Sewing for Halloween: Harry Potter
/At our house Halloween means lots of sleepless nights for mom but in the end we are rewarded with memories and stories we retell for years! Each year seems to be more exciting than the last! This summer my husband started reading Harry Potter with our two older children. They were hooked and insisted he read year 2 after they finished the first book. Well, they’ve made it through Harry’s third year at Hogwarts and they wanted so badly to be Harry Potter and Hermione Granger so for Halloween I made their dream come true!
I’ll start with Hermione and Jenny because they have the same costume. I went old school with their robes and I used simplicity 8723 and added pockets for their wands and added a sleeve lining. For their v neck cardigans I used peek a boo patterns v neck cardigan and some sweater knit. I purchased their pleated skirts and button up shirts.
To make Harry’s quidditch uniform I started with 5 out of 4 Halftime hoodie and I made it with a charcoal French terry. For his pants I used patterns for pirates baby bear joggers with a cuffed hem out of the same French terry. Now, is the fun part, Harry’s uniform. I started with the halftime hoodie, but I cut a front piece a size larger than my son needs and I used a size larger for the back but I also extended it to my son’s ankles and gave it an A-line shape. I cut out two pieces of each one in maroon and one in gold. I sewed the top together as directed but I used the gold as a lining. I used my cutting machine and cut the gold design out for his quidditch jersey. I’ve attached the cut files, yours may need to be stretched or shrunk to fit your jersey. I added grommets to the sides, laced them up with some leather and voila a quidditch Harry Potter and an ecstatic son!
It’s always fun choosing characters but most of the exciting female roles on Harry Potter come after book three so I chose a character my kids aren’t familiar with and I made myself Bellatrix Lestrange. I studied Bellatrix a long time and finally decided to use a stretch velvet and the Clementine dress from Bella Sunshine Designs as the base for my dress. I sewed a sleeveless maxi length dress as directed, then I cut out sleeves and sewed the underarm seam about halfway down. Next, I installed grommets around the shoulder piece of the sleeves and the arm openings of my dress. I also installed grommets at the underarms where I did not sew. Then, I used leather cording and laced my sleeves to my dress and laced the underarms closed. To make my corset I used a stretched leather and the greenstyle green tee. I taped the front and back piece together, I used the pattern from just under my bust to the top of my hip and I cut it out as one large piece. I also installed grommets to the back of the corset and laced it up with leather cording. Lastly I stamped some black, gray and white swirls on my dress. I am so, so in love with my costume!
Lastly, Professor Snape...he was my most challenging costume to create. He look is so unique I again used paper patterns. For his tunic I used McCalls 4745 and sewed tunic A but used the length of tunic B. I also used covered buttons and sewed the buttons fairly close together down the front. I also sewed buttons on the sleeves touching each other. For his robe I used Simplicity 1582. The front of the pattern has a slanted yoke, but I straighten the yoke in the front and the back to mimic Snape’s robe. I also sewed his sleeves similar to how I sewed Bellatrix, except it is the top seam I sewed about halfway down so they hang open at the top.
Finally, I sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy watching my family enjoy their costumes!
In honor of Halloween and the creativity it brings out, we are featuring a new guest on the blog. Chance explains how he uses patterns, foam and household tools to bring some of your favorite characters to life. Whether costumes or cosplay, his techniques and tips can help you kick your next project up a notch!