Dia de los Muertos Halloween Costumes

Halloween is not a traditional holiday in my country, however, I love it for various reasons. The roots are Celtic, and the Celts lived in my native country before the Romans came. Also, I am fascinated how a pagan holiday blended in Christian religion, resulting in folkloristic traditions that probably most people around the world don't know anymore, because today's Halloween has become quite a commercialized event with not much left in common with the ancient believes. Plus, my kids love to dress up, and I love to make costumes, and it's a good opportunity for all of us to shorten the time until Christmas and put some colour and excitement in the dark evenings of autumn.

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 When my husband came up with the idea for new costumes I was hooked. He knows my love for Mexican culture, and the Day of the Dead is certainly something that fascinates people all over the world. This holiday developed from the catholic holiday that is celebrated on the day after All Saints' Day (or Allhallows in older English, therefore Halloween, for Allhallows' evening), on November 2nd. Because of the beautifully spooky costumes and the painted skull decorations that are distinctive for those celebrations and because of the proximity of this holiday to Halloween, the Mexican costumes and specific facial paintings have become popular even in Europe. No wonder I was excited to make some costumes for my kids inspired by the Dia de los Muertos.

As a sewer and a huge admirer of authentic folkloristic crafts, one of the most beautiful things I have ever come across are the various and extraordinarily beautiful traditional costumes of the regions of Mexico. The rich and colourful embroidery is thrilling, and I could spend hours rolling over pictures of those garments that have their origins in Azetc traditions that were mixed with Spanish motives. Of course it would be convenient to have an embroidery machine, but still, trying to produce garments that would look authentic would still be a huge challenge and very time-consuming.

To keep it simple, I made a Charro style jacket for my son from a pattern for a short collarless jacket I found in my 1950s Lutterloh book. It was by the way the first time I made a two-piece sleeve. It didn't turn out too well because the fabric was a rather cheap synthetic material, but it was certainly a good experience. I also made a red scarf and sash. Luckily I found a cheap felt sombrero from an online shop, and some black trousers completed the outfit. (He first refused to wear it as he wanted to be a ghost or a spider or a transformer. I insisted, as he should match his big sister and it's probably the last time mommy can put him into a costume like that...)

My daughter's costume was far more time-consuming. The skirt should recreate the look of embroideries on a bottom ruffle. I spent much time studying pictures of amazing traditional Mexican garments. I sketched some flowers and leaves and made my own stencils, and in some of my many sleepless nights I printed them on the fabric. The material is a rather slinky viscose (rayon) javanaise, similar to a challis, but with a hint of a shine. Maybe not the best choice, but I had it in my stash, and plenty of it, and the skirt would certainly be very flowing a good for twirling. Hand printing viscose was a new experience for me, and I was happy I made some tests before starting with the pieces I planned to use for the ruffle. It's quite different from cotton! There are various flowers, and I used as many colours as possible.

I certainly don't claim this IS a Mexican skirt, but I tried to be as close to the embroidered costumes as possible. And even though my printed version doesn't justice to the beauty of the originals, it's certainly a garment that shows my deep admiration for the traditional outfits.

When it came to making the floral crown, I took to it like a duck to water. I love Frida Kahlo's look and especially her hairstyles, and my daughter does too. There was no doubt it would be the template to follow by for the updo. Felt is a wonderful material for making flowers.

As an avid gardener I absolutely wanted to make flowers that had something to do with Mexico, so I made some researches. To my utter surprise, many of our annual garden flowers originally are native to Mexico, as marigold, cosmea, zinnia and dahlia. I added lilies, calla lilies and some roses, as these are popular in Mexican culture like Mexican folk songs, embroideries etc. Finding a way how to fix and arrange all the flowers on a headband was rather tricky. I couldn't find a tutorial that would meet my needs, as my flowers are a bit heavier than ready-made synthetic faux ones. So I had to find my own solution. But I think it was totally worth all the hours I spent on it, and also stitching almost all the flowers to the headband by hand instead of using the glue gun.

My daughter's costume is completed by a true Mexcian embroidered blouse I found incredibly cheap for a couple of bucks on Ebay, plus a pashmina shawl from my wardrobe. I must admit I am no very skilled at painting my kids' faces on such occasions, but I was quite pleased with the result, keeping it rather simple.

