, and finish with two loops of fabric (or ribbon or more elastic, if you wish).  Then there is a third piece of elastic that goes around the waist, attached to the ribbon waistband in front, creating one continuous circle.  This elastic band feeds through the loops on the ends of the shoulder straps before you attach it to that front ribbon (and it will also feed through the loop of the big pretty bow, which will sit right in the small of your back).  To determine the lengths of these three pieces of elastic, you're going to have to play with the measuring tape again, tossing it over your shoulder and whatnot to figure out exactly how you want it to fall.  My apron is very narrow in the middle; it does not extend from hip to hip, but is rather tiny to help provide an illusion of a narrow waist.  That means the elastic that runs around the waist is going to cover the width of my back but also come in towards my center in order to reach the ribbon at the front.  All of this means I somehow ended up with the exact same measurement for each of my 3 pieces of elastic- 24".  Cut those three pieces of elastic, cut 2 pieces of ribbon to create your loops (about 3 1/2" should do you), and cut enough ribbon to make a nice big bow.

5.  THIS STEP IS OPTIONAL.  Before you start attaching anything, if you don't want it to be obvious that all these straps are actually just pieces of elastic, you can hide them inside tubes of fabric.  If you want to do this, cut a rectangle of white fabric that is 3 1/2" wide and about an inch longer than the length as your elastic (so in my case, that would mean 25").  Cut one of these rectangles for each of the three pieces of elastic.  Fold the rectangle in half, right sides together, and stitch down the long side using a straight stitch and a 1/4" seam allowance.  This creates a tube; turn it right side out (you might need to use an unsharpened pencil to help you turn it all the way).  Arrange the tube so that the seam is in the center of the back side of it and then feed your piece of elastic all the way through.  Line up one edge of the elastic with one of the unfinished ends of the fabric tube and sew into place using a zig-zag stitch, as close to the edge as possible.  Because your elastic is shorter than the fabric tube, you'll have to pull the other end of it, stretching the elastic, in order to line it up with the ends of the tube, then sew it into place the same way.  When you're done sewing, your fabric rectangle will contract to the resting length (24") of your elastic, with the telltale pleats you see on elastic waist bands.  Do this for all three pieces of elastic.  

6.  Whether you followed step 5 or not, take your two small pieces of ribbon and fold them into loops.  Attach the loops to one end of each of your shoulder strap pieces using a zig-zag stitch, then press the seam.

7.  Now to make the bow.  First, cut a big rectangle of ribbon.  Fold it in half, right sides together, and stitch up the short side with a straight stitch, close to the edge.  Turn it right side out, and arrange it so the seam is in the middle of the back.  Create two "tails" for your bow (this could even be one long piece of ribbon that you fold at an angle) and stitch them to the middle of the back of your rectangle.  Finally, (not pictured), you're going to cut another (smaller) rectangle and loop it around the middle of your bow.  Stitch the rectangle closed (the stitch will be on the outside, but since it's hiding behind your bow it doesn't matter).  Now your bow is complete, and you have this convenient little loop so you can slide your elastic through it.

8.  Let's assemble the rest of the apron!  Take the two top pieces of your apron and create a sandwich- one piece of fabric right side up, and then your shoulder straps, and then the other piece of fabric right side down.  You want the shoulder straps to be as close to the corners of what will be the very top edge of your apron as possible.  Just like with the bottom pieces, sew around 3 sides, leaving the small side (the 10" side in my drawing) open, using a zig-zag stitch and 1/4" seam allowance.  Turn out and press.

9.  To attach the top to the bottom, lay the bottom of the apron right side up, with the ribbon at the top.  Lay the top of the apron on top of it, right side down, so that the unfinished edge lines up with the top of the ribbon.  Using a straight stitch, sew as close to the edge of the ribbon as you can, then turn out and press flat.

