The Awesome Creativity of MPB Halloween Sew-Alongers, Vol. 1

 

I have some incredibly creative readers, and a handful of them are sewing along with me this Halloween.  Today, I'm delighted to introduce Allison!

To say that Allison's costume is unusual would be an understatement.  When I found out what she was making, I asked her if she'd share some of her (ongoing) process with us. 

Q: Allison, how did you decide on your costume idea -- what inspired you?

A: I’m not exactly sure where the costume idea came from – as of November 1^st, 2011 the plan was to be a Roy Lichtenstein character, but finding all the right sized polka-dots just wasn't happening.

A couple of months ago I was throwing ideas around with friends and somehow landed on topiary and went with it.  For anyone who is unfamiliar, topiary is trees and shrubs which have been clipped or trained into particular shapes (geometric, animals, people, whatever) --  I was particularly inspired by the picture of the topiary couple [see top pic], and wanted to make an outfit similar to what the lady was wearing.

Q: What challenges (if any) are you experiencing? 

A: Once I started actually making the leaves (I've done about a hundred so far, and it only covers the back of my jacket and one shoulder) I decided that a giant hoop skirt might be a bit much.  My current plan is a hooded jumpsuit – I’m hoping that the decreased surface area will mean about 500 leaves instead of a thousand.  The leaves themselves are very easy to make and only take a minute or two – but it’s the sheer scale of the project that is a challenge.  However, I’m enjoying myself immensely, so it’s not really a problem.  I'm also not so sure about the shiny leaves -- I pinned everything onto a jacket to get a sense of how many I'd need and I'm not sure I like how much they catch the light.   Opinions on the subject would be most welcome!

The other reason I decided to scale back the hoop skirt was general navigability – I’d like to be able to get into my desk at work.   

 Q: Allison, where are you going to go in your costume?

A: Last year I was the only person to show up in costume (a dinosaur) and I’m planning on bribing my coworkers with candy, so being able to bop about easily will be important.   I’m also going to a Monty Python and the Holy Grail themed party at which I will be the shrubbery.   (I may have suggested it just for that reason….. one never knows)

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Reader's, it's all I can do to avoid making a very vulgar pun vis-a-vis this costume (hint GWB) but we're not in elementary school, are we? 

You can read more about Allison's sewing adventures on her blog, A Fabric Fixation.  I can't wait to see how her costume turns out!

If you're sewing a Halloween costume and would like to tell us about it (and share some photos) let me know!

And now for something completely different (the best part, imo, starts at 1:03).  Any Monty Python fans out there?