Do your kids (and Husband) LOVE Star Wars? Z & Lovely are obsessed!
For Halloween Z asked to be Darth Vader, which meant Lovely also wanted to be Darth Vader, I thought this was uber adorable, until Z decided there was NO WAY in God's green earth he was going to be the SAME costume as his little sister! Which meant we were back to the drawing board... Until I decided to mix it up a little. After convincing Z it was OK to have the SAME costume as his sister, I convinced Lovely we could doll up her costume with w little glitter, pink and tutus... Who does not LOVE a Pink, Glittered Darth Vader?!?!
After the kids were assigned Darth Vader and Hot Pink Darth Vader, Hubby and I quickly decided a Hans Solo and Princess Leia costume were in store for us. As a Side Note: Many, Many of the costumes we have created are also available in a DIY Kit in our online shop at www.lilyandfrog.com. Happy Halloween Shopping!
Before we even start, I'll put it out there... You should probably know, I went a little Gone with the Wind on this dress. I made the dress from an old set of White Curtains from the kid's bedrooms. If the kids are not going to use them, I will! As a Side Note: Many, Many of the costumes we have created are also available in a DIY Kit in our online shop at www.lilyandfrog.com. Happy Halloween Shopping!
DIY Instructions for a Princess Leia Costume...
As a girl who knows virtually nothing about Star Wars (I needed to ask Z if it was Star War or Star Wars for these posts!), I needed the Princess Leia costume which made me feel comfortable in my own skin. I also learned from my Lucy Wilde Costume, NOT to wear 4in heels while Trick-or-Treating... We all make errors in judgement, it happens... I was not about to do that again! Also, I was not about to wear the bikini outfit version of Princess Leia, I'm totally not comfortable enough with me, to be able to pull off that ensemble, major point to you for being able to wear it, I'm so proud of you (and slightly jealous), but it isn't for this Mama. I decided to go with my own version of the white dress and silver belt she wears. I found a few different designs and tutorials on Pinerest, then decided to wing-it... As I do just about everything in life!
Lily & Frog Materials:
- 3 Yards White Fabric or so
- 1/4 yard grey flannel fabric
- Silver glitter iron on Vinyl
- white glitter iron on Vinyl
- snaps
Lily & Frog Instructions: I know, I know... I should have used a real pattern, but I decided to work from a dress in my closet which I LOVE. With that in mind...
- None of my measurements are perfect, I'm sorry in advance.
- I winged-it... nothing about this dress is prefect, but it was perfect for One Halloween night of Trick-or-Treating
- Remember... I went all Gone with the Wind on this dress and made it from white curtains!
I rummaged through my closet to find one of my favorite fitting dresses (my mistake was reaching for a stretchy fabric dress and using flannel for the costume... 2 completely different fits).
1. Length: I measured from my collar bone to just below knees (on me, this was 1 yard), this is how long I wanted my dress to be. Want a longer dress? Simply make it a little longer for example, you can make this a long white Princess Leia dress as well.
2. Create the Dress: Fold 2 yards of the white fabric in half, so the manufacturer's finished edge is touching(when you buy the fabric, you will see it folded along the center). Fold the fabric in half again, in the opposite direction. The white fabric will now be laying in rectangle shaped quarters.
Lay the dress carefully, centered along the main fold of the white flannel fabric, scooted it into the fabric about 1/4 inch for a little extra breathing room. Draw an outline of the dress by tracing along the outside of the dress (not the arms) and allowing for ½ in seam allowance. If you are using a T-Shirt are a pattern, from the armhole draw a line with a slight arch to create the length of the dress. Cut through all layers of fabric to create the front and back of dress.
3. All Arms: Use the remaining 1 yard of white fabric. fold the fabric with the manufacturer's finished edge is touching (when you buy the fabric, you will see it folded along the center). Fold the fabric in half again in the same direction. Lay top edge of the sleeve along the 2 folds in white fabric, trace along the outline of the arm, allowing for 1/2in seam allowance. Cut through all layers of fabric to create the 2 arms.
4. Start Sewing: Place the front and back dress pieced, right sides together. Pin and sew together the shoulders and repeat along the length of the dress.
