Today's Red and Black entry is another blast from the past. This one comes from Halloween 2006. My husband and I, for the first any only time, opted for a couple's costume for Halloween: The Joker and Harley Quinn.
I didn't use a pattern here because spandex is pretty forgiving (in terms of getting a fit, at least). I wrapped the fabric around myself, safety pinned it in place, and then cut it accordingly. The diamonds were a little difficult to sew on because the fabric needed to be stretched for that, which basically meant that I had to be wearing it. It was easy enough to put them on the left side (using my right hand), but not so much on the right. I am ridiculously right handed.
The gloves were easy: I traced my hand, cut it out, and sewed it together.
The headpiece was a little difficult. It's a separate piece from the costume, and I had a terrible time getting it to lay flat. In the end, I think I made three of them before one worked. The points on the headpiece (dunno what else to call them; does anyone know the technical term?) are just curved pieces of spandex and stuffed with polyfill. If I did this again, I would line them, because little pieces of the stuffing kept creeping out through the fabric. I attached two jingle bells at the end of the points and added elastic around the face opening for a tight fit.
Hubby's costume was created out of thrift store finds. For the jacket, I cropped it to the waist, flipped the pieces around, and sewed them on as tails. The fabric went against the grain for that, but for a thrift store costume, it wasn't too bad. The flower was just some yellow satin I had in the stash. I cut out a few flower shapes, layered them in a staggered fashion, and sewed them together. The vest is just a satin blouse. I cut off the sleeves and altered the neckline. From those pieces I cut, I made the tie and pocket square. His shirt and pants, thankfully, I didn't need to alter.
His costume is great because it shows how you can make a fabulous costume without spending a lot of money or time, or having a lot of talent.
We won first prize at the Halloween party we went to!
