Scares and Dares

 There have been some very strange fabrics passing through my sewing machine recently! I love making clothes for the grandchildren, as you know, but it is especially fun to make them costumes. 

I knew as soon as I saw this mummy wrap fabric from  Kids Print Fabrics that our elder grandson would love a mummy costume for Halloween. As I wanted him to get more than one nights use out of it, I made it as a separate top and leggings with a balaclava to complete the outfit, so that he can wear them later as pyjamas without the balaclava. 

Our little grandson is Spiderman daft, so was very agreeable when I suggested that I could make him a Spider's Web costume for Halloween. Again I have made a separate top and bottom with a balaclava with this great Spider Webs fabric from Kids Print Fabrics . The web is stretch netting embroidered with spiders, which I have attached in a couple of places along the sleeves and neckband so that it can easily be removed once the scaring is over :)

I am delighted to report that both outfits met with the approval of the grandsons!

Of course, I couldn't make Halloween outfits for the grandsons without also making one for our darling granddaughter! The flounce is made with the same stretch spidery net that I used on the spider web costume. I rather overestimated how much of the bats and spider web fabric I would use, so our granddaughter may be getting an outfit from this again next year :)

The first of November is also time for another Endeavourers Reveal. This quarter the challenge was circles and squares, which seemed quite straightforward at first but took a while in the end to narrow down. Ultimately I was inspired by a quilt that I came across on Pinterest (and now cannot find!) that had circles appliqued on to a background quilted in a grid formation.

I decided to expand upon that basic premise and used this checked, gingham fabric for the background and selected all dotty fabric for my appliqued circles. It is not easy to see from the photo but the background has been quilted in a grid formation. 

 

 The larger circles have also been shadow quilted in circles, except this one which gives the quilt its name - Dare to be Square :)

Along with the Endeavourers Challenge project from November 22, I had the ideal hall setting for any Halloween visitors. Sadly we are not even in the same country as any of our grandchildren at the minute so will not get to see them in their scary outfits, so will have to make do with photos instead :( 

Head on over to the Endeavourers blog to see what my fellow Endeavourers have cooked up for this quarter's challenge, you will definitely be inspired!

Playtime

As well as stitching up some soft toys for the littler grandson I have been having some fun stitching up some play outfits for his big brother.

We have a castle shaped playhouse for the boys to play in so what else could I make but a knight's tunic and helmet? I was lucky enough to come across a fabric shop with bolts of felt when we stopped in Rouen, so snapped up enough to make this tabard.

I used this book again for the pattern, although I changed it about a little. When I had cut out the tabard, I felt that the gap for the head was a bit neat, and our grandson is not a big fan of squeezing clothes over his head at the best of times! So I opened up the shoulders and added tabs to create a wider gap which, hopefully, he will be able to pull on and off without feeling smothered! There are Velcro tabs at each side which should make a speedy change easy too :)

Then I decided that with all the trees around us the ideal outfit for playtime was a woodcutter's costume. I "persuaded" my DH to surrender a t-shirt and proceeded to hack away at the hem and sleeves :)

I found this scarf brooch in amongst my costume jewellery and commandeered it for the belt buckle, with a belt made from some brown cotton fabric that was lurking in my stash.

Finally, I had a go at a hat, but I think there is more work needed on that!

Didn't stop the gorgeous grandson having fun "chopping" trees down though :)