Thanks. Kit was really happy with it, even though I didn't get everything finished. (She really wanted to use Coraline's red messenger bag for her trick-or-treat bag.) It was a really simple pattern, so the sewing part wasn't really amazing or anything, but it makes me think Kit definitely needs more dressup jammies.

So, I see that another person has already posted a Coraline costume, complete with Other Mother. That was my plan this year, but plans fall apart... My daughter wanted to be a specific look from Coraline, and wanted me to be the corresponding Other Mother look (which is actually by that time the Beldam, I think) but in the spring I had costume pieces to make for the Midwest Haunters Convention, in the summer, I had to make some costume pieces for the Lincoln ZombieFest, in addition to busting butt to help organize it, and in September and October, I made a commissioned piece for a friend's cosplay, in addition to training actors for and supervising in a haunted house. I ran out of time for Other Mother, and my poor kid had to be a lonely Coraline. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though.

My 9 year old wears a ladies size small, and so I went with a unisex adult PJ pattern, and like the other Coraline-maker, wound up hand-stamping polka dots. (No surprise, note a huge availability on bright orange fabric with pink and white dots.) The PJs came out too big, as you can see, but they're cozy and she gets to play dressup when going to sleep, which she thinks is a lot of fun. She's a stickler for detail, which is why the PJs HAD to have the pink edging, and even though you can't see them under the vest, pale blue buttons. I already owned the quilted vest and the captain's hat, and Kit was very VERY disappointed that I didn't get the red messenger back and red sneaker-covers done. We tried dyeing her hair blue, but it just turned black, so we did end up having to get a blue wig, last minute, which didn't work amazingly well. And she's wearing her own freckles.

I think I actually finally got rid of my oldest WIP just this summer. It was a pair of slippers I started when I still lived with my parents, so I was probably 18. I was 34 when I finally let it go.

Well, truth be told, it's very easy when your girl has a bust and waist measurement within an inch of each other.  The slack can be taken up with the back snaps, and you don't have to do any side seams at all.

Thank you!  It always feels good to be able to give Kit exactly what she wants, even if I think, 'Really, that?'  lol 

I do not think of myself as a seamstress with any kind of skills, so it always surprises me when things turn out well, and this... I am simply stunned.  lol  Thanks to the foresight of a friend, I still have one of the costumes my mother made me when I was little, and after last year's debacle with the costume satin, I was just certain I'd never be able to make something like that... something that would last through a dozen little girls using it; something that would be anything other than a throw-away piece.  Somehow, I took last year's defeat and turned it into this year's triumph.  This thing is built to last. 

I do wish a little bit that my triumph here on the costume boards could be in the cleverness of the construction or the perfection of the execution, or the absolute coolness of the idea, but instead, it is just actually making something well.  It is a well-made cliche, but it is well-made, and I am content.

Plus, as with every year, Kit's "Mom, this is AWEsome" makes it all worth it.

When my daughter, who turns 8 next month, told me she wanted to be a "girl vampire" I was actually a little disappointed.  Last year she chose Princess Peach, and I never did learn from where the idea came.  How could she go from something as cool as Princess Peach to something as cliche as "girl vampire"?  Woe is me!  But, she isn't a little kid anymore, and that is what she wanted, so that is what we set out to make.  Wherever her idea of "girl vampire" originated, though, must have included pictures, because she was VERY specific about exactly what she wanted.  A black dress with poofy sleeves and red in the center, with a spiderweb on it, and a fake spider.  And a cape with a big collar, of course.

Last year we made Princess Peach out of costume satin, and I swore to the nine hells I would NEVER use that stuff again.  This year when we made our shopping trip to Joann's we headed first to the clearance section, where everything also happened to be 50% off the red-tag price.  And lo, there were roughly 6 yards of black ultrasuede for $3.50/yd.  Who can't find a use for ultrasuede?  Into the cart it went, and I knew I'd be using some of it for Kit's costume.  A bit of red lining material and some of the on-sale Halloween fabric that was sheer with black spiderwebs, some snaps, a spool of ribbon, another spool of black thread (I live in fear of running out of black thread, and actually buy a spool on every trip to the fabric store...) and the well-wishes of the gals at the cutting counter, and off we went for home.

I (*gasp*, I still can't believe I did this, and it WORKED) drafted the pattern for this dress myself.  I took some careful measurements of Kit, and then drew the bodice onto the suede side of the ultrasuede (the dress is made of the "wrong" side of the ultrasuede throughout), folded in half at the center point, then drew on 1/2" of seam allowance and cut it out.  The shape was roughly the same as a tank top I remember from an old issue of Crochet Today, that was made in one piece from back seam to back seam, with the straps sewn together at the top of the shoulder.  It is also fully lined.  I sewed the little red and black bits to the front and hid the raw edges with the ribbon trim, and then sewed the sleeves into the arm holes.  Kit requested that they "flutter" rather than be gathered at the elbow as I originally intended.  So be it.  The skirt is five wedge-shaped panels of ultrasuede, one with the lining/spiderweb sandwich, and then the whole thing is gathered to make it fit the bodice and have everything line up pretty.  Then instead of hemming, I did the ruffle around the bottom.

And holy crap, it worked.  It all worked, and it kept working, and then it worked some more.  I haven't made the cape yet. But that's easy.  Since the ultrasuede is 60" wide, I'm just going to make a circle half-cape with a big collar.  Simple.  I needed a break.

Swoon.

I saw Lowly Worm in the pictures on the front page and said, out loud, for all my coworkers to hear, "It's Lowly Worm!"

Beautiful hat!

This is such a good idea!  Back to the basics, man!  I don't have ANY idea what kind of tutorial I could make, but awesome none the less!

That is really only my first completed pair of socks.  (I'm ashamed to admit!)  I have two other pairs started...  The first pair was Jaywalkers, and I got to the first gusset and realized they were too small for me, so set them aside until I could decide either to frog and make them bigger for myself, or make them bigger for me, and in the meantime, started a second pair of Jaywalkers in another colorway and got through one, then set it aside to work on gifts.  I really should be finishing it up, but I'm taking a knitting break to get some sewing done. lol  Meanwhile, the Lolita Legs I made for the Be Awesome Swap were socks number 2, fast on the heels of these here Kilt Hose, and they used a figure 8 toe, which is also pretty slick, but not as elegant, I think, as the short row. 

I really do prefer working them toe up, though!  On these kilt hose, it didn't matter SO much, as they needed to be a specific length, and if I'd run out of yarn early, I'd have had to buy more.  (I came within about 10 yards on yarn!)  But it was especially handy on the Lolita Legs.  Each sock took one ball of yarn, and I knitted until I pretty well didn't have yarn left, so that I could be sure they'd stretch high enough to use with a garter belt.  Worked a treat!  I'll finish up my Jaywalkers as is, but after that, I think I'll try to work toe-up more than not.

Thanks everyone!