Halloween Crafts: Thrifted Dress to Fluffy Fantasy Costume

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Halloween is less than a week away and I needed a costume. Time for a little thrift store magic. 

Or should I call it formal dress hacking? It's one of my favorite techniques, especially for those "I have no ideal what I was to be for Halloween" moments.

I take an old cast off dress, and with a little imagination and a bit of cutting and sewing turn it into something special. The best dresses to use are old bridesmaid and prom dresses. The pouf-ier the better, more fabric to work with and more inspiration.

So, I found this dress at Goodwill on sale for a whole $2. It has a lot going for it already.

It has a sparkly bodice made using a floral lace. It's pretty and stretchy.

I love the material for the skirt, and there's so much of it. It's ankle length on me.

It has adjustable straps with is great, because I find myself having to shorten straps on practically everything I wear regardless of occasion.

Now the interesting thing about this dress is the extra set of "straps" made from the same material as the skirt. It's hard to tell if they're meant to hang on or off the shoulders. When I tried it on they wouldn't stay up, and they looked super frumpy hanging down.

Well, I know exactly what I want to do with this dress.

First, I pinned the droopy outer strap to the adjustable one about halfway up the strap.

I handstitched it down while folding it slightly to make little pleats and sewing down faux pearls on each pleat.

I turned the dress inside out and folded the skirt lining, then pinned the hem to the waist seam. I proceeded to sew it in place using a blanket stitch to keep it stretchy.

After sewing the lining, I cut the skirt to match leaving it about an inch longer.

I thought the neckline of the dress was too low for me, so to fix this I took a small amount of the skirt material and folded it half before gathering it by hand.

Once gathered, I stitched it in place from the backside, then cut away the excess material.

Now it looks a little more modest and cuter. Just needs a little bow in the center.

And I still had a lot more skirt material left, so I took a large rectangle of it and gathered it at the top edge. I needed it to just wide enough to go around my waist.

I pinned it to some ribbon leaving enough ribbon on the ends to tie in a nice bow.

After sewing down the ribbon, I can wrap the new "overskirt" around the dress and tie it in a pretty bow.  It's great because I can remove it and use it for other costumes or outfits as I wish.

And here's the finished costume dress. Perfect to pair with some wings or ears for a cute fairy or elf costume.

The little bow on the bodice was a nice touch. If the bodice hadn't fit me as well as it did, I would have added some loops to thread ribbon for a lace up effect. Maybe an idea for my next costume.

I trimmed the edge of the overskirt in a curve as an extra touch. It's one of my favorite parts of this project, there was still plenty of scraps of material leftover after making it.

Enough to make some hair accessories.

First, I cut the leftover material in strips about 3 inches long. I also cut 2 strips from an old pair of tights.

I tied the knot in the tights to make a loop to form a "hair tie". I could have started with store bought hair elastics too. Anyway, I just needed to tie the strips of material to the hair ties as shown.

The more I tie the fluffier it looks. Perfect for a pair fancy hair scrunchies to pair with my costume. The same technique could be used to make wrist cuffs or even doll sized tutus.

And with that I am ready for Halloween, well mostly ready. I just need to get the treats ready and finish another sewing project. Look forward to it.

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Halloween Crafts: From Plain to Pretty Lace Fantasy Costume Dress

It took way too long, but I finally finished the first project on my craft list. 

A Halloween costume.

Does anyone remember this dress?  I made it two years ago around Halloween along with a couple of other accessories.  The accessories turned it into a cute fairy costume.

Sometimes great costumes can come from simple things, and I will show you how again with this dress.

I had this pink lace fabric leftover from an Easter dress (see Pink Lace for Easter).  Using the pink dress as a guide, I cut two tank top shapes out for a lacy bodice.

Then I stitched along the shoulders and “hemmed” arm area.  I just folded down the edge and zig-zag stitched it down.

I cut two half circles from the lace for cute flutter sleeves.

Just hem them and sew on along the arm area to finish.

The skirt on the pink dress is a circle skirt, but for the lace I made a half circle instead.  Here’s a great tutorial for half circle skirts.

I decided to cut the lace bodice down the center to open it up before sewing on the skirt.

Then I hemmed all the raw edges and layered the lace “overdress” over the pink dress.  Looks pretty now.

I then grabbed a needle and thread and to attach the lace to the pink dress along the front and neckline.  Just enough to keep things in place.

I wanted the stitches to be easy to remove in case I want to wear these pieces separately in the future.

