I am the official Halloween costume maker for my 4 grandchildren. I have always used commercial  Halloween patterns.  Six months before Halloween, my 7 1/2 year old granddaughter announced she would like to be a peacock for Halloween.  Hmmm . . . there are no patterns for peacock costumes! I explained that to Rebecca.  She said, “Grammy,I KNOW you can do it! I asked her to draw a picture of her idea. She did, and she also explained to me that she wanted the costumes’ tail feathers to be able to open up! We decided to search the Internet for pictures of the bird. Our  Internet search ended in China, with pictures of the costumes of the Peacock Dancers of China. Rebecca liked these costumes, sparkling and dramatic.  And, she could spread “her feathers”.  I sewed a simple a-line dress of turquoise crepe backed satin. Then, I cut out TWO 58″ diameter circles of turquoise polyester organza. I cut one 29″ radius line in each circle of fabric.I folded each circle into a quarters and cut out  a 4″ radius circle from the center of the large circle for the waist. I sewed together the two circles along the radius line (see drawing).The skirt is now double the circumference of one of the large circles of fabric. Now, as you see in the photo, Rebecca can lift her arms over her head to “open up her peacock feathers”. I attached wrist size loops of elastic  to the skirt edge to slip over her wrists. I attached a waist band that tied closed. We made a stencil of the “EYE” of a peacock feather and used this to paint in the eye of the feather on the skirt fabric with Jacquard Lumiere Metalic fabric paints.  My granddaughter’s dream came true! I have been sewing for myself and my family for over 55 years. I think I have hooked a new sewer to our ranks.  Rebecca has learned what an idea and some fabric can create! She now wants to learn everything about sewing. We are using “The Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids” by Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan as a resource book, along with lots of our own project ideas. Her little sister wants to join in the fun too. My Juki Serger is about 20 years old,  it’s my faithful and loyal friend, but a new one would be my dream!

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