Magickal Circle Hoodie

After the brains fiasco, I went ahead and kept working on this hoodie (since it was already mostly cut and on the sewing table).   I decided to scrap all the brain fabric altogether and go a slightly different route.  I ended up with something exceptionally classy.

I stuck with the circles idea but decided to do them with embroidery instead.  I also went for a high collar, which turned into a nehru jacket sort of look after a little prompting from Darrell, and ended up forgoing the hood altogether (so.. it's not a hoodie I guess.. what does that make it?).


I repeated the circle symbol motif around the collar, on the sleeves and then put a big one on the back.  I have always wanted to embroider something large on the back of a hoodie, but when there's a hood, it always covers that spot, so I was happy to have the opportunity this time.   And it looks wonderful!!  Yay!

Darrell really really wants a man-version of this one.  He saw me working on it and got all excited, so I will probably do it.

This hoodie turned out too small for me.  I can squeeze into it, but I'm too tall and too broad through the shoulders to really do it justice.  This will look great on a little goth girl.  I need to find a little goth girl who can come and be my model.

And, so it begins again... the quest for the perfect new hoodie for ME.  Last year I did the same thing.. made several different ones that just weren't *quite* the exact thing I wanted.. but hey, at least it populates the etsy store.

So!  What do I call this one?  It's slightly witchy.. a little halloweeny.. but still classy.  Right now I'm thinking "Coven Jacket" or "Magickal Circle Hoodie" .. any suggestions?

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Hoodie Fail? Or, would Zombies be fooled by fleece?

I'm feeling the need for a red & black or purple & black hoodie.. maybe it's halloween coming up, not sure, but I've been needing to do it.

I did a bunch of sketches and this was my favorite:

Very halloweeny.. kind of cyber, and I have a cool purple stripey fabric for the circles.  I didn't plan out to the nth degree, just got started.. might as well start at the top, I figured.  I had enough black fleece for the body but not the hood, so I made the hood from ultra-cuddle (which is delightful and soft but a little hard to work with):

Although the circle turned out way bigger than I planned, due to ultra-cuddle stretch, it  still looks adorable in the "down" position.  However, when I put the hood up on top of my head, suddenly...

braaaaaaaaiiiinnnnns.....

After I got over my giggles, I realized I'll need to scrap the whole hood and start over.

But then last night, I saw Shaun of the Dead for the first time and got to thinking.... might this be a selling point?  It is a Halloween hoodie, after all.  Perhaps there's a market for a hoodie that will attract zombies by making them think a meal is close at hand.  Maybe if I include a chainsaw on a stick with purchase....?

So do I finish this hoodie as-is, or do I make a new brain-free hood?

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Queen of Hearts Halloween Costume

Got a gig as the queen of hearts for halloween at a kids’ show, so that has become my halloween costume this year.  It makes me all kinds of happy that I had absolutely everything I needed to make this costume already in the fabric closet.  (Red and black?  Hmm.. do I have any of that?) 

It made it easier that I just had to make the top - I already had a fabulous skirt and some accessories (wig, gloves, etc).  The top is what makes the Queen of Hearts, though..

I used red spandex for the top so it didn’t need a closure, and it’s incredibly comfy besides.  The sleeves were made from red satin, and the ribbons on the sleeves I made by sewing a little red ribbon onto a big black ribbon.  That was fun.  And I made the applique hearts on the front by taking sparkly red velvet sequin fabric (left over from a pair of fire dancing pants I made waaaay back in the day) and added interfacing and then serged over the edges, giving them a pretty rolled edge.  That was my first time making applique (I’m not normally the applique type) and it turned out rather well.

After I finished the costume I got another booking, this time as a stilt walker.  I think I’m going to figure out how to stilt-i-fy this costume and be a 9-foot-tall Queen of Hearts!  I can’t wait.

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