Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween from Abby Cadabby

Happy Halloween! I decided I just couldn't wait any longer in sharing the cutest little Abby Cadabby ever! I gave a little snippet preview, but I never really explained the concept and construction of the costume. I really enjoyed working on this dress, even though I was swamped with orders and waited until the day before this little papoose was going to wear it out Trunk or Treat'ing! Warning: cuteness overload will now commence!

Initial Sketch Concepts
 
To be honest, I was a little stumped with how to design this costume! I felt like I was going in so many different directions and had too many ideas. It was a bit difficult getting the little papoose to decide on which costume she wanted in the first place, so my sister and I came up with the idea of giving her options. Tinkerbell, Fairy Princess, and Abby Cadabby were among the candidates. Of course, she wanted them all. After I drew a few designs and redrafts, we settled on an Abby concept that would be "heavily encouraged" for the little papoose to choose.

 
It took forever at the fabric store, but I think we made the best choice in the end! The fabric needed to be "magical" and not your every day cotton, so we looked in the prom and costume sections. We found tons of options but some weren't exactly the right color or some didn't sparkle enough. 

 
We had to have gone through three different fabric options for each shade. Every time we chose one, we would have to rethink the other two. In the end, we settled on colors that were reminiscent of Abby's dress that had enough pizazz (I just used the word pizazz, feels weird) and sparkle to create a fun fairy costume.


I started sewing the petal skirt first because I knew it would take the longest. I had to cut 16 pieces of blue and 16 pieces of purple, then sew them, but it was so worth it. I love the double tiers of petals with the purple peeking from behind the blue, it really came together nicely. It wouldn't have looked right without so many petals, it's such a full twirly skirt!

 
I made a separate tulle petticoat for underneath the dress to add volume and sass. I love the tulle because not only is it pink and girly, but it also has glitter all throughout (which also went all over the table and floor as I was sewing it). The blue has a subtle sparkle to it too from tiny rhinestones in the fabric. 
 
 
The bodice was super easy to cut and sew after the hassle of gathering all those petals together. It was a simple halter neckline with the neck straps sewn at the peak. I love the way the ends of the bow dangle down. The back of the bodice has elastic at the top for a better and more comfortable fit. 

 
 And these are just for your viewing pleasure, see if they don't force you to crack a smile:




 

I think the dress was a success! Her accessories were already on hand because this little papoose loves her some Abby! It was a fun outfit to make her, and I hope she enjoys wearing it and creates lots of fun memories. I remember watching my mom sew our Halloween costumes throughout the years and being excited about the outcome, so I'm glad I get to experience that with my sweet niece.

With Nana at the Trunk or Treat!

Baby duckies!

Dressing up is fun, but the real treat is the candy!

2 comments:

  1. Omg what a cutie! Love the costume. :)

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  2. simply adorable! The costume is so cute and the model is even cuter!

    ReplyDelete