No-sew Costume Challenge!

When I was a kid, my mother would always make my Halloween costume for me.  And being a kid, I didn't appreciate how awesome those costumes actually were.  I just wanted to get one of those really cool costumes that came in a package with all their bits and pieces put together for me, just like the other kids at school.  One year I actually convinced her to let me buy a costume - I picked this awesome Black Widow Queen costume with spiderweb details and a neat belt shaped like a bat (don't ask me what bats and spiders have in common).  It was AWFUL.  No one knew what I was (no, a Black Widow Queen is not a witch!), and it felt like I was wearing a nightgown.  Plus it practically disintegrated the moment I took it off.  That was the last time I ever bought a costume.

Before

After

I remembered this story recently when I saw a magazine article describing "no-sew" costume ideas, all of which involved a t-shirt, iron-on transfers, and/or silly prop to create a clever play on words - Iron Chef (hat & clothes iron), Fork in the Road (black shirt, white dotted lines, plastic fork), Pumpkin Pie (orange shirt, pi symbol... OK, the nerd in me likes that one).  It really got me thinking... If you don't sew, are your only costume choices a nylon pyjama set disguised as a costume, or a t-shirt with paper taped to it?  I set out to prove that the answer is no.  So I picked a costume idea, gathered up the materials I needed, and came up with a no-sew costume that beats the pants off of anything you could buy, for a fraction of the cost, and only took me 30 minutes to finish. 

Follow the jump to get a full tutorial on how to recreate this on your own, PLUS there will be details on how to enter a drawing to receive this very same dress for your own Halloween costume!

Trash to Treasure: A 1960s Bridesmaid Becomes a Tudor Princess

Very rarely do I get a chance to design and build something from the ground up.  Usually time or budget dictates that I have to find an existing piece and alter it to fit my design.  When I'm working in a low-budget situation, this calls for some serious creativity.

Take this piece here:

Fugly dress before I get my hands on it

Peach taffeta, high neckline, lace collar - some bridesmaid was probably cursing her friend the whole time she was wearing this.  But even as ugly as it is, it had great potential for a children's production of "The Prince and the Pauper".  Let's look at the good points of this dress that makes it work for a Tudor-esque gown: high rounded neckline, fitted bodice that ends at the natural waist, long sleeves that puff slightly at the top and end tight on the wrist, and a full skirt that is pleated instead of gathered and lies flat in the front.  Here's an example of the period lines that I'm looking at:  

Yes, the fugly dress will look like this.  Sort of.

With these basic lines of the period in mind, it took only a few minor changes to turn this ugly duckling into a swan princess:

First, I removed the lace collar.  Then I added a piece of coordinating brocade to create the inset on the top of the gown.  This was done by putting the dress on a dressform and tracing the shape and seamlines onto a piece of tracing paper.  Once I had my shape, I cut out the fabric, sewed it together at the shoulder seams, and attached it directly to the dress.  I didn't need to worry about finishing the raw edges because they were hidden by the trim.  With some carefully placed trim around the inset and down the front of the dress, I created the look of a wide neckline and front-opening bodice.  A bit more trim around the wrists to tie everything together, and a full petticoat worn under the dress, and our Tudor lady-in-waiting is born! 



After!



Close up of the inset details

Now, would this work for Chicago Shakespeare?  No.  But it was perfect for a children's production, and with the right headpiece and jewelry it was completely believeable.  It also cost a whopping $15 and took me less than 2 hours to complete, making it easier to produce the other 30-some costumes I needed for this show.  Two-fold moral of today's story:  First, even if you have the ability make a stunning period-perfect recreation, it's not always necessary or practical.  Second, next time you need a costume - whether it's for a play or Halloween - instead of getting discouraged because you can't find exactly what you need, break it down into parts and look for something that has the same qualities as what you're looking for.  Then make it exactly what you need!