Sewing Like a Sailor

So, sometimes my Mom Stuff takes precedence over my Writerly Self.

For the past month, I have a long-dreaded sewing project that’s been on my “to-do” list. It’s right up there with cleaning out my closets and dusting the attic, actually.

My older daughter is a fan of all things manga and cosplay. There’s a huge event coming up in May and she’s decided that she wants to dress up as an Assassin’s Creed character. And I’ve agreed to sew the costume.

*face palm*

Why do I set myself up for these things? I’m a writer, not a fashion designer. I write about ghosts and demons and things that go bump in the night. I write about what’s under your bed, and what creeps in from the Otherworld. And I have minions. I don’t sew. 

Correction-I can sew, but I hate it with a passion. The last time I sewed something, it was a squid costume. Yes, you read that correctly. When my daughter was in Kindergarten, the class was encouraged to dress up as their favorite character from their favorite book. While the other six-year-olds were dressing up as Angelina Ballerina or Batman, my daughter decided she wanted to dress up as the giant squid from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I was cursing like a sailor trying to sew that baby up. But it rocked, if I do say so myself. 

So, back to Assassin’s Creed. We went to the material store and leafed through countless catalogues looking for a pattern that remotely resembled what you see in the photo. The closest we could come, was a costume if you were dressing up as Jesus. Yeah.

After we decided that was as good as it gets, it took us an hour to peruse the countless bolts of fabric to find the right material. And then, there were the notions…the bits and bobs that would make the fine details. By the time the pattern, the material and the notions were purchased, the costume ended up being roughly $50 total. Ouch. When we got home, I saw that the jacket also requires interfacing.

Off to cut, pin, sew and curse. My minions would be proud.