Mass Production

Have you ever had to mass produce something?  I think this is my first go at producing a lot of one thing.  When my oldest son signed up for marching band, I put on the volunteer form that I sew and had costume making experience.  After avoiding such positions as being in charge of all of the uniforms (there around 170 and I would have to be at every football game and competition to make sure each and every kid was properly dressed), I got a call to help make the costumes for the color guard.  They needed someone to draft a pattern for a hood and then be able to sew them up.  All something that was doable for me from home and there are only 30 to make.  Still 30 is a lot of one thing.

This is the crazy $22 a yard fabric (that means I have over $500 of fabric in the first picture...kind of crazy thought).  It looks kind of cool and when I took it into JoAnne's to get enough(before the actual order was placed at the special place they get their fabric) to make a mock up of my pattern to get it approved, they said they would be carrying something like it with their Halloween fabric if you are interested in it.

Here's the hood on some smaller models.  I like how it turned out and so do the people in charge.  The actual hood comes together in 15 minutes.  It's 4 pieces, 3 seams and then attaching the hood to the shoulder piece.  However, they want this velvety trim around it.  Putting that stuff on is a pain.  It's slippery on one side, velvety so it won't slide at all on the other and stretchy.  Putting that on makes it almost an hour for each hood.  I am getting a little faster, but the fact that basting it leaves holes makes it hard to get on just right.

Here's the pile of everything cut out.  I have the head pieces sewn together and the shoulder pieces together.  Next step, the trim around the head piece.  Give me a day or two and I'll post instructions on how to draft a pattern for your desired size and how to put this together.  It's really not that hard and might come in handy for Halloween:)

I haven't quite decided what kind of costume this would be good for.  The metallic (and shape of the hood) tends to look like something for a knight/medieval.  But the rattiness of the tears in the fabric make me think zombie.  Maybe I should ask my kids to see what they say.  One has asked for a cape out of it though.