This year, my starting point for a costume was a partial bolt of chartreuse velvet and the desire to use feathers somehow. I began to think about a turn of the century carnival or circus lady, like an acrobat, or the ones who stand on the backs of galloping horses.
I went with my friend to Jefferson Variety, which has a huge variety of beads on their website and in person, and a fabric store that, unfortunately, is not online. They are stocked with an overwhelming amount of lame, trim, sequins, feathers, hat forms, ruffles, and anything else you could think of to make a costume. I love that place. As an aside, I start to feel like I need about 5 or 10 sparkly disco dresses whenever I go there.
So, back on task! I was digging a kind of cassis color with the chartreuse, so I got sequin trim, fringe and a dozen feathers all in a range of deep pinky-purple.
When I got home and started searching for a pattern, I found this gem below. The pink outfit is exactly what I had in the fuzzy, back part of my mind.
The pattern is by Laughing Moon Mercantile, and that’s their image. I don’t think I have enough of the velvet to make the outfit, but I have more of a green dupioni silk which I think will be easier to work with, anyway. So here’s my pile of stuff so far:
I’m about a low-level intermediate sewer, so I hope I can manage this! Luckily, costumes are pretty forgiving. You can add a weird dart or something and it’s only for one day.
Cakewalk New Orleans 