Authenticity Reigns!

 In my spare time on Saturday and while I made the girls fend for themselves for lunch, I sewed on Maddy’s Emma/Pride & Prejudice dress.  It could be used for either.  We had to measure the sleeves and hem before I could finish it, so I needed her here for that.  I also took in the sides of the bodice about 5+ inches, as I must have measured wrong…

Think Emma had a watch like that?

Then sewed on the ribbon and whipped up a bonnet.  I found some instructions on Pinterest where they’d made one using a cereal box for the base.  Okey doke!  Which cereal box is most empty?! 

Cut cut cut

 and then slice my finger open with the rotary cutter...  Yeowch.

Didn’t have a real pattern to go by, so I just held it up to her head and used a magic marker to mark things up before cutting.  I’m sure if I’d taken more time and probably more duct tape, it could be more authentic…  But oh well.  She’s got a matching bonnet!

And just a word of advice… If you happen to sew through cooled hot glue and need to rethread the needle shortly after, don’t bother with that needle…  Just pitch it and grab a new one.  I worked on that thing for 25 minutes trying to rethread it, when suddenly I realized that I must have sewn thru the hot glue and sealed the hole shut! 

There’s no threading THAT thing!

Got the modeling photos taken and then it hung on the hutch until she left on Sunday.

Next project to do was Meri’s Halloween costume!  She’s going to be Michonne from The Walking Dead.  We’re BIG Dead Heads around here!  And according to Meri, it has to look AUTHENTIC!  With the ratty cape, the leather vest and the purple tank top with jeans.  She can handle the tank top and jeans.  My job is the cape and vest.  We bought her some dread locks on Ebay and she’ll be dreading them up some more as they look kind of like oversized Shirley Temple locks.  Sigh. 

I’m using my measurements for the cape since Meri got to go back to campus with Maddy and Leah on Sunday for an overnight visit!  Robb was going to be near by on Monday anyway on business, so he picked her up then.  No school for Meri, so she didn’t miss anything but substituted with college courses and college food!  She had a great time watching Maddy study.  I know I kid, Maddy did do a lot of studying and piano practice when they got back but Meri really did have a great time…

Anyway, before they left on Sunday, Meri and I spent some time at JoAnns looking for the perfect fabrics for the cape and vest.

Got them!  

 The cape is a heavier woven brown.   The vest will be a kind of vinyl-ly leather/pleather kind of thing.  We picked up eyelet things to make the side tie thingys.

Aren't I specific?

I found where someone had made a Little Red Riding hood cape online, so I used that as KIND of my guide.  No pattern.  Just measurements and a lot of by gosh, by golly and here we go!

I got it cut out while she was gone, but a small grandson who shall remain nameless, but his name rhymes with Leon, has kept me away from the project until this morning, when I managed to finally get the serger rethreaded correctly after he mangled it.  I got the edges all serged in a matter of 15 minutes.   

Why oh why do I think that finishing the seams ahead of time is a waste of time??  If all it takes is 15 minutes…  It takes a lot longer if I’d waited and did it as an after thought!  I planned ahead this time because I don't want the seams to shred in the washing machine.  It's supposed to have a distressed look.

It’s not like I’m going to enter this in the fair or anything anyway…  As soon as it’s done, Meri is going to drag it through the mud, hit it with rocks and beat it over the hedges anyway. 

It’s got to be authentic… 

I don't care what she does it to when it's complete.  But I’m ironing the seams out and she can’t stop me!