Betsy Ross I Ain't

As many of you know, I make a lot of costumes for the kids. I usually make their Halloween costumes, as well as several costumes for Spirit Week each year. This means I sew. Now, I don't particularly LIKE sewing, although it's kind of neat to see a vision come together, but because I can't find exactly what I want other places, I make it.

So, I'm in the midst of sewing Kira's Halloween costume for this year. She is going to be a Goth pixie. (This was her idea, people--although I LOVE it.) I'm making a short black satin dress with long sheer sleeves and an overlaying black vest with cool embroidery on it (I didn't do that) and sheer petal-type ruffles at arms and waist. Oh, and wings, that velcro onto the back of the vest. She's also got some great accessories to go with it, and we experimented with makeup last night and determined what we were doing with that.

Anyway. The dress is done, and I am now working on the vest. And I am doing some of my LEAST favorite part...pinning patterns and cutting the fabric. I HATE pinning. And you can tell I'm starting to get a little irritated with it because I'm starting to do things like just pin one edge and then wing it on the cutting, figuring it'll be close enough. And one part I didn't pin at all, just kind of held it on the fabric and went. This is a major contrast with how I did the dress, where I was so detail oriented. I am justifying it in my head that this is a *costume* and I have already spent more time working on it than she'll spend wearing it (yesterday I worked on it for eight or nine hours, and four or so today). But then I get all fussy again.

I am learning a lot about sewing, though. Each costume I make, I learn a different skill. This time I had to do darts, which was new for me, and I was very nervous about it, but they went really quickly, really. I also discovered a new stitch on my sewing machine, which I'm using like crazy.

And I will be thrilled to see her in it, and she is just so excited about it, every minute I have spent, every ache in my back from bending over the pinning (the damned pinning), every penny I have spent on this, will be worth it.

Stupid pinning. mk