Misgivings Day with Medusa

Today marks the annual tradition of Misgivings Day, started by the Queen of Halloween herself, Ghoul Friday.  It's a day to start getting into the Halloween spirit (if you haven't already - I started in July) by decorating, making costumes, or whatever strikes your spooky fancy.  Personally, I am spending the day working on my costume for this year.  To mark the occasion, I wanted to present you with the costume I made last year: Medusa. The pattern I used was Simplicity 3647, view D (cape omitted).  The dress is black Kona cotton (the pattern called for linen, but I didn't want to spend that kind of money on what was already going to be an expensive costume) and the waist-piece is a stretchy snake-like print with chiffon drapes.  The trim, which the pattern did not all for, was a Greek key design similar to this.  In the first picture, I am wearing a shirt and tights under the dress because it was freezing the day of my party.  We actually got three inches of snow that day! Sewing this dress was super simple.  That is, easy except for the sleeve hems.  The had a narrow hem, which usually isn't a problem, but this fabric kept fraying and rolling.  It might be more prudent to just finish the edges, fold up a 5/8 seam, and stitch that in place.  That is probably what I would do if I made this again.  However, if you go my route and add trim, I would suggest doing that before you've sewn most of the costume together.  I didn't plan to add trim at all, but it happened to catch my eye when I was looking for something else.  Overall, I am pleased with how the dress turned out.  It has actually made its way into my everyday wear clothing. The waist-piece, or whatever you would like to call it, is another story.  I really did not like this piece.  In fact, I almost didn't wear it.  I took it off shortly after the party began because it was just too annoying.  It kept falling down and twisting.  Frankly, I think it made me look like I had no waist and huge hips.  The greens don't match either, but it was really the best I could find.  If it came down to making another Medusa costume, I would omit this piece entirely and come up with something different. The headpiece was the trickiest part here.  It's fifteen rubber snakes hot-glued to a headband.  The glue came undone periodically over the course of the night and snakes flopped in my face, which I suppose made for some appropriate serpentine action for observers, but it freaked me out a little.  I would use a stronger adhesive if I did this again.  I would also try to find hollow snakes, because this was heavy.  You can't tell from these pictures, but the front of my hair was green at the time, so it went well with the snakes. Onto the rest of the costume.  Just wearing cosmetics is enough to make something qualify as a costume for me.  I tried to show off the fantastic colors a little in the first picture.  Both the lipstick and eye shadow come from Sobe Botanicals.  The anklet and arm cuff come from 88 Links. Thanks for reading!  I will be doing more posts on previous costumes as the season progresses, and the Guess My Costume contest should start in late October (there will be prizes!), so stay tuned.  Enjoy your Misgivings Day and be spooky!