powerful man
Daniel has been reading a lot of DC Comics chapter books (not great literature, I assure you, but more tolerable than Captain Underpants and he loves them), and he and his best buddy across the street have created a fictional universe where they have all manner of super powers. And now, they have apparently decided they need costumes.
Daniel has deemed himself Powerful Man, who is a lot like Superman, only better. Powerful Man can travel across the entire universe in a fraction of a second. Powerful Man is 10,000 times as strong as Superman. Powerful Man has some serious kung fu moves.
A couple of weeks ago, Daniel decided Powerful Man needs a costume, and hehas beenpestering asking me ever so nicely to make him one ever since. I finally agreed, and we went pattern and fabric shopping on Friday afternoon. I couldn't match all his specific requests. He wanted something stretchy and shiny (you know, like superheroes wear!) and even though I know one can buy that sort of stuff, I don't really know how to sew with it and I didn't want to spend money on something guaranteed to be a disaster. We found a jumpsuit pattern in the costume section of a McCalls pattern book (McCalls were $1 apiece at Joanns this week, so score one for bargain-hunting!) got some fabric and a zipper, and were good to go.
Here is Powerful Man in action:
What can I say? I'm kind of a sucker for making things when my kids ask me to. They're fast approaching the age where wearing anything homemade is an embarrassment. I get that, and my feelings aren't hurt, but when Daniel persists in asking me to make him a costume, it's hard to say no. Even when it's 90 degrees outside so he won't want to wear it for more than a minute, and by Halloween will have grown out of it or changed his mind.
I guess I'm trying to say that I know this time is fleeting and I'm just trying to get what I can out of it. How often do I get to make a shiny aqua jumpsuit for someone who will totally love it?
I'll answer that for you: twice. Because of course if Daniel is Powerful Man, Anya has to be Powerful Girl, so now I get to make another jumpsuit, this time in bright green. I would think my zipper-installing skillz will improve by the end of the week.
A few comments on the project itself, for those who are interested. The pattern is McCalls 4951 and it's just a generic jumpsuit costume with different elements you can add like a hood or wings or mask or belt. (Daniel wants the mask, too, and I'll get around to it eventually, I think.) The only copy of the pattern left in stock only went up to size 6, so I had to cut it bigger and longer to fit him. Surprisingly, that didn't turn out to be very difficult.
Choosing the fabric was tricky. He knew he wanted it to be shiny and knew what color he wanted. I didn't want to use dance-wear fabric because I'm rotten at sewing with super stretchy fabrics (even regular knits kind of elude me, and I wonder what I'm lacking, whether it's skill or equipment or both...). I sewed something with costume satin once and it was so horrid and slippery and fray-tastic I swore I'd never do it again. We ended up buying a couple yards of bridal satin (funny for a superhero costume, don't you think?) that has a bit of stretch and nice soft feel. It was a little pricey, but since I had one of those ubiquitous 40% off coupons, I didn't really mind. I don't regret it, either, because it was easy to cut and nice to sew. I'm even thinking of getting some more in a different color (like deep red or blue, something jewel toned) to make myself a shirt I can wear with black for performances.
The letters "P" and "M" of course stand for Powerful Man. I cut them out of craft felt I had at home and affixed them to the costume with Wonder Under. It only sort of worked (I find adhesives don't work reliably with felt and slippery fabric), so I zigzag stitched around the edges to hold the letters down.
Daniel has deemed himself Powerful Man, who is a lot like Superman, only better. Powerful Man can travel across the entire universe in a fraction of a second. Powerful Man is 10,000 times as strong as Superman. Powerful Man has some serious kung fu moves.
A couple of weeks ago, Daniel decided Powerful Man needs a costume, and hehas been
Here is Powerful Man in action:
What can I say? I'm kind of a sucker for making things when my kids ask me to. They're fast approaching the age where wearing anything homemade is an embarrassment. I get that, and my feelings aren't hurt, but when Daniel persists in asking me to make him a costume, it's hard to say no. Even when it's 90 degrees outside so he won't want to wear it for more than a minute, and by Halloween will have grown out of it or changed his mind.
I guess I'm trying to say that I know this time is fleeting and I'm just trying to get what I can out of it. How often do I get to make a shiny aqua jumpsuit for someone who will totally love it?
I'll answer that for you: twice. Because of course if Daniel is Powerful Man, Anya has to be Powerful Girl, so now I get to make another jumpsuit, this time in bright green. I would think my zipper-installing skillz will improve by the end of the week.
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Choosing the fabric was tricky. He knew he wanted it to be shiny and knew what color he wanted. I didn't want to use dance-wear fabric because I'm rotten at sewing with super stretchy fabrics (even regular knits kind of elude me, and I wonder what I'm lacking, whether it's skill or equipment or both...). I sewed something with costume satin once and it was so horrid and slippery and fray-tastic I swore I'd never do it again. We ended up buying a couple yards of bridal satin (funny for a superhero costume, don't you think?) that has a bit of stretch and nice soft feel. It was a little pricey, but since I had one of those ubiquitous 40% off coupons, I didn't really mind. I don't regret it, either, because it was easy to cut and nice to sew. I'm even thinking of getting some more in a different color (like deep red or blue, something jewel toned) to make myself a shirt I can wear with black for performances.
The letters "P" and "M" of course stand for Powerful Man. I cut them out of craft felt I had at home and affixed them to the costume with Wonder Under. It only sort of worked (I find adhesives don't work reliably with felt and slippery fabric), so I zigzag stitched around the edges to hold the letters down.
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