Over the Rainbow

All right!  Finally posting something other than a LinkUp.  I have actually made several things over the past few weeks that I just haven’t gotten around to posting.  Sadly none have anything to do with my pink pants.

Anyway, Halloween is tomorrow as we all know, so I thought I should show off what I did for a costume. 

I found this Dorothy costume at a yard sale for $2.  It had several problems.  Too big, too open in back, crooked buttons, frumpy skirt and sleeves, stains, crooked ric-rac, etc., and did I mention that it was too big?  Time to work a little Halloween magic.  So here’s the before…

…And after.  The skirt was an easy fix.  I just had to shorten it by about 4 inches and move the button in the back to cinch the waist.  The top was a different story.  I literarily had to take it apart, chop off a few inches everywhere, and sew it back together.  I also added a zipper to the back so my entire back wasn’t exposed.  Now it fits me almost perfectly.  All done?  Nope.  It takes more than a blue dress to make a Dorothy costume, so time for the accessories.

I found this basket at another yard sale for only 25 cents.  Best deal.  I used some scraps from the costume to make bows.  I just cut strips using my pinking shears and tied them to the sides of the basket.  Easy and cute.  The little doggie was a birthday present from some reaally good friends of mine.  Yep, my birthday was yesterday. 

Moving on,  what’s a Dorothy costume without ruby slippers?  For these I started out trying to make shoe covers.  I’d seen some in stores, but didn’t like the price or the quality.  Anyway, I cut up an old Christmas stocking and used my shoes as a guide to make a pattern.  It was easy enough, but I was having trouble getting a good fit until I realized it would be easier to just sew the fabric right to the shoes.  Luckily I had an old pair of ballet flats that would have otherwise been tossed.  Several minutes of sewing (and one broken needle) later, I had my slippers.  Now I have one complete Dorothy costume that cost less than $5 to make.  Yay!