Sew the Sleeve: Fold one sleeve in half with the right sides together, pining along the longest side of the sleeve, this is the under side of the sleeve. Sew along the under side of the sleeve. Repeat with the other sleeve. Determine how long you would like the sleeve to be... in my case, I measured from my shoulder to the ends of my fingers. On the sleeve, I made the same measurment, folded in the excess fabric and sewed a ¼ in hem on each sleeve.
Attach the Sleeve: Once each sleeve is sown and the dress is sown together it is time to sew the arms on. Flip the sleeves right side out. Pull one sleeve through the inside of the dress, attaching to the open armhole, lining up the under arm seam and shoulder seam, pin into place all the way around. Sew the sleeve into place. Repeat with the other arm.
Length of Sleeve: Determine the length of your sleeve. Similarly to length of the dress, I measured from the top of my shoulder to the knuckle because I wanted a longer sleeve. Fold over wrong side to wrong side, pin into place, sewing into place by stitching a straight stitch ½in in from the edge.
This is when I tried on the dress to make sure it would fit... And I realized the neckline was going to fray and I may be cold, Brrrrrr... because wearing a curtain is only something a Crazy Lady like Scarlett O'Hara and ME would do! I decided to cut out and sew lining to the inside of the dress.
5. Create a lining: For the lining, fold the white fabric in half, so the manufacturer's finished edge is touching (when you buy the fabric, you will see it folded along the center). Fold the fabric in half again, in the opposite direction. Just as you did for the dress. Fold the cut dress in half, and lay the folded dress on the white fabric, lining up the folds. Trace along the neckline to the shoulder edge, move cut dress out of the way, and trace line to give you about a 3 in wide neckline lining. Cut through all layers of fabric to create the front and back lining.
Sew Lining: Sew front and back neckline lining on the short edges (shoulders). With right sides together, line the seam of the shoulder with the seam of the shoulder lining together. Pin along the neckline and sew together along the neckline as well. Due to this arch od the neckline, snip little notches in the seam allowance, allowing the neckline to lay flat. Flip the lining to the inside of the dress. I secured the lining in place by stitching a straight stitch ¼ in in from the neckline. Pretty and functional!
Almost finished...
6. Length of Dress: Determine how long you would like the dress to be... I already measured from neckline to just below my knees. I tried on the dress again, to ensure my length was accurate. Measure the length you would like. Fold over wrong side to wrong side, pin into place, sewing into place by stitching a straight stitch ½in in from the edge.
7. Silver Belt: You will need, grey and white flannel, snaps, white and silver glitter vinyl. Measure your waist and allow for a 6-7 in overlap of fabric for the snap closure. Lay the gray flannel and white flannel flat ontop of one another, tracing the outline of a 4 in belt at the length you just measured. When tracing the outline, find the center and move 6-7 in to the left or right. This is where you will create the slight point down in the belt, it is moved 6-7 in to the left or right because with the overlap snap closure.
Place the grey and white fabrics, right side together, pinning all the way around, sew around 3 of the 4 edges with a ¼ in seam, leaving one of the short sides un-sewn. Flip the belt right side out and iron flat. Tuck the open end in and sew closed. To hide the opening a little more and ensure the belt layed flat, I sewed a ¼ hem around all 4 sides.
Silver & White Shimmer on Belt: Use white and silver glitter vinyl and a Cricut Cutting System for this part. In Design Space, I designed the images, cut them, arranged them evenly along the belt and ironed them into place.
Once the Silver & White Shimmer are in place, I measured around my waist, marked the overlap and positioned the snaps to fit me comfortably... for a night of walking around with the kids.
Hair: I tried... I really really tried to make the classic Princess Leia Hair-Do with the side buns, but it DID NOT WORK. I probably tried for about an hour to create the sock buns I saw ALL over Pinterest and I FAILED miserably! After all the trying, I found this hair-do on pinterest, it was SUPER easy to do on myself, the instructions were perfect and I LOVED it!
I L-O-V-E this costume… We make one adorable Star Wars Family!
As a Side Note: Many, Many of the costumes we have created are also available in a DIY Kit in our online shop at www.lilyandfrog.com. Happy Halloween Shopping!