Lydia's Third Costume

This is not Lydia's third costume, as in her third year dressing up for Halloween.  This is the THIRD costume this fall!  First I made the circus wedding costume, wedding cancelled, costume delayed until next year.  Then there is the Cinderella dress (in progress here and finished here) that is her actual Halloween costume. And now this.....

Today is "dress like a super hero or book character" day at Lydia's school.  The big kids at her school wear uniforms most school days (preschool does not) so they try to have themed non-uniform days. Today was one of those days and, while everyday is a non-uniform day for Lydia, I can't resist an excuse to dress up.  As soon as I heard the theme for this week, I stopped at my favorite thrift store.  I spent 89 cents on the Navy velvet dress (I LOVE my AmVets!) and $3 on a white straw hat.  Can you guess who Lydia is dressing up as? Here is a hint......

Madeline is currently Lydia's FAVORITE bedtime story.  She has almost memorized the entire story! (If you need proof of that last statement, check out my YouTube video of her "reading" it) I have stared at that image of Madeline for so many nights that I knew exactly what I wanted at the thrift store and I was SO excited to find a dress that was so close in shape and design.  The ONLY thing I needed to change was the collar.  Here is what I did.

First I cut the lace off.  I used the top piece of trim as a guide and cut just inside of it.

Next, I cut a slit in the collar. 

Finally, I rounded the edges of the collar. I then sewed the layers together with a zigzag stitch at the edge, so it wouldn't fray.  I put a little fray check on the edges to be on the safe side, since it really is the raw edge showing. 

Now for Madeline's hat!  It was a whitish color and a little yellow from age, but in a dingy thrift store way and not a cute French school girl way.  Much like Pepito in the Madeline stories, this was a BAD HAT! So I coated it with a little yellow acrylic inside and out.  After our "univited guest" incident last year, I wasn't taking any chances.  The only thing coming in contact with Lydia's head was going to be a thick coat of paint!

I added a black ribbon on the hat and a red ribbon at the collar.  

Here is my "Madeline" reading Mad About Madeline at bedtime last night, just before I turned out the light and closed the door....

......that's all there is....

......there isn't any more!