To be completely honest, I don’t love Halloween. I don’t hate it. I know it’s beloved American holiday that’s not going anywhere. And I do enjoy the chocolate. So it’s not all bad. I just don’t love the scary/spooky aspect. That’s not really my flavor. So I’m very grateful for my girls’ version of Halloween that includes princesses and mermaids and decidedly non-threatening things.
This year, the girls decided on being butterflies. I was grateful that 1)they decided on being the same thing and 2)that butterfly costumes are decidedly better to buy than to make. I think every year I see-saw back and forth about whether to make costumes or buy costumes. Homemade costumes are awesome and add a sense of ingenuity and personality. But buying costumes is obviously easier and it seems like they are often cheaper too! To me, I would spend much more money and too much time trying to make butterfly wings that were subpar, so we bought a twofer pack on Amazon for less than $20.
And that was going to be the end of our Halloween story except that I had this fabric sitting in my sewing room and the girls kept asking if I was making something for them anytime I was sitting at my sewing machine. And my answer kept being no. So then I started thinking that I might was well whip these dresses out. That way their costumes would have a very subtle homemade element. And I would be making something for them finally. And they’d have these dresses to wear beyond Halloween.
And actually, I didn’t have to do much in the way of prep work for these dresses. I bought the fabric specifically thinking of this pattern: the Mini Waterfall Raglans from Chalk and Notch. Before I even bought the pattern, I wanted to make the girls a velvet version of this dress. I don’t know what it is about velvet Waterfall Raglans, but I just think they’re super adorable. I might even make one for myself (although probably minus the sparkles).
I was buying some fabric on Girl Charlee awhile ago and saw this glitter velvet. I knew it would be perfect for my girls. I normally would never buy black fabric for my girls, but the glitter made all the difference here. Where it was lacking in the Color Department, it more than made up for in the Sparkle Department. The fabric is a pretty standard stretch velvet. It has a fine, copper-colored glitter lying more toward the bottom of the pile as well as some silver, iridescent glitter seemingly sprinkled over the top. It’s really fun and I’ve washed and dried it like normal and haven’t noticed any significant glitter loss. I bought 2 yards for about $15.
I have made the Mini Waterfall Raglan before and you can read the post all about what I thought of the pattern here. In short, it’s a great pattern with great instructions. I think the silhouette is simple but with very intentional design decisions that make the dress super cute and super flattering.
One dumb mistake I made was to cut one of my hems with a differing nap. It’s still on grain and everything but just the nap is going the opposite way from the rest of the pieces on the dress. Oops! It’s not that big of deal but I know better for next time. I rarely use fabric that has nap so I just wasn’t even thinking about it!
Anyway, I was glad to have made something for this Halloween and something for my girls. I think the copper in the glitter really does make it seem Halloween-y, but it’s not so strong that they won’t be able to wear it any old month of the year.
Happy Halloween!
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