Two years ago, in 2009, I made Karen this lion jumpsuit and fur boots. This year, she wanted to be a skunk, and she had some great ideas for the design. I love working with creative people!
I used Kwik Sew 2722 as the basis for the jumpsuit. I filled in the hole in the back, sewed in a zipper, and added some length to the legs and the torso.
For the long sleeves, I traced the armscye and used the sleeve pattern from New Look 6160.Here's where it gets fun. Karen wanted some kind of a white stripe on her back so she would look like a skunk. I googled pictures of skunks, and started designing.
This is what I came up with. I love how it turned out! This was surprisingly easy. I basically traced the curved lines onto the back pattern piece, and I added 1/4" seam allowances on each side of each line. I simply traced out each piece, and they sewed together very easily. I added 2 or 3 notches to each line, and I sewed them together on my serger.
I sewed the center back seam to prepare for zipper insertion, and I was very careful to line up the peak at the bottom.
I sewed up the body of the jumpsuit, and then I tried it on to check the fit. Karen is 5'9", but she has a longer torso than me. I'm also approximately 4" bigger than she is. Still, I could tell that it would be too big on her, so I took it in by about 2 1/2" at the bust, 4" at the waist, and 2 1/2" at the hips, taking it in all the way down the legs, since they were a bit loose. This stretch velvet has a lot more give than the stuff we used for the lion jumpsuit, plus Karen has lost weight since then. When she came for her fitting, I was pleased that it fit her perfectly. I pinned the sleeves on to check them. Lookin' good so far!
I finished off the jumpsuit, and made the fur boots with a white stripe down the back. They look so good! I think they look like skunks just by themselves!
Here's a close-up of the texture of the fur. The black is fairly short, but it still works. The white is quite long, which is great, since it is the focal point anyways. I had my vacuum cleaner out when I was cutting the fur. There was hair everywhere! I even vacuumed the edges of each piece after they were cut, to reduce shedding. Worked like a charm. The fur was really easy to sew.
After the boots, I designed and made the tail. I forgot to take a picture, but you'll see it soon anyways. I made a similar design to the back of the jumpsuit, and I lined the underside with black fur.
Final fitting time! This is awesome. I love how it's totally black on the front.
Then she turns around, and bam! So cool!!! To reinforce the tail, I sewed a triangle of denim underneath, attaching it to the bottom of the zipper for stability.
I love it! Have I mentioned how much I love making costumes?Karen is so much fun to sew for. She's creative, easy-going, and flexible. I wish all my clients were like her! My last 2 days of Halloween sewing were such a breeze!