Halloween!

Hello everyone!
I also wanted to share with you guys the side projects I make! I usually end up making them as gifts, haha. So here are the costumes I made for Halloween! This is me and my husband, Matt, as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider! When the movie Tangled came out it was uncanny how much we not only resemble the couple, but ARE them. My hair is even super long. It's been to my waist for like half of my life, and between mid back and to my waist for the rest :) Anyway, so I decided we would be them this Halloween and this is the result! (Also please forgive my messy house in these pictures. I just sewed three costumes in 2 weeks so it kind of exploded and I just put food everywhere haha!)

"It can probably smell fear"

So here is my costume. I made the whole thing myself, and I used a pattern that I designed. I studied Rapunzel's costume and came to some conclusions on how I think would be the most accurate and simple way to make it. It's obvious when you look at her dress that she wears a corset over an undergarment which the sleeves and lace are attached to, as well as the buttons on the back. From the back it is obvious that the material is sheer. I thought that if I made the undershirt with the bodice underneath it would likely slip and bunch and not be as pretty to look at, so I decided to sew the sleeves and sheer fabric on the back to the corset. I did make the corset a true corset with stiff interfacing (very stiff) which I sewed the fabric to and with grommets. The corset is put on by lacing into it. The piece under the lacing I made separately and is held in place with velcro so that I could move it around and place it just where I want. It also helps smooth out the look. The fabric for the bodice is brocade (which was HARD to find. I ended up finding a white on white brocade fabric which I dyed the proper purple. That was terrifying by the way. I had never dyed fabric before! It was very easy though, and I achieved this color by mixing one pink box and one purple box of dye. (I also dyed the appliques, which I will get to in a minute.)

For the sleeves, I sewed on thin pink ribbon (mine had subtle flowers on it!) about half an inch apart and barely made the sleeves puffy. To fake the embroidery on the sleeves (I want an embroidery machine so bad!) I used some trim and a flower shaped ribbon. I used sheer pink for the rest of the sleeves, which I made quarter sleeve length.I put pink jewel buttons (for added detail) on the back on the sheer section I sewed on. (I ended up having to glue them since I ran out of time, haha, so it doesn't look as good, but you get the idea)

For my skirt I found a darker purple brocade to be the underskirt, and used silky purple fabric that I sewed together in panels to achieve the desired shape. I sewed the underskirt as one panel and sewed it on so that the two front panels overlap it. I didn't tack them down so the move freely. For the embroidery section of the skirt I dyed appliques with the same dye solution as above, but I dyed half a little longer for a two toned effect. I used appliques with little pearls for added detail. The lace on the bottom I sewed to a slip or the underskirt effect she has in the movie that I love. Add some flowers in your braid and a Pascal purse from the Disney store and you are ready to go!

 Here is my hubby! I luckily found a shirt and some pants and the thrift store to save me some time, (the pants were mislabeled and huge, ha! I didn't realize it until it was too late!) so I just made the vest and his little leather pouch thingy, haha. I made the vest with some added detail because I felt it was too simple. I created the pattern for the vest as well and you can't tell, but I sewed little lines with the thread to create the texture of Flynn's vest. I used clips with D-rings that I sewed tabs to for the front closures. I used blue rope cording and dyed leather strips for the trim and added copper rivets
to the sleeves where they are on the movie's costume, but I also added them other places for added detail. I sewed on belt loops and the mini sleeves and that was that!
 I also made his pouch which attaches to his belt. I sewed real leather pieces together and cut the front piece into the desired tab like shape with a hole cut in an ever so slightly oval shape to be the button hole. I sewed the button to the leather and then used a glue gun to reinforce the thread on the inside. (I made the satchel to fit his phone and keys so I made it sturdy. It worked great!) I added a compass looking disc (found it at hobby lobby) that had a hole on the middle that the rivets I already used on the costume fit perfectly through, and secured it with the rivet. I sewed decorative stitching on the leather as well.

Here is my adorable friend McKenzie! Isn't she beautiful? I made her a Rapunzel costume as well! I used all the same fabric and materials, but I made it easier to sew and get in. The front was all sewn together so the lacing was just a detail. (but I still used grommets so it looked like mine) I added an invisible zipper to the back and sewed a panel with the buttons on it with velcro so it would cover the top of the zipper and the buttons were where they were supposed to be. I just sewed it as a bodice and not as a corset like mine. I also used a brocade ribbon instead of the flower shaped one I used on mine for the sleeve embroidery to make it a little easier to sew on. (I didn't use interfacing but used the same pattern)

So there you have it! Two different versions of Rapunzel and a Flynn Rider! I left some stuff out but if you have any questions feel free to ask!