Simplicity 2569: Bodice Progress

I am making some good progress on my daughter's witch costume.  So far I have sewed a full lining for it and assembled the bodice in the fashion fabric.  I also added a faux placket to the bodice front and drafted a collar that will echo the peplum that this dress will have at the waist.  Here it is so far (with the underskirt just sort of pinned on)...

To draft my collar I taped the bodice front and back pattern pieces to each other along the stitch line of the shoulder seams and I taped those pieces down onto my mat like so.

Then I layed a piece of tracing paper on top of the original pattern pieces and taped it down too and I traced the neckline and the center front line.  I also marked the seam line for the center back. 

Finally I just used a ruler and a french curve to draw a collar that suited me, starting and ending the collar inside the center front and back lines.  I went for a pointed shape that would look similar to the shape of the bodice peplum I am using.  I added in a 1/4 inch seam allowance to the outside curve.  I used this pattern piece to cut 4 from my fashion fabric and 2 from interfacing for my collar. 

 

For the faux button placket I just cut 2 rectangles from the black satin that were 1 1/2" wide and as long as my bodice pattern piece at the center front.  I put them right sides together and sewed with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Then I turned my tube and pressed it from the back only and edge stitched it to the bodice.  I have some black buttons I'm going to add and I'm also planning to do a little bow at the neck and waist in black velvet ribbon.  However - I've edited out my beloved puffy shoulders!  They just seemed like too much with the collar and the ribbon.  It was hard to let the idea of those puffy shoulders go but I think the bodice looks right now without them. 

My son was working right along side me on his own project and when he saw me get the camera out he wanted to photograph his work too!  I like this shot because it shows how stuff is happening right outside the frame of the pattern pictures above.  No quiet time around here!  So cute...

 It's coming together well so far.  Next I'll work on the underskirt and the overskirts.  Here are the cut pieces for the organza layers of the overskirts. 

Keep your fingers crossed that I don't get buried and lost forever under a huge mountain of sparkly organza!

Simplicty 2569 - Toddler's Witch Costume

I love Halloween and now that I have kids it is more fun than ever.  This year my boys have decided to be Jedi.  Specifically, they will be Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi.  Most of the components for their costumes were purchased online or pulled out of our toy boxes and dresser drawers. 
But for my daughter I decided to go all out and make her a witch costume since this is probably the last year that I'll be able to pick her costume with little or no input from her.
My favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz so when I think "witch" I think Wicked Witch of the West.  I wanted my daughter's costume to have lots of the same elements that Margaret Hamilton wore in the MGM film.

Most important to me were the fitted bodice with long sleeves and puffed shoulders, plus a long swirling, gloomy skirt.  As I was looking for a pattern, Simplicity 4024 caught my eye because it is a Wizard of Oz pattern, even though no Wicked Witch is pictured. 

The line drawing for Glinda's costume (view B) actually looks like it would make a pretty good witch costume.  It has most of the elements for my witch's dress - fitted bodice, long sleeves with a puff shoulder and a long skirt.

Rendered in gloomy fabric instead of pink frothy fabric I think it could work for a witch.  However, that neck line was not at all what I wanted.  My witch will be much too wicked for a v-neck line.  I was looking for something prim but spooky - like the fabulous Miss Wednesday Addams would wear...

She is so scary!  I love her.  Ok, back to the pattern selection...

I finally found this one, Simplicity 2569.  If you look past the pastel tulle used in most of the views and all of the frilly Tinkerbell-esque peplums you can see that this dress pattern meets my requirements pretty well.  Puff sleeve option?  Check.  Long skirt?  Check.  Fitted bodice upon which I can work my prim, yet creepy embelishments?  Check. 

Yesterday I dragged my 3 year old son through Joann's to purchase the pattern (thank you Columbus Day $.99 pattern sale) and all the fabrics.  I avoided the costum satins and went with a nice black satin from the bridal fabrics line (used a 50% off coupon for that).  I found a bolt of crushed organza in orange on the red-tag clearance shelf (50% of the clearance price!).  I also picked up a couple of yards of black tulle with spiders and sparkly webs on it (60% right now at my Joann's).  For trim I purchased black velvet ribbon.  I will be making the size 1 for my daughter.  Can't wait to start putting this dress together.  Anyone else making Halloween costumes right now?