Even if I didn't have as much time as I would have liked, and despite working mainly in the night (oh black fabric really IS a pain in the back in poor light!), everything looked much better than I had hoped. I am well aware that most people are happy with off-the-rack costumes that are available for little money and that can be thrown away after some wear. Yes, I am a bit crazy for all the effort I put in the kids' costumes.

At least a carved ghost for my son's pumpkin...

...and a Mexican skull on my daughter's. I might need some practice.

This gap-toothed little señor completely stole my heart...

Charro costume:
Jacket: self-made after Lutterloh "Der Goldene Schnitt" (The Golden Rule), book edition 6-1949, mod. 139, p. 80
Felt Sombrero: costume online shop on Ebay
Sash: handwoven from Mexico

Frida costume:
Skirt: hand-printed and self-made dirndl skirt with hand-printed ruffle (no pattern required)
Blouse: true Mexican embroidered blouse, Ebay
Flower crown: self-made felt flowers on head band

1950s Ballet Shoes Dress

My husband and me, we both love operas and ballet. Before we had the kids, we went to the opera house from time to time, mostly with some of our friends from Ireland who are living in Switzerland or came here regularly.

Mein Mann und ich, wir lieben beide Opern und Ballett. Bevor wir die Kinder hatten, besuchten wir gelegentlich mit unsern irischen Freunden, die entweder hier lebten oder regelmässig in die Schweiz zu Besuch kommen, Vorstellungen.

Some time ago, our friends gave me  an envelope full of vintage craft magazines they had found when their mother passed away, and there was also this lovely pattern.

Bei einem ihrer Besuche bekam ich von diesen Freunden einen Umschlag mit Vintage-Handarbeitsheften, die sie nach dem Tod ihrer Mutter gefunden hatten. Darunter war auch dieses bezaubernde Schnittmuster. 




Having sewn rather 1940s clothing recently, I wanted to make this typical 50s dress in a particular fabric I had in my stash for an opera event. As you can tell from the pattern pieces display, it's a fairly simple design and should be really "quick and easy", just as stated. So, perfect for a super quick project, as currently I don't have much time for sewing.

Nachdem ich in letzter Zeit eher Kleider im 1940er Stil genäht habe, wollte ich mal wieder ein typisches 50er Kleid machen,  in einem speziellen Stoff zu einem bestimmten Anlass. Wie man schon an der Schnittübersicht sieht, ist es ein ziemlich simples Design und sollte wirklich "schnell und leicht" zu realisieren sein, wie auf dem Umschlag angegeben - perfekt für meine ohnehin schon knapp bemessene Freizeit.

I decided on Wednesday morning to make this dress for the public opening event of the Zurich Opera House on Saturday, as my husband was going to perform with a choir of non-professional singers. After bringing the kids to school and came home, I spent one hour trying to find the fabric. Duh...

While the kids were having lunch, I cut the fabric. I had to do it on the floor, as the fabric was 6 yards long, and the pattern piece for the skirt was huge.

Am Mittwochmorgen beschloss ich zum Eröffnungsevent des Zürcher Opernhauses, wo auch mein Mann in einem "Laienchor" mitsingen würde, ein Kleid zu nähen. Nachdem ich die Kinder zur Schule gebracht hatte, suchte ich eine Stunde lang meinen Stoff. Bäh...

Während die Kinder zu Mittag assen, schnitt ich den Stoff zu. Ich musste das ohnehin am Boden machen, denn immerhin waren es 6 Yards Material, und auch das Muster für den Rock war enorm. 

Quick and easy. All too often this is not really the case, but this time, at 10 p.m. I had an almost finished dress, besides all the family and household duties. Almost finished means: only the skirt left to hem. Making a circle dress, you should know you have to let it hang for at least 24 hours because there are more stretchy parts cut on the bias - you have to allow the bias to "fall", otherwise your hem will be uneven.

Schnell und leicht. Allzu oft trifft das ja leider nicht wirklich zu, oder ich vermassle es durch einen Überlegungsfehler, aber um 10 Uhr abends hatte ich dann ein fast fertiges Kleid, nebst allen Familien- und Haushaltspflichten.  Will heissen: es ist nur noch der Rock zu säumen.  Das ist gut so, denn ein Tellerrock muss ja bekanntlich mindestens 24 Stunden hängen, damit sich die Rockteile, die schräg zum Fadenlauf sind und somit leicht dehnbar, strecken und ausgleichen. Ansonsten hat man einen unregelmässigen Saum. 

