Chipmunk costume photos

In keeping with the cute Halloween theme: Esme as chipmunk. Note: it took some convincing to keep that headpiece on. And the photos are a little blurry, because it's just not easy to take photos of a running toddler!

"Chiiiip! Chiiip!" says Esme.


Pretending to clean herself like a chipmunk.





"See how well I can move in this?"

"I can dance, too!"

Happy Halloween, says the chipmunk.  Me, too.

Happy Halloween

It's a happy Halloween around here, costumes waiting at the ready for after school trick-or-treating, and cute little pumpkin, ghost, and mice decorations around the house. Nothing spooky, I've been advised by a sage seven-year-old. I agree. So cute is the theme.

In keeping with cute: I love the old style of cards, especially ones embellished with flocking or glass glitter. This vintage-style flocked card made me smile when I received it two years ago, so I keep it with our decorations to enjoy each year. I send it to you with wishes for a day of Halloween fun.

The chipmunk costume how to, part 1

As promised, here is how I made the chipmunk costume. This is heavy on the details, so for those not interested in the nitty-gritty, just take a peek at the photos. Esme is pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

By the way, If you've stumbled onto this via a google search on how to make a chipmunk costume, I'd be happy to help if you have questions or need to see additional photos. Feel free to drop me an email.

How I made the chipmunk costume: I couldn't find a pattern for one, so I started with something close, a skunk. I used the McCall's pattern 8938 by Tom Arna.





First, the materials: I used four different types of faux fur, including fake fox, and three colors of fake rabbit, which I got from fabric.com. (While I was working with this stuff in the studio, I had to reassure our pet rabbit, Mr. H, that it was indeed not from a cousin of his.) For the ear details, I used some tan Ultrasuede. Unlike Ada's costume, this one has a conventional muslin lining for the hood, which makes it much softer to wear, and makes it less flimsy. The interior of the fur isn't scratchy, but not soft, either.


Next, the modifications to the pattern:
The stripes were the most obvious thing to change. Of course, I had to make it chipmunky, which meant piecing together very thin strips of fur and making a long piece to put onto the back. I used faux fox for the middle part of the stripe and the various faux rabbit colors for the edges. I decided to use the stripe as a cover for the zipper. I attached half of the stripe on one side of the zipper, and the other half attaches with velcro. I lined the stripe with muslin to makea better ground for the muslin and to reinforce the pieced stripe. Also, instead of making a separate stripe to sew to the headpiece when finished, I integrated it into the headpiece itself. Again, it's sturdier.
The tail attaches with two buttons attached to the end of the stripe. I omitted the foam the Arna design calls for, and the tail is much softer and more flexible.



I also added "wings" to the sides of the costume, to mimic the flaps that rodents seem to have under their arms. I drew a pattern for them based on how high she normally raises her arms to reach for something. The idea was that there would be slack when she was standing, and she wouldn't be constrained by them no matter what she did. To get the right effect, I figured out that I needed to sew the wings together at the outside edges, and then attach them with handstitching--one side to the belly, and the other side to the back. It's sort of like a pillowcase with one side of each opening attached to the body of the costume. I love the overall effect, and they are really cute when she moves, as she is showing in this blurry photo.

The belly and arms are modified from the Arna design as well, which calls for a single white patch to be sewn onto the belly. For a more realistic feel, I sewed the belly in sections of color, and then matched the wings and arms to it accordingly.

Finally, the ears: I used bits from all the furs together and then handstiched them together to get the idea of a more natural ear. It's rougher than I would like, but it works for a costume. Can you tell this was one of the last things I did to finish it?

A few cautions: While it is clean after being sewn, faux fur REALLY sheds while you are sewing it. I found myself coughing and wheezing while I cut it, and I had to get a dust mask to continue.

Faux fur is also tough on needles on the machine. I went through 5, even with the machine on half-speed and without needle basting.





The end result? It feels pretty chipmunky to me. And it is warm and snuggly enough for a New England Halloween. Esme wants to keep wearing it (the bottom part, at least) after she gets it on. And it's huggably cute. Success.