10.  Now you just need to finish the back.  Take one edge of your elastic waistband and attach it to one side of the ribbon waist band, using a zig-zag stitch and 1/4" seam allowance, then press the seam flat.  Take your shoulder straps and cross them in to the X shape.  Feed your waist band through the loop at the bottom of the first strap, then through the loop at the back of the bow, and then through the loop at the bottom of the other strap.  Attach the free end to the other side of the ribbon in the same way as the first.

11.  Finally, you need to make the little nurse hat.  Cut 2 squares of white fabric, 5 1/2" each side.  On the right side of one square, draw a red cross with your fabric pen.  Place the squares right sides together and sew around 3 edges, leaving the bottom edge open, with a zig-zag stitch and 1/4" seam allowance.  Turn your little square pocket right side out and press.  Slide the 3x5 index card into the pocket; there should be about 2" of pocket hanging at the bottom.  You can bend the index card slightly so that it curves a little.  You're going to use the hair clips to clip the empty part of the fabric to your hair, and stand the card upright.  (You could also attach the little hat to a headband.)

Wear a cute short sleeved pink dress with white shoes.  Slip the apron over your head- the elastic stretches nicely so you can pull it on.  Wear the pink wig and clip the hat on top.  (Technically, in the show, she wears her hair in these pigtails that are tied up in big loops, but I couldn't make this curly wig cooperate.)  Offer to care for any sick or injured Pokemon that come your way, and if Brock asks you on a date, turn him down!

Much love,

The Geeks

Crafting Adventures: Brock

 

Pokemon trainer Brock is another really simple costume to put together.  Really all you need to make is the vest; an orange tshirt and some jeans complete the look.  And after that Ash costume, you're a pro at making vests, right?

Supplies:

-orange tshirt

-jeans

-green fabric

Before I launch into the instructions, I want to say a word or two about the fabric choice here.  I wanted to attempt to recreate the exaggerated, bulky look of the anime.  In the show, the vest is probably supposed to be a sort of puffer vest, but I wasn't confident enough to create that from scratch.  The vest definitely has some bulk and holds its shape- it doesn't really move much when Brock walks.  To achieve this sort of feeling, I went to the outdoor fabric section and chose a medium weight canvas material, something you might use to make cushions for outdoor furniture.  This material achieves the look of standing on its own, but boy was it heavy to work with on my sewing machine.  Also, it has NO STRETCH WHATSOEVER, so when I drafted the pattern for this vest, I had to add in panels on the sides so that Mr. Geek could actually put the thing on.  Finally, although the structure made it easy to hem a straight line across the bottom, folding curves was much more difficult- handling this material reminded me of folding origami more than creating with fabric.  If you'd like to save yourself some of this headache, feel free to use a lighter weight canvas (like something you would use to make a tote bag), or even just a regular quilting weight cotton (but then I would line it with a second layer).

1.  You're going to use your t-shirt as a guide to cut your pattern pieces.  Turn it inside out, tuck in the sleeves, and trace one piece for the back.  Then fold it in half to trace your two pieces for the front.  Finally, to account for the lack of stretch, you want two additional rectangular panels to go in the sides.  For an adult, I made them 6" wide and the height of the vest from the bottom hem to the bottom of the arm hole.  Add in a 1/4" seam allowance all the way around your pattern pieces, then cut them out in your green fabric.  Finally, the finished vest has 4 curved pockets, each with a curved flap covering the top.  I just freehand drew a pocket and a flap, added 1/4" seam allowance, and cut 4 of each piece.  The finished pockets are pretty wonky looking, but at least they're identically wonky.

2. Before assembling the vest, attach the pockets and flaps to the right sides of the front pieces.  The top two should be about level with the arm holes, and the bottom two just a few inches below them.  Place them however you like, just make sure that the pockets on the right exactly mirror the pockets on the left in terms of spacing.  Start with the pocket pieces.  Fold under the seam allowance on the top (the straight side) and stitch in place using a straight stitch.  Then, fold under the seam allowance on the curve (which is tricky!)  and top stitch to attach it to the front piece of the vest.  For the flap pieces, it's the reverse- first you hem the curve, and then you fold under the seam allowance on the straight side at the top and top stitch to attach that piece to the vest.  (If you try to attach the flap pieces before the pocket pieces, you'll have to move them out of the way to attach the pockets.)

