Halloween Costume: Pumpkin

Yep, that totally happened!  I made my own reversible costume, AND I sort of figured out how to use Photoshop.  The only way I was able to get both of these things was because of the many resources out on the internet.

VIDEO:

Let's start with the Photoshop.  I took all of the pictures in my room.  Because my room was not a professional studio,  there was a lot of junk in the background (clothes, posters, etc).  I did not really care until I saw the attitude in first picture of this blog.  I really loved the smug attitude, but the papers, clothes, pens, etc were ruining the look.  I knew that I had to edit myself onto a cooler background to keep the intense attitude.  I knew that I did not want to use anyone else background, and that this was my first photoshop project (cheezy was okay).  So, I just made a quick background in Powerpoint 2010.

 Powerpoint 2010 is really awesome; it is so user friendly! 

I learned how to crop my body into the background from this youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFejKyZlhx0

Now let's talk about the costume.  I wanted to be a pumpkin for such a long time.  Pumpkins are very practical, non-offensive, and something I could be for many years!  I also wanted to make something reversible so that I could use this garment in more than one occasion (I was not going to spend $25 for a one-use outfit). 

The following pictures go through the process of how I made my costume.

 This was my measurements sketch.  I needed to use this to keep me organized.

The measurements from above when directly into my pattern  I did not have pattern paper in my room.  Where pattern paper is missing, newspaper is a lifesaver!  The benefit of living on a college campus is that  free newspapers are EVERYWHERE! 

This is me fitting the newspaper pattern as muslin.  This was very necessary because I definitely had to cut off 2 inches on the back pattern piece.
A pattern paper sample is a great way to be GREEN.  You can save old newspapers to have an endless supply of "fabric."
One big issue is that the paper is very stiff and rips easily.  But hey, for someone with lower skills (like me) it's a great tool to make many mistakes. 

I bought 2 yards of fabric. I was scared that this was not enough for 4 sides.  I was over-reacting; all I had to do was fold to the salvage ends into the middle.  

This is my first project with a hood.  I learned how to make one from the following youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9a-6rr46Kw

 I was definitely successful with sewing.  I only had difficulty in the places with a lot of bulk (but that's common in all situations).  Other than that, everything went smoothly.  In fact, if you look closely at the tiger print, you will see that there's a faded horizontal stripe.  Even those stripes match up.  The following pictures show the reversibility of my garment.   

 

  

 

 I added a double picture to show the Photoshop (I'm proud of my work!)  I learned how to get rid of the background stuff from this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzt0GEibbc

I made a video of myself reversing the costume.  However, I didn't make it into an official youtube video because I felt that it would be too pretentious.  In any case, I hope you enjoy my costume!