Well I did it! I finished our costumes last Friday. This may be the earliest I’ve finished our Halloween costumes in a while. We had fall pictures scheduled so I had a deadline and stuck to it! I can’t wait to show them to you, but I’ll be patient. If you see me in person you probably have already seen them, that’s how impatient I am!
This past week I got to join Patricia on her school field trip! This year they let unlimited adults join, which I do not believe was the case in the past. It was very cute and we had a good time hanging out at the farm together. It was at the apple orchard near us to which we love to bike ride. I’m sad to report it was recently sold though so I hope the new owners keep it somewhat the same!
Julius of course was grumpy that I chaperoned Patricia’s field trip and have never done that for him! So I put my name in the hat again for his 3rd grade field trip this year and I was actually picked! But it’s a LONG one. So it will be an adventure. I think for his I actually have to ride the bus too, so we’ll see how that goes…
Let me tell you being a mom is so fun but also more exhausting than I ever realized. Now that both kids are getting older I’m starting to worry about the time when they don’t care about us anymore… and I want to soak it all in now while I can, hence the field trips. Will has been doing a lot of pick ups and drop offs since I have so many school committee related meetings so he’s the real hero. But I feel like I don’t get to hang out with the kids a ton. Luckily being a den leader for both of their scout dens and going to Chinese school with them means I do have some designated time with both of them.
Some people’s love language is gifts, others is food, mine is making crafts for you. If I make a craft for you (or your children), or invite you to make crafts with me it’s safe to say I love you! And if I haven’t gotten around to it yet (new friends) don’t worry I promise I’m thinking of you next. Costumes is the ultimate ceiling of my crafting love language. If I can convince you to wear a costume I made for you, then I’m just over the moon (shoot this reminds me I need to make Erin a new medieval costume at some point). See this is why I married Will, do you even know how many silly costumes Will has put on for me?
So let’s talk about Patricia’ bat costume last year. It was super easy. I took a black dress she already had, and added wings. Then I made some cute bat ears. That was it. So here it is.
Patricia’s Bat Costume
You’ll need:
- 1 black long sleeved dress
- Black fabric for the wings (dependent on size)
- Black bias tape (dependent on size)
1. Lay out black dress with the arms outstretched and slightly upwards.
2. Insert black fabric underneath and trace on the fabric using chalk from sleeve down near bottom of the dress, then back up to the start in a scallop pattern to mimic bat wings.
3. Cut, leaving seam allowance.
4. Using the black bias tape (unopened) make a line from the point of each wing scallop to the round part of the wing. Stitch down both sides of the bias tape to affix.
5. Apply bias tape around the edges of the wing to cover the raw edges.
6. Repeat steps 2 thru 5 for second wing.
7. When both wings are complete, hand stitch the wings onto the costume using a flat catch stitch.
To make the headband you’ll need:
- Black felt
- Black Headband
1. Cut 4 pieces of felt in the shape of a roughly isosceles triangle with 3” sides, curving the sides outwards on two sides and inward on one. Make sure to leave seam allowance before you cut.
2. Put two with right sides together and stitch thru the two convex sides.
3. Turn right side out then overlap the bottom edges on top of each other and stitch together
4. Hot glue AND sew to the headband where desired
