Monday, November 2, 2015

Hunter



Emily decided on her outfit early in the summer this year.

"Hunter," she'd said.

"Like camouflage and rifle and blaze orange jumpsuit and deer carcass and miserably frozen toes and large thermos of coffee kind of hunter?" I'd asked, incredulous.

"No! Archery kind of hunter!"

Oh, that kind. 
Different weapon. 
But still camouflage and neon jumpsuit and clammy dead animal and tepid coffee and no cellphone reception in the middle of nowhere and . . .

"No! Not a real hunter!"

Oh, the book kind. 
Phew, then.

Specifically, it was a toss-up between Katniss Everdeen and Zoe Nightshade ("but we'll just call her 'huntress'," Emily said.)

Who won depended entirely on whether we could procure a brown leather jacket before the 31st. 

We found the jacket.

Katniss it was, then.

I love these straightforward decisions, don't you? 
So practical and efficient.

As far as Mother's sewing commitment was concerned, Emily's outfit this year was a 3-piece non-garment combo: 

a bag, 

a quiver,

and a Jedi-style hooded cloak.

So much fun to make.

The bag was just a faux-leather satchel with a magnetic snap closure and an adjustable shoulder strap.

This very simple edge-stitching was the only aesthetic detail, because Emily wanted it to look like something a hunter might carry, not someone heading to pick up her kid from daycare. To up the authenticity factor a notch, Emily put a stuffed toy rat (her kill, she explained) in it, along with her hoard of candy, when she went trick-or-treating.

The quiver (see more photos here) was also faux-leather, and worn on the back


or on the hip, using this snazzy belt adaptor (yes! I made the belt! Ages ago!).



There might need to be some adjustments made to that snazzy belt adaptor, though - the quiver hangs a bit too low, methinks. This is what comes of using Fleur as a drafting model instead of the real child (in school at the time of making).

The cloak has a lined hood and darts to shape the shoulders,

and ties around the neck.

Two other accessories: a wooden recurve bow that sort-of shoots, which we picked up at a party goods store, and gloves off which Emily cut the fingertips.

My favorite aspect of her look? 
That smile.

My second favorite part: because they're regular clothes, she'll be wearing the pants and jacket (and carrying around that bag) long after Halloween. 


10 comments:

  1. So cool! I love everything about it! But agreed... that smile is the best, especially when it probably means she loves the costume, too!

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  2. Very very nice. Love her smile and the outfit.

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  3. So nice you've made it. Love her smile and her outfit. Very, very nice!

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  4. she looks wonderful - and very grown up! loving the smile all the way from the UK...

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  5. Truly wonderful. The smile sells it (aren't hunters stern and focused? I'm sure she was at the time). And these are wonderful photos to have of your young huntress; she will point them out years later.
    And Mom for the WIN!
    (and what thread for the edgestitch? This is a detail that defeats me every time)

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    1. SJ Kurtz: Thread - It's the Gutterman heavy duty thread, I think is what it's called. Comes on a pale green plastic spool. Or maybe it's called topstitching thread. I wish I paid attention to names and things like that.

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  6. You are the queen of Halloween costumes. As in, ""just a faux-leather satchel with a magnetic snap closure and an adjustable shoulder strap" = perfect. And the jacket you found, the same. I agree the smile is the best part, but it was obviously well earned.

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  7. Very cute. I first thought Disney. Not Bambi but like a Descendents hunter. Sorry, I can't get the new progeny out of my mind! I also thought of the new pink Need stuff, too. Your huntress is adorable! How great she can wear part after the treat collecting.

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  8. Great costume! I love her cape. And it is so nice when kids can wear costumes after Halloween.

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  9. Great costume as always. I've been following your blog for quite some time, and I can't believe how grown up she looks in some of the pictures.

    -SilkyBee

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