Halloween hack: Turning the 213 Child's Prairie Dress and Pinafore into a Witch's Dress

September 17, 2022

by Victoria Watkins

This time of the year is always so exciting for me. While it's not for everybody, Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. For that reason, I was excited to have the chance to come up with ideas for how we can modify our children's patterns into Halloween costumes.

Of all the possibilities, I settled on turning our 213 Child's Prairie Dress and Pinafore into a witch's dress and apron (NOTE: pattern deeply discounted this month). The two garments together can be used to contrast a black fabric with a novelty Halloween print quilting cotton, as I've done here. When making selections at our local fabric store, this purple bat motif was what spoke to me the most. There are always countless seasonal quilting cottons available at both mom-and-pop and chain stores, so you're sure to find something that you can use for this costume.

I made a couple considerations when choosing elements for this project. The first is that this pattern has an option for a shorter length and a longer one.  I chose the shorter version. This was mainly due to personal preference, but in retrospect I think it works great because it allows room to show off the classic witchy striped socks, if you choose to include them. The pinafore also has an option to be closed or open in the back, and I chose to keep it open for a more apron-like effect. I also chose to omit the cuffs on the sleeves, which left them open and bell-shaped, which felt more magical to me. 

If I'm honest, while working I didn't feel like switching the thread from black for the dress to a purple for the apron. There are areas of topstitching on the pleats, and I'm actually pretty pleased with how the contrasting thread looks on these spots! Had I sewed this a year prior, I'm sure my finishing would've been a little more off kilter, and I'd probably have wanted a purple thread to melt into that fabric...

Here is Miss Iris, kindly modeling the dress and apron for us.  She loved it and twirled around quite a bit, showing it off.  She also really liked having a wand, and it could definitely fit into a Harry Potter themed costume as well.

The all black dress is also great for a witch or wizard. Lots of magic!

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