Well, it happened: Joe turned six this past Monday. Remember when he
was just a little baby? Yeah, me too. We had a little party for him on
Sunday - just a small get together with family and Joe best friend from
school. A fun time was had by all. Joe is announcing "I am six now." Yes, you are. Sniffle. Love ya so much, kiddo.
My stepmom, known as Mimi to the kids, gave Joe the Imaginext Battle Castle
for Christmas, and Joe has been castle-obsessed ever since. A couple
weeks before his birthday, Joe announced that he would like a knight
costume. Me being me, I decided that I would make him the costume for
his birthday. Nothing like a self-imposed deadline, right? Let's just
say I was kind of stressed about whether I was going to finish this in
time.
I gave it to him on his birthday with a toy (foam) shield and sword.
Yeah,
I think he loves it!!! This might be one of the best things I've ever
made for Joe. I mean ... Sir Joseph of Roscoe, that is. He looks
intimidating, but he's really a softie at heart.
There's not a ton to say about construction here. I took my inspiration from this fleece knight costume made by an amazing Etsy seller, Tree House Kid.
I feel a little bad copying an Etsy seller - her work is totally
amazing, a lot more nicely done than mine, and totally worth every
penny. I should have just bought the dang costume! But it was the
eleventh hour and I just loved it so much! With the idea in my mind, I
pretty much winged it.
I
traced a heraldic lion from some internet clip art and cut it out in
yellow felt, which I hand embroidered to a red oval using running
stitch, just to give the costume a little something special. Then I
layered the pieces onto the breastplate/tunic, and rigged some straps to
velcro in the back.
To
make the helmet, I traced the hood from one of Joe's hoodies, adding a
"neck flap" to the bottom of the hood piece. I out an outer and inner
hood in gray fleece. The red plume pieces are just red felt cut into
rectangles and topstitched, then sewn into the top seam of the hood. The
visor has black felt pieces sewn on it and I affixed it to the hood
with fancy heraldic buttons. Initially I had imagined a visor that could
move up and down, but that didn't quite work out, so I just tacked the
middle of the visor to the top of the hood.
There
was one rough moment. I made the helmet early on the morning of the day before
Joe's party, while he was still asleep. I was worried it was too small,
so I tried it on Maggie for size. It was way too small for Maggie. Ugh!
So I re-cut and re-sewed the helmet after Joe woke up. Every time he
walked by, I quickly shoved the helmet under a pile of fleece. Super
stealth!
I finished the helmet and the breastplate and
secreted them away in a closet, and congratulated myself on making
something for Joe right under his nose! Yay me!
Then, the next morning, while I was drinking my coffee, Joe said nonchalantly, "Where is that knight hat you were working on?"
DRRRRAAAAAAT.
I
was a little upset, but I just said, "I was making that for your
birthday, so you can open it in a present later. I hope you like it!" He
wasn't upset, I think it kind of blew his mind that I was actually
working on his birthday presents before his birthday! Dang you, Joe, for being such an observant and smart kid!
So it wasn't a surprise. But it makes him feel like a badass, so all is well.
So, Joe is six now, and we have a big year ahead! Sir Joseph is ready for it!
Such a great costume, Inder! I can't believe that you were winging it. It looks so awesome and professional!
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting, the way we look at our kids' ages and how it varies amongst parents. Tia just turned six and some of her classmates' parents were saying how big 6 is. Compared to Jude who is 10, six is still pretty little to me. But I suppose 10 is little when you have a 30 year old. It's all relative. :)
I'm laughing at Joe knowing that you were sewing that costume. But the costume itself is awesome. I am very impressed! I love the buttons on the helmet - a great touch.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME costume, and it comes with a cute story too! Happy birthday, Joe!
ReplyDeleteHe looks so thrilled with his outfit! Well done! And how fun to make something that I'm sure will see years of use for dress up. Happy Birthday, Joe!
ReplyDeleteIt's seriously awesome! Well done, and i bet he enjoyed catching you out almost as much as the costume itself!
ReplyDeleteInder, this costume is so great! I can't believe you were just winging it! My oldest is going to be 5 in September-- that seems so old to me. It's amazing how time flies! I am looking forward to the day when my kids get into dress up and I get requests for fun costumes like this.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Joe! The costume is awesome!
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant! I love how costumes don't need a lot of 'construction' just tons of imagination! Yours and your boy's! It looks wonderful, no wonder he loves it. Makes me a little nostalgic though - my boy is nine and although he still leaps around with a sword pretending it's a stick - he doesn't dress up much any more. Time flies!
ReplyDeleteThis costume kicks major ass! You rock Inder, and you can tell in the photos he loves it.
ReplyDelete