DIY Victorian Skeleton Halloween Decoration

I have a thing for gazebos. Like a deep down serious love.  I’m not sure why, maybe it is wrapped up in some romantic notion in the books I devoured as a kid about Victorian England. The history is fascinating and so are the clothes!  Fantastic gigantic hats, dangerous and deadly small waists, dresses with flowing trains – it is perfect Halloween attire!

Or in this case, the perfect Halloween decoration.

I can't tell you how much I love this Victorian skeleton couple enjoying the holiday in an iron gazebo

I met this dashing couple in Hotel Breakers when I went to this year’s Bloggy Conference at Cedar Point (you can read about how I spend last year at Cedar Point Halloweekends looking for park Easter eggs on Condo Blues here.)

How to Sew Cartridge Pleats the Easy Way!

I’ve made many curtains for past homes but it wasn’t until I started building Elizabethan Renaissance costumes that I learned how to sew cartridge pleats for curtains by using the same technique to make cartridge (also called gauge or gauging) pleat skirts!

Back in merry old Elizabethan England - way before they had central heating - nobility used heavy fabrics similar to our modern upholstery weight fabrics to make clothing. Dresses had voluminous skirts, small waistbands, and the illusion of large child bearing hips were all the rage.

 Pin this sewing tutorial for later!

Cartridge pleats solved the problem because they allow you to attach large amounts of heavy fabric to a small waist band than typical gathering. Gauge pleats also allow the skirt to stand out from the body a bit to create large hips and a booty (with the help of padded bum or hip roll of course.)

Renaissance Noble Dress Part 1: The Design

I need to replace my current Elizabethan noble costume with a new one.

Unfortunately I am my own worst client because the only thing I know that I want in my new princess type dress is this list of vague demands:

1. Make it different than what other women will most likely we wearing.
2. Use massive amounts of embroidery to help with Number 1 and give me a Sofa Time With Lacey project.
3. Use as much of my beading, trim, and costuming stash as possible. It should also help with number 1 but really I just want to put some of the weird amounts of stuff in my studio to good use.
4. Bling that sucker out to be a pretty, pretty princess of more is more epic proportions – as one does as an Elizabethan noblewoman. I realize this is not in line with being a simplistic budget minded green DIY blogger. But it is totally in line with being a person who spends most of her workdays covered in paint and sawdust while wearing yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt.

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I let the fabric I found decide my costume’s color scheme since many of the accessories I have will work with almost any color. The color specific items I have  need to be replaced anyway.  I was hoped I could find a green brocade or damask because I look smashing in green.

How to Make a Renaissance Festival Costume

I need a new 16th century English noble costume when Husband and perform at renaissance festivals. Thank goodness I know how to sew. It’s not like I can hop in the car and pick up a new dress at Nobles R Us!

Besides, it allows me to get my inner history geek, costumer, and creative seamstress on.

 

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First you should decide if you want to make a historically accurate renaissance clothing (or as close as to historically accurate as we can get in the 21st century,) a fantasy type costume, or a little bit of all of the above. There are buckets of different opinions on what you should or should not do, all of which are valid because everyone’s purpose, desire, and budget differs.

How to Make a Grass Hula Skirt

My husband and I are invited to a friend’s annual August luau.  Last year they had a woman give the party hula lessons. I want to be prepared and wear a grass skirt as part of my Hawaiian party attire.

Unfortunately there is one teensy problem with this plan.

Have you ever tried to buy a grass hula skirt or for that matter any Hawaii themed clothing in August when it is 100% still officially Summer?

You’ll be out of luck because everything in the store is Fall, Halloween, and Christmas is starting to trickle in too. Argh!

Fortunately making a Hawaiian grass skirt is quick and easy with supplies you can find year round!

Hawaiian Inspired Grass Skirt Tutorial

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How to Make a Mini Top Hat

I made a super simple fluffy tutu (read my no sew tutu tutorial here) for a costume. I’m going for a kooky Dresden Dolls, Steampunk, Katy Perry, retro, vaudeville kind of vibe. I need one more thing so I can pull off the look: a little top hat fascinator.

 Tiny top hats make Halloween costumes more fun!

Instead of running to the store to buy top hat making supplies, I bought the materials by treating myself to a cup of take out coffee. That’s right!  I made my ring leader’s hat from a disposable cup.

The steps in this tutorial are very forgiving. You don’t necessarily need to do the steps in the order I have them listed in this tutorial with the exception of assembling the hat pieces.

How to Make a Top Hat Out of a Paper Cup