Hand Sewing

I spent Saturday sewing a mermaid costume for Tamzin...by hand.

First, I couldn't find a patttern that looked like what we wanted. We were trying to avoid the typical shell bra with nude fabric over the belly (like Ariel) look, but couldn't find a pattern for anything different. I envisioned a long slinky dress with a flared hem. I had some cool knit fabric with sequins that I got as a selvage end on discount years ago(thinking it would be perfect for a mermaid costume). So I laid Tamzin down on the fabric, guessed on the shape, and started cutting. It's a simple sheath style dress, but my tempermental sewing machine has always resisted knits, and it absolutely refused to sew on the sequined fabric. After 30 minutes of struggling to get it to work, I remembered a bird costume I sewed some years back out of the same type of fabric. I ended up sewing it by hand, because the machine wouldn't work.

So, I pulled out the needle and thread, asked Tamzin to read to me while I sewed, and started stitching.

It wasn't too bad...if I'd been around back when everything was sewn by had, it probably would have been one of those jobs I would enjoy. I'm happy with the costume; it looks just like I'd hoped it would. It probably took me 4-5 hours to put it together, maybe twice as long as it would have taken with the machine. It's not very durable, though. If she is rough on it, it will not hold up well. As long as it makes it past Halloween...