A Little More-Made

 (Sept. 23)


After long deliberations, Heather decided she wanted to be a mermaid! (She had selected this pattern a few months ago. She also wavered between being a fairy and the Little Mermaid. I corrected her "Oriole" to "Ariel". I asked her if she wanted to be a bird since she wanted to be "Oriole" (Ariel).

Here was another project that took more time than originally anticipated. It took even more time than Heather's 32 piece penguin blazer!

Pattern Description
"Misses', Children's, and Girls' mermaid and princess costumes: Long dress has semi-fitted bodice contrast, peplum with or without button trim; slightly flared or contrast straight skirt and back zipper closing; costume A has contrast sleeves with elasticized wrist and attached contrast shoulder drape with large button trim; costume B has contrast bodice overlay, armhole ruffles and fish tail; crown has elastic casing, with or without button trim.

I sewed view B, the mermaid costume.

Sizing
Kids (3-8). I sewed 5/6.

Fabrics Used
Firm costume-type satin for the bolero/shrug/overlay, skirt, and fins and interlock knit for the bodice from my local Yardage Town. Did I read satin or equivalent recommended for the bodice underneath the shrug? My daughter would be uncomfortable from the stiff fabric while moving around quite a bit and would not sustain wearing two layers of satin while indoors.

Directions
* They were adequate with illustrations.
* Error in step #53 in stitching the darts for the SKIRT BACK (left and right)and SKIRT FRONT. It referred to the incorrect pattern numbers (6 and 7, instead of 15 and 16, respectively).
* Bodice is self-lined.
* The bolero/shrug (referred to as "overlay) is attached to the bodice (lavender on the envelope) which is attached to the skirt.
* Pattern pieces
- Front of bodice (darted at bust)
- Back of bodice
- Bodice overlay (bolero/shrug)
- Overlay Sleeve
- Peplum
- Front of skirt
- Back of skirt
- Fin (whoa, each was a huge semi-circle!)
- Crown
- Elastic guide for the crown
* Hand-stitching the bodice lining to the skirt and the edges of the back zipper
* Be prepared for making some narrow hems! I found myself at the ironing board more than usual to press the hems for the bottom edges of the sleeves, the peplum, and by my choice, the fins (I chose to skip the lining) before stitching.


Likes
* The overall style
* The bolero/shrug gathered at the front over the bodice instead of the bandeau, bikini top style
* The ruffled peplum (attached below the bodice)

Dislikes
* There is a lot of gathering (at the front of the shrug/overlay, and the upper edges of the overlay sleeves, peplum, and especially the fins)!
* I discovered I took more time to check if the gathering was distributed evenly or evenly as possible at the seams. Fortunately, I machine-basted the gathered edges to the other piece (i.e. the upper edges of the fins to the arches of the skirt )before the actual stitching. I got quite a bit of mileage from my seam ripper!
* The skirt is very long! My husband thought the skirt was for me instead of our daughter! I plan to shorten the skirt by 4" so that my daughter can walk without tripping over the fins. But then I could have cut one size smaller.

 


Modifications
* Under the store lighting the fabric for the shrug/overlay seemed purplish. However, at home, the fabric was really royal blue! My eyes deceived me!
* Due to a fabric deficit, I decreased the width of each fin by 2". However there was a lot of gathering so that a fin could ease below one of the skirt sides! When I thought I gathered more than enough, the fin still did not fit. The fins came billowed out more than pictured on the model.
* I ended up matching the color of the fins to the shrug/overlay instead of the skirt! (Fabric shortage)
* I omitted the lining for each fin ( I did not feel like cutting two more large half circles!)
* I shortened the back zipper (originally 14") to just past the shrug/overlay. Because I used a knit for the bodice, my daughter easily got in and out of the costume.
*Instead of a recommended oval button for the gathered front of the shrug/overlay, I attached a cushioned heart with aquamarine-colored sequins. I sewed a star on it for the mermaid theme. The sequined heart has a special meaning for me. It came from a ribboned choker given to me seven years ago from a jewel of a middle school student. I remember she stood out in a class of very difficult students and she was my rock when the going got really tough! I told her then (at the time I did not yet have children), if I ever have a daughter, I hope she would have a big heart as she did. My prayers were answered three years later. By coincidence her birthstone is the aquamarine stone.

Conclusion
Costumes are fun to make and a nice diversion from making regular outfits. I expected this pattern to be simple to make. However, I found it more involved than Heather's Snow While costume last year.

It would have been easier to create the entire costume by keeping the pieces separate. My daughter could have worn a RTW leotard beneath the shrug and a skirt with an elastic casing at the waist, a basic ruffle at the top (instead of the peplum attached to the bodice) and another ruffle at the bottom instead of these billowing fins! Besides the amount of time to for a quick and easy child's costume, I would not recommend this. If you do have the time and patience, give it a try!




(Sept 23, 2007)