While my skirt was still hanging, I made a belt with a fabric-covered buckle. Just in case, if you ever find a vintage kit for a self-covered belt buckle, grab it! These are amazing! I was lucky and bought a huge lot some time ago. I sold most of them, and I tell you, they sold pretty fast. Of course I kept some of the buckles for myself, and I tell you, they are fantastic. Such a belt is just the cherry on top for your home-sewn dress! But for this project, I wanted a larger buckle, so I picked a used one where the fabric already came off. I took it apart, removed the old material and covered it with my new ballet shoes fabric. The buckle is a bit bent, but as it's larger, you can recognise the print also on the buckle, not only on the belt.

If you ever find some of these, grab them!

As I had enough fabric left, I made a reversivel bag for my vintage lucite purse frame. I even managed to make the matching handles for both colours of the bag. And I still had enough material for a circle dress for my girl.

Während nun also mein Rock hing und sich streckte, habe ich einen passenden Gürtel genäht - mit einer stoffbezogenen Schnalle. Falls Ihr mal diese alten Sets findet, mit denen man selber Gürtelschliessen mit Stoff bespannen kann, greift zu. Die sind nämlich toll! Glücklicherweise hatte ich mal ein ganzes Konvolut ergattert und grösstenteils verkauft - die gingen weg wie warme Semmeln. Natürlich habe ich einen Teil behalten, und ich liebe sie! Ein solcher Gurt ist einfach das Tüpfelchen auf dem "i" bei einem selbst gemachten Kleid.
In diesem Fall aber habe ich eine alte bereits benutze Schnalle genommen, demontiert, den alten zerfetzten Stoff entfernt und mit meinem neuen Material bespannt. Die Schliesse ist noch immer etwas verbogen, aber zum Glück ist sie gross genug, dass man auch auf ihr die Ballettschuhe erkennt - nicht nur auf dem Gürtel.

Und weil ich noch Stoff übrig hatte, machte ich noch einen wendbaren Beutel für meinen Vintage Lucite Taschengriff. Ich habe es sogar geschafft, dass es für jede Seite die farblich passenden Henkel gibt. Und ich hatte immer noch etwas Stoff, um meiner Tochter ebenfalls einen Tellerrock zu machen.

Unexpectedly we had decent weather that day. It was unusual for me to match my daughter's outfit, but she enjoyed it so much to look "like her mom", and she loves her circle dress.
As I mentioned, it was a public event, and people were not dressed nicely. I mean, people in general do not care much about their style, and dressing in Vintage style is a different matter, so I always differ from the crowd, but you could say we really popped out.  But it was a wonderful event, and my husband as his fellow choir members made an amazing performance.

And if you ever happen to be in Zurich, I highly recommend to visit the opera house, it's a beautiful historic building with lot's of amazing details.

Wir hatten etwas unerwartet gutes Wetter an dem Tag. Etwas ungewohnt war für mich, wie meine Tochter gekleidet zu sein, doch sie genoss es sehr, "wie Mami" auszusehen, und ihren Rock liebt sie nun ganz innig.
Wie erwähnt war es ein öffentlicher Anlass, und so war denn auch das Publikum nicht wirklich gut angezogen. Die Leute hier pflegen im Alltag nicht wirklich einen gediegenen Stil, und wenn man sich wie ich im Vintage-Stil kleidet, dann ist das ja nochmals eine andere Sache. Insofern hebe ich mich ohnehin schon etwas von der Masse ab, und an diesem Tag stach ich ebenso hervor. Doch es war ein ganz wunderbarer Anlass, und mein Mann und sein Chor haben eine ganz hervorragende Performance geboten.

Und falls Ihr je nach Zürich kommen solltet, lege ich Euch einen Besuch im Opernhaus nahe. Es ist ein sehr schönes historisches Gebäude mir ganz vielen hinreissenden Details.

Pattern: Butterick 7201, ©1950s, a gift from friends
Fabric: Robert Kaufman "Sugar and Spice", bought on sale on Etsy
Belt: self-made with a vintage fabric-covered buckle
Shoes: modern platform sandals
Purse: self-made with a mid-century lucite frame bought on Etsy
Earrings, necklace: vintage mid-century Guilloche screw-backs and pendant, bought on Etsy