All About the Halloween Costumes: Part I
I have fond memories of making Halloween costumes with my family as a kid. My dad had a box of theatrical makeup from his college theater days, and he really got into it. I swear: face paint, a box, and some duct tape, and you were in business. My favorite was when my brother went as a tree. That one required a little chicken wire, as I recall. Those were the days that we wore view-obstructing masks and mobility-restricting appendages, and trick or treated way after dark.
Good times.
Even in college, I have some favorites that were simple. The teabag, that just required a yard or so of fusible interfacing, some leaves, string, and a little tag you could magic marker up in just a few minutes after being invited to that party. Or the leftover, which just requires a box of aluminum foil to wrap yourself in, and some masking tape to make a little label "Meatloaf. March '89".
These days it is much more complicated. Year one of babydom, we had the skunk:
What a success! (Success not measured by how good the costume was, or even how cute he was in it, but by how much he made the friends and neighbors laugh! Lots of laughs! Hooray!)
Next up, we bring you the monkeys (same pattern, McCalls 8938):
Not such a success. Are they mice? Cats?
No, see the tails! Oh, they're MONKEYS. Oh. Hmmm.
As I look back, this might have been the turning point from sewing their costumes to knitting them. I bring you, my all time favorite, the Ladybug:
She liked it so much she wore it two years in a row. Gotta love that. And she wore the hat all year long with her little red coat.
And the Tiger:
Same deal, he wore it two years in a row, and he wore the hat all winter.
Here are the specs:
Ladybug hat from Zoe Mellor Animal Knits. Cascade 220 red and black, one skein each. Black turtleneck, tights, and ladybug wings from Old Navy.
Tiger hat from Zoe Mellor Double Knits. Rowan Magpie orange and black, one skein each. Tiger jam jams from Hanna Andersson.
Good times.
Even in college, I have some favorites that were simple. The teabag, that just required a yard or so of fusible interfacing, some leaves, string, and a little tag you could magic marker up in just a few minutes after being invited to that party. Or the leftover, which just requires a box of aluminum foil to wrap yourself in, and some masking tape to make a little label "Meatloaf. March '89".
These days it is much more complicated. Year one of babydom, we had the skunk:
What a success! (Success not measured by how good the costume was, or even how cute he was in it, but by how much he made the friends and neighbors laugh! Lots of laughs! Hooray!)
Next up, we bring you the monkeys (same pattern, McCalls 8938):
Not such a success. Are they mice? Cats?
No, see the tails! Oh, they're MONKEYS. Oh. Hmmm.
As I look back, this might have been the turning point from sewing their costumes to knitting them. I bring you, my all time favorite, the Ladybug:
She liked it so much she wore it two years in a row. Gotta love that. And she wore the hat all year long with her little red coat.
And the Tiger:
Same deal, he wore it two years in a row, and he wore the hat all winter.
Here are the specs:
Ladybug hat from Zoe Mellor Animal Knits. Cascade 220 red and black, one skein each. Black turtleneck, tights, and ladybug wings from Old Navy.
Tiger hat from Zoe Mellor Double Knits. Rowan Magpie orange and black, one skein each. Tiger jam jams from Hanna Andersson.
posted by Emily at 1:43 PM
2 Comments:
Oh my! I LOVE the skunk! I would never let them grow up if you could keep them in the skunk outfit!
Awesome costumes! Love the hats. My boys had bear and tiger hats from that Double Knits book for their second Halloween. Isn't it great when they really love the things you make?
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