Preparing for Comic Con

After beautiful sunshine and temperatures in the eighties, we made our way to Golden Gate Canyon. Where it promptly snowed... We huddled under blankets and hidey-holed away.

Bill and I trooping together!

My husband, Bill, is part of the Star Wars 501st Mountain Garrison and regularly participates in charity events. One of the bigger events this year was the Denver Comic Con which reached an incredible 60,000+ attendees. Our family decided that it was worth attending. Because we love being a part of the 501st, we showed up early and stayed late every day to help set up and tear down.

My girls and I stayed home on Friday (after booking it down the mountain Thursday and planting ourselves at Jefco Fairgrounds) and worked on costumes.

Besides a few repairs to Bill and Liam's costumes, Kyla wanted to be a Harry Potter Hogwarts student in Ravenclaw. Jessica went as a steampunk pirate and I envisioned a TARDIS dress from Dr. Who.


My only roadblock? A decent sewing machine. I needed a heavy duty, lightweight, compact beast. Quite a combination. After some research and craiglisting, I found a Kenmore Mini Ultra that a teenager used to sew patches on her uniform. Plus, a used White from the 80s. Since my mother-in-law had expressed a desire for solid machine (still needs to be taught how to use it) and Mother's Day was the next day, total bonus!

I bought both for $50. The Kenmore alone sells for $100 on Amazon. I call it "Boss Hog" because it has handled everything I've thrown at it. From patches on a helmet bag to delicate polyester.
My other challenge. I've never made a garment or used a pattern. But I figured that like everything else, you just take it one step at a time. Also, my mom made a boatload of clothes from scratch growing up and I've made several curtains and such, plus repairs. How hard could it be?

Turns out that I can make a garment from scratch using a pattern. Note to self: use much lighter material next time as fleece doesn't wear well in the heat. We ordered Hogwarts House Patches from Amazon.

I also altered a royal blue formal dress (found at the thrift store for $7) using scrap material from Jo-Ann Fabric ($4) and added some bling and letters from Michael's (about $4-5). Using left-over fabric from my eldest daughter's curtains, I made a fun wrap that looked starry enough. We found a yellow parasol at Disguises, a local costume store, for about $8. So for around $20, I had a fun costume.


I also made Wonder Woman wristbands and headband from glittering gold craft foam (35 cents) and sew-on velco. Jessica went as Wonder Woman on Sunday. She fixed stick-on fabric stars ($1 at Jo-Ann Fabric) to a sky-blue skirt (thrift store find for $2 that was too small for me) and wore a fun t-shirt. Plus, her new black high-top converse (thrift store $7) and that girl was set!

It took a long time to make, but totally worth it.

Now on to Comic Con!