Help Sewing A Halloween Costume: A Conspiracy!

I have a conspiracy.

I'm a novice sewer. I can sew buttons on clothing, and that's about it. So I decided about six months ago to rectify this problem. Got a sewing machine, only needed two months to figure out how to thread the blasted thing. So far my sewing projects have just been experiments using different fabrics.

So my son wants to be a magician for Halloween. I buy a magicians cape Simplicity pattern (an oxymoron if ever there was one), fabric, and today started sewing.

Well, of course I screwed it up. Broke my goodwill iron, stitched the neck hole closed, broke the sewing needle, and managed to sew part of my right finger to the cape. That hurt.

The cape may still be salvageable, but that's where you come in, ATS. I'm sure there are some sewers here. How can I fix the neck of the cape? I had to cut it apart after sewing it shut (I still can't believe I did that), now it's all ragged looking. Also, there's a high collar to attach but I can't read the instructions on the pattern, they are written in some technical jargon and I'm clueless.

That's the conspiracy angle....I think you need an engineering degree to read and understand these patterns. Or maybe I should stick to buttons.

Gotta go....need to change the bandage on my finger...

I will help if I can...when you have time, post the instructions about the collar and we'll see how we get on. Did you get the needle issue fixed?

reply to post by smyleegrl


Alright, there are a number of things you can do here... given your level of expertise, I highly recommend getting some heat'n'bond. You can get it at any fabric store. You iron one side to the fabric, trim and excess, peel the backing off and iron it to where it needs to go. It's sort of like 2 way tape, but it's heat activated.
You could overlay another piece of fabric to the collar so it looks like new, but you won't have to rip anything else apart.

You could also consider just hot-gluing the high collar in place and voila, no more sewing... staple it if you have to.

I am a professional costumer, I can help you through this. I will check back later, feel free to PM me with any questions you have.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Note for future reference: invest in a seam ripper. Until you get more experience there will be many mess ups. A seam ripper only costs a couple of bucks, and you can use it to take apart seams more neatly than with scissors.

Thanks for the help, guys! Much appreciated!

I'm going to try the fabric bonding to make the collar. But how to attach the collar to the cape?


And now I feel even more idiotic. Capes don't have neck holes to sew shut. My husband pointed this out to me amidst gales of laughter.

reply to post by smyleegrl


I used to do some sewing professionally, so I'll throw in here too.

First, remember it's a Halloween costume, to be worn maybe a couple of times.

Ragged edges can be rolled, ironed and sewn, and that will hide a ragged edge.

Same with the collar to neck 'joint', and it will be easier if you use straight pins to create the joint while a model wears the cape/collar.

Just remove the pins one at a time as you sew along that seam you created with the pins.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
I have a conspiracy.

I'm a novice sewer. I can sew buttons on clothing, and that's about it. So I decided about six months ago to rectify this problem. Got a sewing machine, only needed two months to figure out how to thread the blasted thing. So far my sewing projects have just been experiments using different fabrics.

So my son wants to be a magician for Halloween. I buy a magicians cape Simplicity pattern (an oxymoron if ever there was one), fabric, and today started sewing.

Well, of course I screwed it up. Broke my goodwill iron, stitched the neck hole closed, broke the sewing needle, and managed to sew part of my right finger to the cape. That hurt.

The cape may still be salvageable, but that's where you come in, ATS. I'm sure there are some sewers here. How can I fix the neck of the cape? I had to cut it apart after sewing it shut (I still can't believe I did that), now it's all ragged looking. Also, there's a high collar to attach but I can't read the instructions on the pattern, they are written in some technical jargon and I'm clueless.

That's the conspiracy angle....I think you need an engineering degree to read and understand these patterns. Or maybe I should stick to buttons.

Gotta go....need to change the bandage on my finger...

Still sounds better than some seamstresses I've had. And I think we've all had a needle go through our fingers at some time or another. It just means you have a good machine. If you have some pictures of what you have or some scans of the pattern part you don't understand that would help.

From what you describe, if it were me I would cut the ragged hole to a clean edge, then sew some material to it to make up the difference. To attach the collar I would stitch velcro to the cape and collar, then just press them together. Alternatively you could use hem tape instead of the velcro, then stitch it, if your machine can handle it.

Good luck

The problems continue. My Brother sewing machine keeps giving me an error code that the thread is tangled. I made a new bobbin, then followed the directions again step by step.

Still getting the error message. So, in my infinite knowledge of all things mechanical, I've decided to let it rest for the night. That way it will spontaneously fix itself.

Right?

reply to post by smyleegrl


What is the model number and what error message do you get?

To put the collar on to the cape, you could just lay it on the way it's supposed to be when finished and sew or hot glue it in place, the raw edges will be on the inside of the collar anyway. ...

I actually know how to sew.... a little... I always liked playing with Mom's sewing machine because it was electric, had pully looking things on it and made a cool noise