Saturday, January 21, 2017

Mad about Maddie

Collars for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
Our Beta Club decided to run for a state office, which we ordinarily do. BUT, by this time we generally have everything--costumes, props, backdrop--everything done. Made. Complete. Glittered. Sewn.



A random collar

The sewing falls to me, by default, of course. But we rarely have more than one or two costumes that need a little "tweaking." This year our theme is "Mad about Maddie" using the Alice in Wonderland idea. 

It's cute. It's fun. It's (visually) loud. We want cute, fun, and loud. We're trying to get the attention of about 5,000 teenagers and we're trying to get those teens to vote for our candidate. Tough stuff, that.

The Mad Hatter's vest (will be attached to a tee shirt)
Some ingenius buttons














So back to Alice...she falls down a rabbit hole. Meets some strange characters....blah, blah, blah. Those strange characters are dress in strange clothing (otherwise they would be quite ordinary). And they say some strange things. (I really don't remember much.) And so on and so forth. 


six card costumes angle from the hem
It's the strange characters' costumes that have me at the insane point. Well, sort of. I do have a couple of weeks, though not many. Mostly I have an insane co-sponsor who does everything except the sewing....including getting me to do what I didn't agree to. But that's how friends are and we love them anyway.

So, these pictures are the costumes that I've completed thus far. All felt. All made by me. All from my insane brain as I don't have patterns....yeah, we're on a budget. And everyone has confidence in my abilities.  This is maybe half? I still have all manner of collars to make, and I have to add the white "fur" to the king's coat, and perhaps a few other small items. I have a list. 


card costumes angle from the collar

Here's a haha for you: Did you notice the mistake I made in these card costumes? Take a look at this picture where it's more obvious--the sevens are backwards. The entire skit is all of 58 seconds long....yes, seconds is correct. Would you rip out those stitches, which are buried in the felt, for less than a minute on stage? 


all four suites included, just for fun.

There will be more little bits coming in the next few weeks, but they will trickle in slowly, and I probably won't bother you with the details. Unless they turn out especially cute! In the meantime, I'll see you at one of these linky parties!


Linking up with 

3 comments:

Karen S said...

Great work on your costume marathon.
My guess is that nobody will notice an upside down number. Too many other thongs going on.

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

Maybe the upside down number is good. It wouldn't be the only weird thing happening down the rabbit hole. Great job on the costumes!

Mary Marcotte said...

I feel like it was a marathon, Karen. But the outcome is worth it. The kids are very excited about this year's convention. I've decided that the numbers are going to stay.

Sylvia, I like your thinking! I will use your logic when I make my case for not fixing them. Anyone who insists that they be fixed will be the one ripping the stitches out. I'll only sew them back on. Perhaps that will discourage the perfectionists who should probably visit a rabbit hole (for a few minutes, anyway).