The Raggedy Ann witch disguise was the one we were mainly going for. To get the cool border and the Cats On Hat, we went with the previously seen Spoonflower fabric, which was attached to the bottom of the skirt fabric and sewn as part of it. Then I needed to find patterns that would approximate the style of the outfit. I was worried about the lace-up portion of the bodice, but then I realized that a vintage Butterick pattern (8283) I had sitting out was perfect -- it's for a vintage jumper with an inverted box pleat at the center front of the skirt. All I had to do was extend the box pleat into the bodice, then add grommets to the pleat edges and lace it closed. The Spoonflower panel was incorporated into the skirt at the bottom. Ta-da!
The underdress was a pettiblouse made from another vintage pattern (Advance 6936, which I've made the dress from several times). While I wanted the overdress to be close to the original, I didn't want to make an underdress similar to the one in the illustration -- I wanted something less costume-y, since I know from experience that this outfit will be worn regularly for the next year or two. I wanted a much more basic girl's blouse and petticoat look, and the vintage Advance pattern was perfect. I did add some little cat buttons to go with the theme though!
Here's the finished outfit, hanging up:
And finally...the hat. I had hoped to find a hat I could buy and just decorate, but I found nothing I could use. I ended up making the hat myself. It was not fun, but I didn't have much choice. I took poplin, fused a very heavy home deco interacing onto the back, made a cone and a "ring" and sewed them together. Before attaching them, I added a band of orange and fused a row of cats into place with some steam-a-seam. Finally, I added bias tape at the edge and ran a wire pulled out of a cheap ($2) witch hat I bought somewhere. I really didn't think it was going to work, but it came out pretty well!
The final result?
Ready...
Set...
Jump!!
Happy Halloween!!