Just throw on a few accessories, and my costume dress is done.  I still haven’t really decided what to call it.  This dress could work for so many pretty outfits.  From princess or fairy to anime style magical girl.  It all works.

Anyway, in addition to the left lace fabric I’m reusing the flower headband I also wore for Easter.  The color matches this dress perfectly.  Check out my flower headband tutorial to make your own.

Using more of the stretchy lace fabric, I whipping up some finger-less gloves that are easier than they look.  They are basically just tubes of fabric, hemmed and adjusted to fit my arms.

One end was pinned and stitch to go around my thumb.  An easier method it to cut the legs off a pair of lace tights and  cut off the toes for your fingers, but I didn’t have any.

So, now we have a pretty costume dress with matching accessories, and just in time for Halloween.  Yay!

Here’s the updated list:

• Costume
• Case
• Doll and Kitty
• Little Halloween
• 3 Skirts
• Accessories
• Socks
• Overalls
• Ornaments
• More Cases

One down, nine more to go.  The next one should be up soon.  Look forward to it!

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Sleepwear Makeovers: Pants to Cute Pajama Set and a Bonus

I said a couple days later, but here’s the next craft project a couple weeks later. :(

Anyway, I found this cute pair of pink pajama pants at a thrift store for only $1, score!

They have this cute Mickey and Minnie mouse print.

The problem was that not only were they too big, but I found them too warm to wear here in Arizona.  I prefer to wear shorts for sleeping.

That’s an easy thing to do, and it would leave fabric leftover, for what?  Then I thought, why not make a cute top?  Why not make a set of pajamas?

So let’s turn old pajama pants into a cute new pajama set. 

First, I cut the legs of the pants to make shorts.  I cut them about an inch longer than I wanted, so I could hem them later.

Then I pinned and stitched the inseam and took it in about 1.5 inches.  This was both to make the too big shorts fit me better, and to deal with a little hole I noticed in the crotch area.  Problems solved.

Then all I had to do was re-hem the shorts with a zig-zag stitch.

New pajama shorts completed!

Now for the top.  This is a drawstring tank top made a lot like the doll tank tops from my video tutorial.  Check it out if you have a little trouble with this.

First I took the cut off legs and cut down the side to open them up.  Layer them together right sides together, and you have fabric for the top. 

I wanted the top to fit loosely, but depending on how wide your fabric is (and how wide you are), you may want to trim it a little before sewing.

I used the already hemmed part of the fabric for the top of the tank top, it will be used as a casing for the ribbon. 

I first cut the top corners off in a curve shape, (use a tank top that fits as a cutting guide if needed).

Then I pinned and stitched the sides of the tank top.

Then the bottom was ready for hemming.

All that was left to do was thread ribbons through the “casings” and tie to form the straps.  I added a ribbon bow to the front just for fun.

And now the drawstring tank top is done…

…And the pajama set is ready to wear.

Now here’s the bonus.  A cute night gown makeover. 

I got this cute night gown at a thrift store ages ago.

I loved the cute pattern, it has kitties, bunnies and cows, because cows are adorable, right?

The problem is that I never wear it.  Not only is it too big, but I think it would work better as a top than a gown.  Easy to fix.

I just cut it where I wanted it, plus an inch for the hem.

I pinned and stitch along the sides to take it in, because things are always too big for me.

Then a quick hemming job to finish.

But, we’re not done yet.  Let’s make shorts!

I took that piece I cut off and cut down the middle to form to folded pieces.  I will use the already hemmed bottom for the hem of my shorts.

I used a pair of shorts I already had as a guide to cut the curve.  I left a couple of inches at the top for the waist.

Unfold the pieces and layer them right sides together.

It’s hard to tell in this photo, but the curved part should be deeper on one side.  That will be the back seam, and it needs to be deeper to accommodate your back side.

Anyway, I just pinned and stitch the back seam and then the front seam.

Then I turned the shorts around and pinned the inseam before sewing it securely.

Time for the waist.  I just double fold and sew to form a casing for the elastic.

Then I thread the elastic through with a safety pin and stitched the ends together.

And the shorts are finished…

And the second pajama set is complete and ready to wear.

Here’s the updated list:

• Dress makeover
• Doll undies
• Cameo and Hearts
• Blouse makeover
• Phone case
• Outfit
• Mother’s Day
• Costume fix
• Jammies
• Bonnet

Nine down, just one more to go.  The next one will be up in a couple of days.  I hope.

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