A tiny belle of 1830. |
The costume part of the program is, of course, the most delightful part
of it--unless you don't happen to have one, or find, to your dismay,
that you've outgrown yours. If there is plenty of time, there is no
trouble, but many a youngster has cried herself to sleep over having to
decline an invitation to a Halloween party because the necessary costume
was lacking.
For
that matter, a creditable costume can be improvised out of material at
hand, and the youngster sent away, happy in her disquise.
Her older sister's red party cloak, with its full hood pulled down over
her face turns her into a quaint Little Red Riding-Hood as ever graced
the pages of a beloved old fairy-tale book. Give her a little arm,
apparently filled with the goodies she was to take to her grandmother
when she set out upon that memorable walk. If the party chances to be a
birthday party, the basket may contain real goodies, to be presented to
the little hostess.
With a figured kimono and a sash, and
attractive little Japanese lady may be evolved in short order. If the
kimono is her own, so much the better; if it's a grown-up kimono, turn
up the hem until it is the right length, and baste the new hem in place
over a wadding of cotton. Treat the sleeves in the same way. The body
part may be drawn in as you please under the "obi," which is nothing in
the world but her own sash tied in Japanese fashion. Twist her curls
high on her head and stick through them tiny Japanese fans, or the tiny
lanterns made to dangle at the end of a long stick. let her carry a
folding fan, of course.
With A Kimono and Sash
A fascinating Pierrot costume may be made of the small boy's white
pajamas, if you sew great fluffy choux of scarlet or of blue or yellow
mosquito netting (or the finer net) down the front. Make a "sugar-loaf
cap," stuff it full of tissue paper, so that it will keep its shape, and
sew another ruff upon the tip end of it. If you've time sew bands of
color about the sleeves and trousers and the funny loose jacket.
Turned into a Japanese Maiden |
For a very tiny boy, a pretty variation of the Pierrot costume consists
of a funny, full affair, all in one piece-sleeves and trouser-legs as
funny and full as the rest, but gathered in at wrists and ankles by
hands and bows of bright ribbon. Big stars, cut from paper the color of
the ribbon, are pasted onto the costume.
To Make The Pierrot Buff
The famous Pierrot's ruff is made of netting cut about twelve inches
wide and gathered in the center. Make it as full as you can, pushing the
gathers together until they are tight upon the thread. Then the ruff
becomes as fluffy a thing as you want.
A short red or yellow skirt, with a bolero borrowed from your store,
will be needed to make your gipsy costume. If you've a scarf (those gay,
embroidered piano scarfs are splendid for the purpose and a Roman sash
is most effective), tie it around her waist, pulling it a little low and
knotting the ends at the left side in front. Heap all the strings of
beads and bracelets you can upon her, and if you've a bright silk
handkerchief, cover her hair with it. The best way to do that is to lay
it on flat, turning back the hem a couple of inches or so across her
forehead and fastening at each side with a big round broach.
For a little Irish lass a
skirt of bright green with a full white blouse, open at the throat in a
sort of V, may be run up in a little while. Tie a red bandana about her
waist, and another about the throat, fasenting the knot to the end of
the V.
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A gypsy, Little Red Riding Hood and a Quaint little Quaker Lady |
The "Old
Virginia girl" and 1830 costumes are easily made of flowered cretonnes
or of the crepe papers that come in such variety.
Those crepe papers by the way make stunning costumes if you've time to
devote the best part of a day to the making. The prettiest flower
costumes topped off with a big flower for a hat; Mother Goose and her
tribe of nursery fold: night and morning and twilight; witches and
elves: children of other nations--there is no end to the costumes which
can be made of them. If you make the paper costume upon a foundation of
muslin, or. at least sew it upon a belt of strong muslin, with bands
outlining the neck and ending the sleeves, there's little danger of the
dress sagging or worse still, of pulling apart.
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