Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween, and may the Force be with you

Grandma has been busy sewing costumes, which made their debut at the preschool party last Friday.  ViMae chose to wear her dragon costume from last year with a few new twists, and Augie decided to be a Jedi knight.


There is no longer a pattern for a Jedi robe, but I found some great tutorials online...it seems lots of people still make these for both kids and grownups. Augie knew that Jedi knights wore a hooded robe in any shade of brown, with an obi and a utility belt (for the light saber, of course). I learned that robes were not uniform, and that they were deliberately roomy in order to conceal the knight's face or belongings.


Meanwhile we "upgraded" ViMae's costume. Smaug, a character in The Hobbit, develops a gold-crusted chest from sleeping on his piles of stolen treasure. This year we added to the effect with gold-coin buttons she and I found in my 50-year-old coffee can button collection. We also added gloves on which I created bright claws. A spray of red and orange "flames" tacked to the palm of her left glove enables her to breathe fire, which she does ferociously.

Three things strike me about these costumes. One, the kids chose them for the characters they represent, from stories they've come to love. Two, their Daddy happens to love The Hobbit and Star Wars more than they know, and that will be much more important to them some day than it is now. And three, I know that they will play with these costumes well beyond Halloween. (They both wore wolf suits based on Max and Where The Wild Things Are, made by their Grandma Anita, for years until they couldn't squeeze into them any more.) I hope that some day they'll tell their kids, and later their grandkids, about Halloween back in the old days when they were young and wore costumes made by grandmothers.

15 comments:

stephen Hayes said...

Because of you,these wonderful costumes will become part of the fabric of their childhood.

Murr Brewster said...

Shoot, I'd wear that cape to this day. These are so much cooler than what my mom came up with. Usually, a hobo. Tin cup hanging off the belt, stick with a bandana bundle, five-o'clock shadow.

Jeanie said...

Those two will be the cutest little goblins on the block. You did a wonderful job on the costumes. I expect they will remember the costumes their grandma made.

DJan said...

They are very fortunate to have a Grandma (or two!) that can sew that well. I am with Murr: my parents never came up with anything that cool, ever! :-)

Far Side of Fifty said...

What wonderful memories you are making! Of course they will remember! Good job Grandma! :)

Grandmother Mary said...

Grandmother's favorite job- making memories. I'm sure you did that with these wonderful costumes. Gold and Silver dragons sleep on coins just like Smaug.

Unknown said...

I love their costumes!! It's a shame that most costumes are pre-packaged these days. It's so much cooler to be of a kind! You're one awesomely-crafty, creative lady! Happy trick-or-treating!!
xoxo

Sally Wessely said...

There costumes are wonderful. Great job.

Ms Sparrow said...

Oh, you are so talented! I flunked sewing in Home Ec and have hated it ever since. Thanks for sharing with us.

Lisa @ Grandmas Briefs said...

Precious costumes! I love the upgraded dragon and the way you put your old buttons to use. These are indeed costumes that should make for hours upon hours of imaginative play. You're an awesome (and crafty) grandma!

Happy Halloween!

Red Shoes said...

How cool!!!

Those are GREAT!!!

Heck, I want one of the dragon costumes for myself!!!

Belated Happy Hallowe'en!

~shoes~

Jenny said...

Wow. What wonderful Costumes!

Lucky kids!

Lucky Grandma!

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

You're the best, Nancy! The kids look great!

Linda Myers said...

You are impressively crafty!

AiringMyLaundry said...

LOVE the costumes! Especially that Jedi one.

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