Part two is by request from the grandparents--just some cute shots of Esme as the chipmunk.

A doll's pumpkin costume

We are not, if you can believe it, really that into Halloween. But we do like to play dress up, and Ada’s baby was feeling left out.
So I made her a costume with some cheap synthetic velveteen and some lovely leaf-green velvet. It's the first outfit I've made for this baby, and it fits perfectly. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ada is going to want another outfit, and soon...

I confess. I love making this sort of thing, so there probably will be some other little outfit coming soon. Especially if I get to practice details, like lining (I used orange polka-dotted cotton), and edged puffy sleeves. My favorite detail on this has to be the little hat and stem. See how happy she is? I hope Ada is pleased with it, too.

Oh, and by the way, Ada's baby is not a doll--it's a baby.  I stand corrected.  Because who would be so crazy to sew a costume for a doll, anyway?

One part Punky Brewster, nine parts Ada

Wearing her own style in the rain.

Interrupting the routine

Today I forced an interruption.  It's necessary to do so every once in awhile, and this day, being one of the last warm days for some time to come, seemed the perfect time to do it.   

I took a bike ride down to the beach.

At this point, if you have even read this far, you may be thinking, "Who the #$&>@ cares about that?"  

You're right.  Who cares?  Me.  And that's the whole point.  I'm pretty sure that I'm not alone in that there are not too many things I don't do for just me.   It's a problem not limited to moms, either.   So much of our life is, as Wordsworth so sagely puts it, "getting and spending," that we don't spend too much time on the now.  And the now is really the only thing we truly have.   

To be clear, I'm not talking about that "me-time," a derogatory term used to denote selfishness, and usually leveled at women(those with and without children, I might add).  Instead, I'm talking about time that is simply spent without aim for future gain, without creating pleasure for someone else, without furthering the illusion that our time is endless.   If I had to classify it, I'd think of it as "now."

I squander my now all the time, and to be truthful, I actually don't mind all the daily things I do.  I live a life that's home-centered, and that means daily effort on mundane tasks.  From laundry to dishes to cooking to picking up stuff,  it's time consuming.  And if I feel chained to it, it's sometimes irritating, too.  

But when I'm present in these tasks, with attention, I notice how nice it is to be able to do these things and have the home, and be with the people in it, making my own days.  It's a real luxury.  And I realize my "tasks" aren't tasks at all.  They are just part of being.

The problem is that I often forget that.  I get lost in the repetition, and I need to force an interruption.   Despite the poets' exhortations, despite the advice of a dying friend, it is so difficult to be present and enjoy being here.   A forced interruption can recharge me and make it possible to regain my "now."  For awhile.

This morning I did it. I tugged myself away from the pull of folding towels, mending teddy bears, stacking dishes, and chopping vegetables to do something entirely for me, entirely in the present.

Today's now included feeling the warm air whistle past my ears, pedaling up hills until I was out of breath, walking on the beach at low tide, listening to the fog horn as the last of the morning mist burned off past the bridge, watching the variegated trees whip past my bike, and finding a ridged clamshell.

  

What is your now today? 

Early Halloween

Some photos of the girls from the early Halloween party this weekend.  Despite all my planning and intent to finish early (?!), I finished Esme's chipmunk costume about an hour before the party.   Of course,  within a minute of zipping the costume, Esme took off the headpiece with the hand-pieced ears.  But overall, the costume still says chipmunk, and Esme really liked it.  I'll post more on Esme's costume soon, when I can get some good shots of her wearing the whole thing.  

Esme waiting for a turn on the "rollercoaster.":

Esme on the rollercoaster:

Here's a view of the stripe in the back.

And here is Giselle herself--the princess and the popcorn.

The girls had a great time dancing with their friend, M., and both costumes held up well to their jumping, shaking, and spinning around.   They were all smiles on the dancefloor!  Now they are getting  excited about dressing up again for trick-or-treating.