3.  Just like with the Ash costume, our next step is to attach the front pieces to the back piece at the shoulder.  Lay one of the front pieces on top of the back piece, right sides together, making sure to line up the arm hole curve.  Sew a zig-zag stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Then repeat with the other front piece.

4. Next, hem the neckline.

5.  Now we're going to start to add in the panels.  Take one panel and place it on top of one of the front pieces of the vest, right sides together, lined up on the outer edge (where the arms go).  Sew a zig-zag stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance straight down that side.  Then repeat with the other panel on the other front piece.  Next, hem the arm holes, including the tops of the panels you just attached.

6.  Next, finish assembling the vest by attaching the sides of the back piece to the sides of the panels, again with a zig-zag stitch and 1/4" seam allowance.

7.  Finally, hem the bottom of the vest, all the way around, 1/4" with a zig-zag stitch (and then again with a top stitch, if you want to make sure it sits nice and flat and doesn't roll).  Also hem the inner edges of the front, where a closure would normally go, using the same method.

And that's it!  Brock should wear jeans, an orange t-shirt, and the green vest on top.  A Pokeball is always a good idea for a trainer to carry.  Of course, he's always around to help his friend Ash!

See, easy-peasy.  Only one more of these costumes involves any sewing- the other is just finding some basic clothing pieces and doing a particular hair style.  Come back to see!

Much love,

The Geeks

  

Crafting Adventures: Ash Ketchum

 We're not going to any parties or trick-or-treating this year because of the pandemic, but that doesn't mean we can't still dress up in costumes and celebrate Halloween at home.  If you're looking for some inspiration for some quick and easy homemade costumes, I'm once again offering some tutorials for our family costumes.

The Pokemon craze is still alive and well in our household; if you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen a video or two of Peanut belting out the theme song.  He'll even request it as a lullaby, and has solemnly promised to sing it for his new baby sibling as a dutiful big brother.  His bedroom has been Pokemon themed since he was born so, naturally, this seemed the perfect theme for family costumes last year, with Peanut himself dressed as amateur Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum.  This was a really simple costume to put together, requiring only beginner-level sewing skills, with truly adorable results.

Supplies:

-white short-sleeved button-down shirt

-green short-sleeved t-shirt

-jeans

 -lime green gloves

-blue cotton fabric

-1" wide yellow ribbon 

-narrow yellow ribbon (thinner than 1")

-red and white trucker hat

-green fabric marker

1. In the original cartoon, Ash wears a blue jacket with a white collar and white sleeves.  To simply things for myself, I decided to essentially attach a blue vest to a white oxford shirt rather than go through the hassle of creating that collar myself.  The resulting jacket has no closures in front and the pockets are fake, but it looks sleek when worn over the t-shirt and my two-year-old was capable of putting it on himself.  So, to start, the first thing you need to do is create a pattern for this "vest" using the white shirt.  Simply turn the shirt inside out and tuck in the sleeves, so that the shirt itself looks like a vest.  Using a large piece of paper (I like wrapping paper for this, especially the kind with a grid printed on the back) trace a single piece for the back of the shirt, and two separate pieces for the front, one on each side.  Remember to add 1/4" seam allowance all the way around on your pattern pieces.  Also, for the front pieces, be sure you include the button placards; your resulting blue "vest" is going to cover them.

2. Cut your three pieces from the blue fabric; they should roughly resemble the above image.  You're going to assemble the vest completely first, and then attach it to the white shirt.  (Remember these steps, as you'll use them to make another vest in this costume series...)  Start by attaching the front pieces to the back piece at the shoulder seams.  Place the front pieces on top of the back piece, right sides together, and use a zig-zag stitch and a 1/4" seam allowance.  

3. So now your vest is going to look like this.  The next step is to hem the neckline and the arm holes.  You can either roll the fabric under 1/8", press, and roll another 1/8" before stitching (which would leave a cleaner hem) OR, since that hem is going to be hidden by the white oxford shirt, you can be lazy like me and just fold under 1/4", sew, and be done with it.  

