Slowly Goes the Night

Emboldened by my success with the 1947 dress last week, I decided I would make a Halloween costume for Little Creature. Unfortunately, I left it until tuesday to actually do anything about it.

I had some ideas about making a grasshopper/cricket outfit (for an Ugly Bug Ball/nursery bunfight) but when we got to the fabric shop (nothing suitable in the stash box) he was insistent on a spider costume. I suspected there would be several spiders there, probably better dressed, as I have had four hours to put this together and just drew it on the fabric with a piece of tailor's chalk. I winged it with the design, deciding as I was going along how it was going to work out. Earlier, I got some good suggestions for making spider legs at the fabric shop but settled on rolled up sections of curtain interlining stuffed into black fabric tubes with a knitting needle.

I started off quite neat and lined the bodice. It was looking not bad for something drawn straight onto the fabric. However, as the night wore on my standards slipped a lot. It was 0245 by the time I unplugged the sewing machine. I'd had vague (as ever, overambitious) plans to make myself a Halloween skirt as well but there was no time. I think it sufficed that I arrived at work this morning looking like I'd just been dug up.  

Sometimes I really enjoy working late at night. There's always something interesting on the radio which I wouldn't tune in for specifically. Last night there was an interview with Ken Dodd, then some Finnish folk singing that mimics reindeer calls on Radio 3's Late Junction. Not something I would be likely to seek out but happy to sew along to it. 

This morning, LC took some persuading to put on the woolly tights I'd bought him to go with the costume. "I don't want anyone to see me in these tights". I suggested he keep them for an hour or so, trying not to be a pushy mum but inwardly feeling a bit peeved by his lack of enthusiasm for my late-night efforts. Arriving at Nursery he decided that his costume was too spooky and didn't want to wear it, but once he saw that everyone else was in costume (I spotted an excellent snail with papier mache shell, a slug with dangly antennae, assorted spiders, a ladybird, and some kind of beetle) he couldn't get it on quick enough and ended up wearing it all day. It was nice to see so many home-made costumes. 

So here it is before and after it got a good wearing.  (My pics are generally not good quality and this is slightly worse than usual, I could barely see what I was photographing by this point). 

Spider!

Spider costume after a busy day