PROJECT: Halloween Accessories

Getting dressed up for Halloween is one of my favorite things to do all year. I love making my own costumes. However, last weekend I was not sure if I would be going to a costume party so I was afraid that this year, my costume ideas were going to remain in my imagination. However my boyfriend and I decided Saturday, October 30th, to go out that night so I need two costumes quick!

Below you can see what we came up with --- A Shotgun Wedding.


As I am sure most of you know a shotgun wedding consists of a bride and a groom who are forced to get married due to an unplanned pregnancy. I thought going as this would be a fun costume which would get lots of laughs. And I was right!

We had most of the components of the costumes already lying around. The groom wore a dress shirt and a black dress jacket and decided to stay with jeans to make it look even more rushed. I wore a long white lacy dress I owned and stuffed a fleece blanket under it to act as my "bun in the oven". We added a few other touches like rings and a bouquet and then I made a few accessories to complete the outfit. Here I will show you how I made a quick veil for the bride and a bow tie for the groom.

Bow Tie

For my groomie I used some black linen look-a-like fabric and did some research by reading this great bow tie tutorial from PrudentBaby.com. They do a great job of explaining several different patterns but below I will show you my interpretation.

The first step was to cut out my pattern pieces. These bow ties are made by making a long tube then folding it in half and cinching the center to make a bow (you are not actually tying a bow).


I cut two pieces of my fabric which measured 12.5 inches (2 times my desired final width plus seam allowances) by 3.5 inches (my desired final height plus seam allowances). I also cut a 3in x 6in (desired final dimensions of bow tie) piece of fusible interfacing to add structure and a 2in x 3in rectangle to serve as the cinching piece later.

Next I ironed the fusible interfacing to the center of one my fabric pieces.


I then pinned the two fabric pieces right sides together and sewed around 3 of the sides (leaving one of the short sides open).

Next I turned the piece right side out and pushed out the corners. Then I sewed up the open end, first tucking under the raw edges.

Now I had a nicely sewn strap. I folded it in two, putting the short sides together and sewed along these sides. That made a loop of fabric which I folded flat with the seam at the back center of the piece. I ironed this flat.



Next it was time to make the center loop to cinch this rectangle so it would make a bow tie.

I did this by taking the 2in x 3in rectangle and folding it long ways with the raw edges touching each other. Then folded again so no raw edges were exposed. (Sorry because of the black fabric this is kind of hard to see)


I pressed this.
Next I turned this little strap into a loop by folding it right sides facing and made a circle big enough to fit around my bow tie but small enough that it would squeeze it in the center. I sewed where the pin is shown above to make the circle then cut off the excess and turned it right side out.

Above you can see my little "cinching tube" and my rectangle about to be transformed into a bow tie.


I folded the rectangle accordion-style length ways and slid the tube to the center of the rectangle.

I adjusted it a little to make it look pretty and I had a bow tie! This took me less than 15 minutes and it looked great. The tutorial I linked to above tells you how to make adjustable straps to attach these two but since mine was for a costume anyways, I just safety pinned it on my groom. I really like the idea of these for more than just costumes. Making them in the spring time with paisley or gingham prints could be really cute for little boys' church outfits (or if you go to college in the south like I did, they could be worn by any fraternity boy you know!). In the mean time this little black bow tie is going to be worn by my dog, Wrigley, anytime he is feeling fancy!

Veil

To complete my bridal look I wanted to make a quick and very inexpensive veil. I bought half a yard of ivory tulle ($1.25) at the fabric store and used a headband I made previously.






In case you like this headband, I sell one just like this, plus many others, in my etsy store! These come without veils of course :)






Next I folded the tulle in half (I wanted to be able to fold the front half in front of my face for a legitimate veil) and trimmed it to the length I wanted.



Lastly I hand sewed the folded edge of the tulle to the headband. I used big loose stitches because I wanted to be able to remove the tulle at the end of the night. This veil was super easy and took me less than 10 minutes. So, in less than 30 minutes total, our costumes were accessorized and complete!

We had a blast but I did scare a good amount of people who thought I was really pregnant. Apparently the fleece blanket was a little too realistic looking. I would love to hear about what some of you dressed up as for Halloween. Did you do anything crafty for your costume? Comments are very much welcome below.

Coming very soon are more fun blog entries to show what crafty things I have been up to. Just yesterday I got back in the pottery studio after being gone for far too long. I made several coffee mugs and am now thinking of what my next projects will be. I am thinking hand decorated plates, beer steins and some funky tea cups and saucers! I will make sure to share whatever comes out of the kiln.

In the meantime, happy crafting!

*Bonnybee