Hedwig Costume

My husband and eldest have been working their way through the Harry Potter series over the last few months and they are both loving it.  (I haven't read them yet but they've just finished book five.  They're going to take a break for a couple of years as apparently they get quite dark.  Not so great for a very imaginative seven year old just before bed!). 

I was very glad that J. chose Hedwig for Halloween this year because this was a fun costume to make (and it didn't involve satin, woo hoo!). 

The base is the red riding hood cape and the cozy winter hood, both from the Oliver and S Little Things to Sew Book.  The hood and cape are made out of flannel and covered with "feathers" of bleached harem cloth.  I love that they are floaty and textured and kind of starting to fray (hopefully they don't fray too much more!).  I used a pental pastel dye stick to add a bit of brown.  I agonized over how much and where but I think right now it's a bit too subtle.

J. is happy with it (whew!) and I think it will work well for Halloween -- it's pretty warm on it's own but she should be able to wear it at school with just a t-shirt and leggings. Then she can put on another couple of extra layers for trick-or-treating.   She did request a full length white dress to wear underneath but I don't see that happening, lol.