ella wanted to be a peacock for halloween.
she saw a picture of one online.
so she described to me exactly what her costume should look like. "not real feathers. fadric feathers. painted on fadric. with fadric paint." this is a child who has watched mama paint her fair share of fadric.
so i made a sketch.
and she painted the feather on paper as a guide.
and i made her a peacock.
she told me that everybody thought she was a peacock wearing girl's shoes.
gory details:
base costume drafted using wild ginger software's "childs play" pattern drafting program. ruffles are strips of tulle stuffed with netting. the tail was drafted using wild ginger software's "wild things! vintage" program--in the program the pattern is called a "hostess apron" but as you can clearly see, it is actually a peacock's tail fan.
reflective tape on the back of the tail fan for safety. headpiece crafted from the most traditional of halloween costume materials: pipe cleaners.
what are the notes on the sketch? that is some advice from ella on what to expect when she is in costume: "peacocks make people dizzy with their feathers. that's how they protect theirselves." she's right--she dazzled me with her beauty.
