EcoWeen: DIY Native American Costume

It's Halloween weekend! YAY! Being that I was raised in the Mardi Gras culture down in New Orleans, I get really into costume making, probably more then any other kind of sewing project. Back home Halloween is almost like a mini Mardi Gras and the costumes are always elaborate, lovable, amazing, hysterical and just plain wrong. It's a bar raised too high & it's hard to live up to... but I try.
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This year I decided to make a Native American costume (I am part native american) with a lil' Clan Of the Cave Bear flare (cause I just finished reading the whole entire book series!), but mainly I chose this genre because I have been collecting feathers from my chickens, rooster, the wild turkeys, and a few brightly colored ones given to by my awesome friend Heather....

THE HEAD PIECE ::::
I started making the head-dress first because that was going to be where most the feathers would go and I was excited to use them! I did not use any kind of glue, tape or toxic products to get my feathers to stay in place. I decided to sew them directly (and carefully) to strips of black organic cotton fabric (locally made here in north carolina!)

I attached a small jaw bone to the center front, and hung more feathers and beads from strings that reach all the way past my shoulders. (Gives it major dramatic style!) The construction is really simple, and just ties in the back of the head.

THE DRESS ::::

The first thing I did to make the body or dress part of the costume was to trace a shirt I already owned and fit me well onto some paper, in order to make a pattern. I drew (freestyle) the bottom half of the dress and then cut out the full pattern...

This is the pattern without the sleeves ( you can make it with or without sleeves.) I planned on adding in sleeves because I knew the weather here in the mountains would be cold for Halloween.

I pinned the pattern onto the velveteen bamboo fabric and cut out the back side of the costume...

This is the tedious part:::: I then CUT the pattern into three panels to make the design for the FRONT of the dress.

Each panel will be sewn back together, but I cut them separately in order to tighten up the bodice in the front.

These are all the pieces that need to be sewn together (pic below). I used more black organic cotton fabric as the strips along the front bamboo fabric bodice.

TIME TO SEW::::

I put all the pieces together and then cut out some black organic cotton arm bands to tie onto the sleeves. They are removable and I made it fringed by cutting strips into the fabric and pulling each fringe piece tight.

I also cut fringe strips into the bamboo dress at the bottom of the long sleeves, and at the bottom hemline of the dress!

DECORATION::::

You can never have enough. Period.

Once I got started with the feathers, beads and (real) bones it was hard to stop.

In fact, my cabin looked totally trashed by the time I was done with making this costume!!!!

THE END RESULT IS Fuckin' FIERCE!! ::::::::::::::

Drama, Character. It's what halloween is all about.

HAPPY HALLLLOOOWWEEEEENNnnnnnn!

Xoxoxox

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Fabrics by:::

The Bamboo Fabric Store, see here.

Near Sea Naturals, see here.

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DIY: Sew An Organic Sweater (with hoody!)

Armed with some sustainable Organic Cotton Fleece and Bamboo fabric I decided to take the challenge of making my own organic sweater for the winter. Organic clothing can be really pricey, most times far out of the range most people want to spend and when it comes to organic cotton winter wear it's even worse...although worth the $$$ to those with sensitive skin, chem sensitivities or eco minded ethics, sometimes we just can't pay $100 to stay warm.
This is why DIY sewing skillz can be a big money saver, not to mention a lil' creative fun. I am not the best at sewing to be honest, each project is a lesson...
so here is what I learned & how I did it....
I took a shirt I made a few years ago, and used it to make a new pattern.
When making a pattern from a garment you already own here are two important tips:

• Make sure to trace extra room at all the seams where you will be sewing (see pic below)
• Check for differences in the fabric, like stretch vs. not so stretchy and adjust accordingly

Once you trace your pattern cut it out with scissors.
I cut out the body part and the sleeves separate, because I planned on sewing them together later.

THE HOODY ::::

Making a hoody is actually super easy, like making a basic pillow!

Trace a hoody you already have, which will make a pattern for one side of the hoody. Both sides will match and be sewn together.

You can always test the paper pattern on your head to make sure it will fit, and to see how long the neck part may need to be to meet the back of your sweater.

Lay out all your pieces on the fabric and make sure you have enough. I ended up not having enough purple organic cotton fleece for the hoody and used more bamboo fabric instead.

To make cutting out the pattern you made easier, pin it down to the fabric. I totally hate this part for some reason and always try to find ways to get out of it... but it never turns out right without those pins holding it right in place.

Once the pins are in, you can cut out the fabric pieces that will be sewn together.

I doubled the fabric so that I could cut out the back and front of the sweater all together.

I then took my sweater cut outs, and pinned them to the bamboo fabric I wanted to use as a warm smooth lining inside the organic cotton sweater.

TIME TO SEW ::::

I made the sleeves separate, and after sewing together the seams for the body part of the sweater, i added on the sleeves.

I did a tight zig zag stitch on the outside of the sweater so that it could have that cute handmade look.

The hoody got cut out and sewn on last....

END RESULT #1 ::::

The sweater is SO amazingly soft and warm, but was feeling a little tight because the fleece didn't have much stretch... (some organic cotton does and some doesn't, bamboo typically stretches.)I could have taken out the inner seams and loosened it up, but then i got another idea!!!

NEW IDEA! :::::

I cut down the entire front of the sweater and sewed some zig zag seams along those sides to hold in the bamboo lining.

Then I took the bone awl Urban Scout made me (see pic below) to punch holes evenly along those seams.

I used the bamboo lining scraps to create a corset, lace up front for the sweater that way the size could adjust with my needs.

ADorabLe & SeXy!! It has a hardcore fairy feel to it now, and I like it even better. :)))

END RESULT #2 :::

Yes? Yes!

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

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FABRICS BY :

The Bamboo Fabric Store, see more.

Near Sea Naturals (who now carry Spiritex local organic cotton), see more.

Natural Elderberry Dye (on organic cotton undergarments)

Remember how I was cooking down elderberries the other week? I used most of the elderberries I had growing in the medicinal recipe I put in the freezer... but one little bunch was left on the bush and I wanted to experiment with using it as a dye on some organic cotton undergarments (wife beater undershirt & thong panties) that I got from American Apparel's organic section online.

The undergarments were un-dyed to begin with, just the natural organic cotton color which is a slightly off white. (For those of you with MCS { chem sensitivities} I found that these undies were not overly chemical smelling, and that AA is doing a fairly good job with their organic line. The smell they did hold washed out really easy for me.)

HOW TO ::::

I believe there are various ways to prepare the elderberry dye - but what I did this time was cook it down with a lil' bit of apple cider vinegar and then let the cotton clothing sit in the dye bath overnight.

I am pretty certain you can get a MUCH darker color from this if you have tons of elderberries (which I didn't have anymore). Also, i think for a blue/ purple color that is dark possibly not cooking them at all, but crushing them up into a liquid, adding the vinegar and then putting the garments in would be really awesome, and likely a very deep dye.

I hung them out in the sun to dry, and as with all natural dyes the color will lighten as the fabric dries. This small amount of elderberries made a nice shade of pink... that leans on the lavender side.

Pretty earthy & cool!

Xoxoxo