Costume Snafu

I pulled another all-nighter last night, sewing a medieval costume for Dani for the medieval fair at her school today. When Dani told me last week that she needed a costume, I was kind of cranky with her teacher, wondering why he required costumes for them. Sewing is obviously beyond most of their capabilities, and acquiring one that would satisfy Dani is kind of expensive. After looking online, the cheapest thing I found was going to cost me $45 by the time shipping was added, and I wasn't sure it would be big enough, or even get here on time. So, I bit the bullet, spent $25 on fabric and supplies, and set to work sewing a costume myself. Yesterday, I started from scratch, drafting my own pattern, and looking on the internet at pictures of medieval costumes. I carefully made the underdress, to be durable and nicely finished, because it's the kind of thing that could be adapted for future uses, and because of its one-size-fits-all construction, it even fits me. But at the end, I was slopping the overdress together, frantically trying to get it done. I delivered Dani to school 20 minutes late this morning. Whew!

>The aftermath in my dining room: after sewing all night, it was worse than it looks, believe me.

This is what I was going for with the underdress:
Classic Chemise from tudordressing.com There's a lot of good stuff there.
Kind of what I was going for with an overdress. What I wound up making was sloppy, but it was done, you know?


But, once I was done, I had no chance to take a picture with the rush this morning. So, tonight before bed, I asked Dani to put it on, so I could take a picture of it for my blog. What does she tell me? "Oh, I cut off the sleeves because they were too long and puffy and when I pushed up the sleeves, the elastic was uncomfortable." WHAT???!!!!! I spent HOURS making that thing, and it was awesome!! I figured at least the underdress/chemise would be around for a long time, not casually destroyed in one day's usage!! It should have had years of use left in it. After lecturing her for ten minutes, I told her to put the costume back on, so I could take a pic for my blog. It's the least she could do, I said.

I asked her if this was the face she wanted to make for my blog post, and she pouted and refused to talk to me. Sigh...

Cost for online costume - $45. Not having to sew for 12 hours or deal with pouty daughter - Priceless.

See, this is why I don't sew clothes anymore. Hours and hours of effort for something that's difficult to make turn out right. Cardmaking, however, I need to stick with that. 15 minutes can produce something beautiful. And you can make a project for pennies in supplies. Although, sometimes I think I should just give up crafting of ANY VARIETY all together, and just read books from the library for the rest of my life. Heaven knows, it would certainly be cheaper.