Sew the Show: 6 Degrees of Separation

Welcome to the next stop on the Sew the Show: 6 Degrees of Separation Blog Tour. This is a not a costume series and it's not a competition, but it is a series celebrating the love of Hollywood and all the sewing inspiration found in our favorite movies and tv shows. How many of these sewing bloggers do you recognize?

The whole tour begins and ends with Kevin Bacon! Each stop along the way connects through an actor, actress, director, or significant other. There was one crazy hour on Facebook where we hashed it out to see who had the fastest fingers and I was quick enough to land the 15th spot. My lucky moment came when The Nightmare Before Christmas was picked by Ula of luluandceleste.com so I quickly picked out Chris Sarandon who is in that and also starred in the Princess Bride. It is such an iconic, funny and sweet fairy tale to draw inspiration from, and it's one of my whole family's favorite movies. There aren't many movies that our entire family can enjoy together having children that are 17, 15 and 4, but this one is perfect for us.                                                                                               

I definitely wanted to sew something based on Chris Sarandon's character, that scoundrel Prince Humperdinck. Elena was soooo disappointed that she wasn't going to get to be Princess Buttercup, so I thought I'd better make this appealing somehow. And if you know me at all, you know it also has to be practical, useful clothing. Prince Humperdinck wears lots of heavy velvet tunics with billowing cape-like things. I'm not sure what they are, but I settled on a skirt and cape with a comfy Bimaa sweater. I chose rich jewel tones and of course, there is velvet and trim.

Can you ignore the graininess to get the idea?

The blue velvet had been passed down to me and was just waiting for this challenge to come along. I cut the cape out first and based it on a Big 4 poncho pattern I had in my stash. I added the trims, lined it in purple, and added a metal clasp.

Remove the cape, and you have a practical outfit. I made the skirt based on what fabric was left, which wasn't much, but it allowed for 3 inverted pleats on both front and back. It has a zipper and button hidden in the center back pleat. The waistband is handstitched inside for no visible stitches on the outside. The hem was also done by hand. I love how it turned out.

The sweater is a LouBee Bimaa made out of leftover sweater knit from my Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan. Although I've made many a Bimaa in my days, this was the first time I used the hoodie option, and I absolutely love it! So does Elena. I loved it so much, I made 2 that day. 

So Elena was happy, but there was more sewing to be done. My nearly 16 year old son Andrew is making his blog debut here, as inspired by the dashing Westley. Andrew's only condition was that all pictures would be taken inside our house, no location photo shoot for him. As you wish. Andrew plays electric guitar in the Pit of our high school's show choir. He is nearly 6' 4" tall with extra, extra long arms. Those arms come in really handy as a swimmer with hopes of competing in a Division I College program, but they are a real problem when trying to buy dress shirts. 

Sis Boom Patterns was so kind to give me the Marco Shirt Pattern for this post. (While I received the pattern for free, my opinion of this pattern is my own and is not influenced by that.) I sewed it up in some black Kona cotton from Joann's. The members of the Pit are not to be seen so they have to wear all black. Westley of course wears a black peasant shirt with laces up the front. No young guy dresses that way these days, but the Marco fit our needs perfectly. Replace the sword with a guitar, and here is my young Westley.

I can honestly say that sewing this shirt was a great experience. I had made myself a sleeveless buttondown this summer so I was halfway there having done a standing collar. The new parts were the cuffs and sleeve plackets. The Marco directions and tips worked perfectly. I sometimes don't enjoy the precision required with this kind of sewing, but this went so perfectly. Everything matched up so exactly. The topstitching is so good too. (Patting myself on the back.) I really took my time spreading it over several days. I will be making many more of these for him over the years. 

The only trouble I had is related to my sewing machine. It always balks any buttonholes that are on anything slightly uneven. The only one I had trouble with on this shirt was the top collar buttonhole, and I still have to resolve that, manually I suppose. He does have to wear a tie and black dress pants for performances.

You've probably noticed his hair and facial hair. It's quite alarming for a mom to see her son looking so wooly and grown. The lack of shaving is a swimming thing. He won't shave until high school Districts in February! Can't imagine how he's going to look by then. I also made him a black slouchy beanie to cover some of that hair. I used an old shrunken sweater of mine, taking advantage of the ribbing at the bottom for the hem of the hat. The mask is from Elena's "Incredibles" birthday party so it's not quite the right shape, but close enough.

So that's it folks. Please be sure to check out all the stops on the tour, including today's bonus stop. Click the image to hop over.

If you'd like to join the Sew the Show Facebook group you can do so here.  If you are feeling inspired and would like to sewalong, you can link up your projects using the hashtags #sewtheshow, #sixdegrees, or even #baconsewsexy. 

• Monday Dec. 7: Free Notion | Creative Counselor
• Tuesday Dec. 8: A Jennuine Life | Climbing the Willow | Bonus Stops! Rebel and Malice | Cindy Parrett
• Wednesday Dec. 9: Lauren Fazio | Falafel and the Bee | Bonus Stop! That’s What She Crafted
• Thursday Dec. 10: Paisley Roots | The Wholesome Mama
• Friday Dec. 11: It’s Been Taylored | Mae & K
• Monday Dec. 14: Simple.Blessed | Pincushion Porcupine
• Tuesday Dec. 15: Call Ajaire | Lulu & Celeste
• Wednesday Dec. 16: Work Pray Sew | Pear Berry Lane | Bonus Stop! Adventures With Bubba and Bug
• Thursday Dec. 17: Ali Cat & Co | Feathers Flights | Bonus Stops! Friends Stitched Together | Knot Sew Normal
• Friday Dec. 18: MSL Creations | Creative Counselor | Bonus Stop! Make It Sew Seattle

Thank you so much for stopping by.