Little Owl

I love this little owl costume.  Sewing does not come easily for me and I got some much needed help from my sewing champ of a friend, Becky. I did sew everything completely by myself and I even enjoyed it! The trick is to either sew with a friend or listen to an audio book (I have been listening to HP 7, since it is Harry's birthday and all). I made this for our Harry Party this past weekend, since wizards/witches use owls to carry their mail and they are pets. It was Becky's idea and it turned out so cute!

 This owl costume was pretty easy to make--and this is coming from someone who has to have anything sewing related explained to them like they are a toddler. Yeah... I am talking about myself.

 The wings were surprisingly fun to make. I just cut out a wing shape the length of Elanor's arm (using Becky's already cut out wings as a pattern) and also cut out tons of feathers. I cut them into two sections for each row, but I have seen it where they cut it out all in one piece. Then, starting from the bottom, I sewed on each row. I used white felt, grey flannel, and the cotton blue feather fabric to make my feathers. The felt helps to give the wings some sturdiness.

 The dress was really easy. Elanor already has a dress that is exactly like this one and very simple. I just made a pattern from the dress and then cut it out of the blue feather fabric. I simply hemmed everything and sewed it all together. I also cut a slit in the back so we could get it over Elanor's head. I hemmed the slit and added a button hole and a button at the top. I don't really know how to sew button holes, but I just used the zig zag stitch and made it quite small and went around the hole. I am sure it will be good enough for a costume. I also cut out some feathers and sewed three rows of each color on the front of the dress to make the dress more owl-like. If I can make this dress, then anyone can.

 I decided to attach the wings to the dress. All of the tutorials I looked at were just for wings and they were attached around the shoulders or neck with ribbon. I did not want Elanor to have the option to take the wings off and I wanted the costume to be comfortable. I attached the wings at each shoulder and then sewed down the wing (just on the blue fabric) a little ways to make sure it  would stay and to make the wings more flappable. 

 For the wrists, I used two hair ties. I sewed them on the wings (being careful to sew underneath the feathers, not on top) using the large zig zag on my sewing machine. It worked perfectly and was super easy and comfortable for Elanor.

 The mask was easy and fun to make--so I want to make some more! Becky had already cut out owl masks for her boys, so I used hers to cut Elanor's out. We cut out two felt owl masks and sewed them together so that they would be more sturdy. Then, using a cup I cut out the large circles and hot glued them onto the mask. For the beak, I cut out a yellow triangle and glued it on. Tyler had the idea to add in the black spots since many owls have those sort of markings, especially snowy owls. I loved the way it turned out!

Tomorrow is Harry Potter's (and J.K. Rowling's) birthday, so tomorrow I will post about the very fun Harry Potter party we had this past weekend. Today is Neville's birthday, by the way! Happy Birthday Neville!

Is anyone else as into Harry Potter as I am and are having parties in his honor? Let me know, because I always love finding Potter friends!