Every day is owlet day. Paula made this adorable owlet costume for her daughter Billie’s first Halloween, and then gave a shout-out to Britex special helpers Casey and Abraham. I love Billie’s feathery tufts, calico beak, and button eyes. What a chirpy bouncing baby owl!

It is looking like an avian All Hallows Eve! Shauna from the creative blog, Shwin&Shwin made up a tutorial on how she created a tutu-esque peacock costume for her daughter from some knit fabric for the top, and poufy netting and felt for the tail…..and a generous dollop of talent. It would be super lovely with some sparkly sequins added to the feather eyes! All materials are available at Britex Fabrics. We love the way the tail bellows out, and her attention to peacock feather detail and coloring.

Natalie from the notions floor was our Halloween costume winner. She was seen clucking and flapping her faille winglets in her Victorian chicken costume. The dress was cobbled together from several patterns. The hoop was made of steel boning and took two days to construct, while the dress was sewn in four days. The yellow-beaked hat was made from materials from our 3rd floor. It was inspired by historical Victorian fancy dress costumes. To learn more about Victorian costume dress read “Fancy Dresses Described; Or, What to Wear at Fancy Balls” by Debenham and Freebody, [1896], or “Fancy Dress in the Victorian Era” by A. Jarvis & P. Raine.

It will be Halloween in a couple of days! Jack and Olivia came into Britex Fabrics with Lindsey, their nanny. Jack is dressed like a soccer ball, and had a hard time restraining himself from rolling down our isles. His sister, Olivia likes to help Lindsey with her knitting projects, and graciously agreed to wear the kitty-cat crown that our cashier, Judy had on hand.

Every home needs a lucky little gnome! Now you can outfit your shortest household member and have your very own wee mischievous gnome. Stavro from Instructables made up these delightful gnome Halloween costume directions. Find out more about gnomes by reading historian Thomas Keightley’s book “The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People”, a definitive tome on mythology and folklore published in 1880.

From the folks at ThreadBanger comes (drum roll!)……The Mad Hatter costume tutorial! Throw a wee tea party, with unanswerable riddles and nonsensical poetry!
“Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world …you fly,
Like a teatray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!”

Supplies
• ½ yard 1” wide stretch sequined trim
• 1/8 yard ostrich feathers
• 1 large decorative rhinestone or appliqué
• Needle and thread

Directions
1. Sew the stretch trim end to end, overlapping ends slightly.

2. Fold the feathers in half twice so that they form a shorter, thicker bundle.

3. Sew the feathers together at the bottom, and tack them over the seam, covering it.

4. Sew the decorative rhinestone or appliqué over the feather end & headband seam.

5. Now you are well on the way to becoming the cat’s whiskers. Shimmy into a frock, pull up your silk stockings, get all dolled up, hussy on down to the Fairmont Hotel, and Bunny Hug the night away to the “Memphis Blues “.