Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Costuming for Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras Y'all! It is of course Shrove Tuesday - so the big 'Pancake Feed' and Mardi Gras Party are happening at the church this evening. We all have our 'talents - haha' picked for the goofy talent show and our costumes at the ready - I'll post some action shots tomorrow...

The Man will go as a guitar playing hayseed - complete with straw hat and overalls. The Man-Cub (who will soon give up his Mowgli name and choose another I-name) will go as a chimney sweep - all dressed in black with a sooty face...

...and I could of course go into the costuming business full time and have a job that I loved - I will go as 'Mother Goose' - that's really because my 'talent' is to lead the crowd singing a goofy version of Mother Goose rhymes that winds up being 'thrown out the window' - it's still a secret around here - but I'll try and get some video for tomorrow as well...

...since my costume was so much more 'elaborate' than those of the boys - I had to go thrifting to find the pieces and parts that I didn't have at home - and of course I didn't want to spend much money...

...my first purchase was a pair of vinyl lace up boots - there was another pair there that laced up further but they were $4.99 and I didn't want to pay that much for boots that I would probably only wear once - these were $1.99...

...then I needed a 'granny skirt' - I found this one for .99 - a real bargain as it's original department store price tag of $238.00 was still on it (amazing what some people will pay isn't it)...

...and then since I didn't have time to knit a shawl - which I really should have done - I found a red skirt - when I got it home I split it open and cut off the elastic and serged around the edge - it makes a nice lightweight shawl...

...then I needed that black lace up thingy that Mother Goose is wearing over her shirt around her waist - I don't know exactly what it's called and of course I couldn't find exactly that - but I did find this bustier and I just did the lace up thingy with some yarn...

...and there was a bonus when I went to check out all these clothes were on half price - sweet - so I spent less than $3 ...

...I also needed a nightcap - so I cut a circle out of some white sheeting that I had in my fabric stash - then stitched some lace around the edge - also from stash - and then about 3 inches inside the circle I zigzaged over some elastic (from stash) so my night cap cost me nothing...


...and y'all know that Mother Goose has grey hair - and I don't - right??? Well not grey enough anyway - so I had to make her some grey locks...

First I wrapped grey yarn (what else) around a folded piece of cardboard from the recycle bin - the fold provides a little slot to work the needle under the yarn...

I wrapped the yarn around about 15 times for some short locks and then went over and under each wrap of the yarn...

...when I got to the bottom I went over and under on the way back up...

...then pulled it all up tight...

...and slid the 'lock' off the cardboard - I only did the 'stay stitching' on one side as I wanted loose curls but I think you could do it on both sides and have tighter locks that would stay tightly wound - like for a dolls hair...

...then I stitched the lock to the underside of the nightcap...

Here's a little preview - when I need to get glasses - I'm seriously going to get these little sit-on-the-end-of-your-nose kind...

8 comments:

sugarmagnolia said... Best Blogger Tips

lol! that is an awesome costume.

affectioknit said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks Barbara!

Elizabeth said... Best Blogger Tips

If the rest of the costume is as fitting as the nightcap, it should be a big hit. Good Job. Looking forward to seeing the boys as well. E

Patricia said... Best Blogger Tips

I love your creativity!! Can you come by and help me plan for Halloween????

Karen said... Best Blogger Tips

you never cease to amaze me!! you'll be a great mother goose! hope you all have a great time!! love, k

At Home Mommy Knits said... Best Blogger Tips

How fun! We had no festivites to go to here but we made some masks and a king cake anyway! So fun.

Katie said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh so cute! Can't wait to see more pix!

Vegan Knitting said... Best Blogger Tips

Wonderful costume! I know that song.

Old king Cole was a merry old soul and a merry old soul was he. He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl and threw them out the window!