4. Finally, to finish the "vest", you're going to sew up the side seams.  Arrange the vest as if it were complete, inside out, and sew straight lines to attach the front pieces to the back piece.  Again use a 1/4" seam and a zig-zag stitch for strength.  Turn the vest right side out.  You'll notice we have left the bottom hem unfinished, as well as the places where the two front pieces come together (where closures would normally be).  If you were making a real vest, you'd do those bits next.  We're not, though!

5.  Okay, this next bit is going to sound crazy, but it works, just trust me.  Take your white oxford shirt and make sure it's turned fully right side out, ready to be worn.  To make things smoother, you can go ahead and remove all the buttons, including the ones that hold down the collar.  (Even if you don't remove the buttons, be sure to unbutton the collar so the points aren't trapped under the blue fabric when we're done.)  Next, take your blue "vest" and turn it right side out, then tuck it inside the shirt like a lining; make sure the right side of the "vest" is facing the wrong side of the shirt.  Carefully line up the inner edges where the shirt closes.  When drafting my pattern pieces, I traced the neckline of my "vest" below the topmost button on the white shirt, so that's where I pinned the top of my blue piece to the inside of the shirt; once you pin all the way down, you'll notice some of the blue pokes out from the bottom- that's your seam allowance.  Pin both edges this way.  Now, once you sew where you've pinned, you're going to pull that blue piece out and turn it right side out, pulling the sleeves of white shirt through the arm holes of the blue vest.  I gingerly practiced this turn out several times with everything pinned in place before sewing; if you don't believe it's going to work, practice it yourself, just to make sure.  Once you're satisfied, go ahead and sew, again with a zig-zag stitch, just the innermost edge of each side of the shirt closure.  Bring that zig-zag stitch right to the edge; don't worry about seam allowance.  

6. Here's what it looks like all turned the right way out, with the sleeves pushed through.  If it makes you feel better, you can top stitch a nice straight stitch right over where you just sewed, but I didn't bother.  Make sure you pull the collar of the white shirt through the neckline of the blue vest; give everything a good press if it looks terribly wrinkly, like mine.

7.  Now all that's left are some finishing touches!  Take your yellow 1" ribbon and use it to hem the bottom of the jacket.  I lined up the bottom of the ribbon with the bottom edge of the white shirt, sandwiching the bottom of the blue vest between them so that its edge also lined up.  Leave a little extra length on either end of the ribbon, fold it under the insides of the jacket at the closure, and stitch in place with a zig-zag stitch.  Then, use a straight stitch all the way around the outside of the jacket on the bottom edge of the ribbon.  For a nice clean finish, you can repeat the straight stitch around the edge of the top of the ribbon as well.

8.  Finally, you're going to create faux pockets using your thin yellow ribbon.  Simply cut two identical lengths of this small ribbon, and attach them at an angle on either side of the front of the jacket, using your best judgement to place where pockets ought to go.  Make sure the ribbons are mirror images of each other, angling down towards the outside of the jacket.  The hard part is over!

9.  For the accessories, you simply need to cut the fingers off of the green gloves (although I was able to find cheap lime green fingerless gloves on Amazon) and paint the L-shaped symbol on the front of the trucker hat.  A word of caution- I ordered a toddler sized hat for my two-year-old, and it was much too small; I don't know if he just had a big head at the time (probably) or if "toddler" sizes are just too small.  Either way, next time, I would go with a regular child sized hat; worst case, it would be slightly too big and look adorable in photos.

And there you have it!  Ash wears jeans and a green t-shirt (although sometimes in the show it looks black...whatever you have on hand!) with the jacket on top, fingerless gloves, and the hat (preferably on his head).  A stuffed Pokemon or two make great companions, along with a red Pokeball.

This was by far the most complicated of this group of costumes, and it really isn't so bad at all.  Tune in all week for the rest of the tutorials!

Much love,

The Geeks