Costume Alteration & Accessory Creation for My Niece
by M of the FrenzyGals
I got behind on posting my results so I am sharing both Weeks 4 and 5 in this single post. It kind of works out well, though, since the projects are related.
If you follow us on Facebook, you saw my project for last week (Week 4) was upgrading my niece’s baton twirling routine outfit. She is very tall and lanky for a 9-year-old so they always have to go up a size or so to get outfits that fit her torso length. Of course, she is 9 which means she doesn’t really have the proportions for the way some of the outfits are designed.
They bought her a beautiful costume to use for one of her routines, but it had nude panels in the midsection that ended up sitting a bit lower on her backside than modesty and age appropriateness would prefer, so her mother asked me to see what I could do.
I covered the lower of the two Vs with some velvet I had left over from another project.
As fate would have it I had some black velvet left over from my New Year’s Eve cape project (I will have to share photos of that at some point!) and it matched the outfit really well. I made a small pattern of the lowest V of the nude panels and then hand stitched a piece out of the velvet over the nude section.
I opted not to use the machine to sew this panel on as I had more control over where the stitches went and how invisible they could be doing it by hand. It also allowed me to avoid taking out the zipper, which is always how I prefer to roll when it is possible! (Zipper installation is kind of a pain, in my humble opinion.)
I think it turned out nicely and from a distance you can’t even tell it isn’t original!
Isn’t that dress FANTASTIC! And so fitting for the “Firefly” themed routine she is doing.
For Week 5, I was tasked with making a headpiece accessory to match her solo competition outfit for a competition on Sunday, February 7. She is doing a routine her mom choreographed to the theme song from Firefly, “You Can’t Take the Sky from Me.” I am so excited that she is using that song (I think we can thank her dad for lobbying for that!) and the outfit she has to wear is all the right colors to match the Firefly theme in dark reds, black, and golds.
I kept it simple because the dress is so fantastic and the real emphasis is going to be on her twirling skills and I didn’t want it to be heavy or awkward for her as she is used to moving without it.
I am always honored to be asked to do things to help my nieces and nephews out. I am so proud of them and the activities they engage in with such gusto. It gives me a chance to participate in their lives in new ways and reinforces the fact that they can always ask me when they need a little help.
What did you Do/Make in Weeks 4 & 5? Share in the comments below or on our Facebook page!
Week 6 suggested theme: DESSERT. Make something sweet for your sweetie! Need more inspiration or idea? Check out our Pinterest Board for the Challenge for some fun projects.