Sewing Adventure

My zombie 

Halloween is tricky in Florida. It can be in the eighties or sixties.  For many reasons not due to the weather, I've missed Halloween with my daughter. These absentee excuses include writing my dissertation, teaching night classes, and being in the hospital.  I have, however, always prided myself on her having a homemade costume.    Okay, maybe there are two exceptions, her frog costume, and her flapper costume, but she often decides what to be a year in advance and doesn't change her mind. My husband is an artist and can craft most of her costumes.  My favorite was the mermaid tail that he made by cutting metallic and green cupcake wrappers In half and attaching them to a skirt.

This year is the year of Greek mythology.  My daughter became obsessed Greek mythology by reading the Rick Riordan books and decided to be Artemis.  I am excited by her decision, because her reading life is fueling her imagination.  She has challenged me, however, to sew her costume. She doesn't believe I can do it. I know I can, but it won't be pretty. I did get that badge in Girl Scouts, where I am certified to make and do small things such as the bag made out of dish towels that you hang your mess kit out to dry in when you are camping or sew buttons. I often rely on tape for hems, forgetting to take it off before I put clothes in the dryer. 

 I do think my sewing blundering is a good life lesson for my daughter. We often make things we do as adults seem easy at home or at school and kids do not see the practice it takes to get there. It is important to let your children watch you struggle, learn, and  make mistakes. My daughter got a lot of that this weekend when I created a pattern and cut fabric to do a preliminary practice run for Skipper. I didn't account for the dimension of the doll. I cut out material in a pattern that would be better suited for a paper doll than a Barbie. I sewed the dress right on the doll. I did figure out what my mistakes were before I started with my kid-sized costume. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my stitches stay kid proof tomorrow during her Super Ball,  but what's most important were my openness to feedback and willingness to take a risk when I wasn't quite sure.