My Frankie Stein Tutorial
So my 5yr old Jalexi, decided that she wanted to be a
monster high characters for this Halloween. I had it already in my mind that
she was going to be snow white. I had it all drawn out and figured out what
materials I was going to need. It was soo cute!! Lexi had something else in
mind so Frankie Stein it was. Luckily for me, it was not the worst one to
choose because it was a dress and figured I could mix in match patterns I’ve
already had to make it a little easier. I don't claim to be perfect in any way.
This was my first costume I’ve tried by winging it. I made several mistakes
some obvious and some not so much but I didn't stress. I just had fun and went
with it. So here goes....
Materials used:
1 yd or so of Plaid
1/2 yd of White
(Both of these were a soft knit, so they were warm soft and no zippers
needed.
I got these from Heather of
Girl
Charlee and let me tell you she’s the best!! Anytime I’ve needed something
specific, she checks her fab selection and keeps an eye out locally. She’s a
doll ;)
1 yd of black
nylon
chiffon for trim
1 yd of pistachio
nylon
chiffon for "skin"
1/4 yd black and white polka dot cotton (Mine was remnant) for the tie
A collar from an old white shirt
Black crochet thread for the stitches
Dress
Jalexi is wears a 5/6 girls and based the bodice from one of her tees. I
traced it and used this video to help draft a
sleeve sloper. I sewed
and serged all seams. You can use a zigzag if you don’t own a serger. I used
1/4 seam allowance for everything.
I cut one bodice piece on the fold
for the back. On the same paper pattern I cut out a scoop from the neckline and
used the pattern again on the fold for the front bodice piece.
(Side note: I like doing this like
this because it saves paper and I can always use tape to put it back and use it
again. :) I actually cheated because I’ve used this traced pattern before for a
super cute cardigan for Lexi. Tees make awesome patterns!)
I used the same pattern again and to
cut out the front and back bodices in the white. I only cut about half way
because I was only going to use it for the top part of the bodice anywho.
(I will say I never measured
anything. I kind of just eyed it because Lexi was in school. Id figured I would
trim or make any adjustments later.)
Here we have the four pieces ready to
be trimmed and sewn together. I used a curved ruler to draw how much to cut off
each piece. I made a straight line in the back and a curved line in the front and
cut them both at the same time.
(Once again, I didn't
measure. This would be the only time I would regret not doing so. I would have
liked less white but then again it left room for the large black zig zag
stitches on the chest)
After the cut is made, sew them together.
Pin right sides together and sew the front two pieces together and the back two pieces together.
Here Ive sewn the pieces together, pressed the seams with an iron, and top stitched the seams.
Here is where things
took a turn and the reason why I don't have an obsessive amount of pictures to
show where things went from here. I had originally planned to do an attached peter
pan collar. Seeing how I’ve never done one, I checked out Pinterest. I found a
great tutorial but my skills were not so much. I need more practice on those
lol. Let’s just say it was an epic fail!! I put the collar on; it looked
terrible, and then took it off and opted to a stretch collar.
Doing this, I
measured the neck line and cut a strip of the white 2 inches wide.
I brought the two
ends together and sewed them so that I had a band. I folded it so that the raw
ends were together. I marked the front and center back, and both sides with
disappearing ink and put it aside.
Next I sewed the shoulder seams
together and marked the neckline the same as the band. Match and pin the marks
together with the folded seam matched to the mark on the back of the bodice.
Stretch and sew band to fit neck and serge or zig zag.
(Here is where I had boo boo number two. I wanted to have a full chiffon petticoat underneath but another epic fail on another first attempt. Not mad though!, I still had enough black nylon chiffon to make a really long 2' wide ruffle to go all around the skirt and both sleeves. so not all is lost :)
So I finished of the skirt by sewing and serging the side seams. and serging the raw edge of the hem. I attached the ruffle on the back side so that the serged edge can show and look more ... umm edgy!?! lol. I had some netting from a previous project so I cut 5 more out of the skirt pattern to help puff up the skirt and pinned them all to the skirt.
(If I had more, I would have done differently and used a lot more fluff! Also would used a layer of nylon chiffon on the bottom layer closest to the skin so her legs wouldn't itch. But the chiffon got messed up and went into the trash because I was NOT about to rip all those seams! Still all good though, maybe having too much fun)
Next I pinned the leftover ruffle to each sleeve pattern piece, (used this to create
sleeve sloper) pinned, and sewed them on. Once both were attached, I sewed and serged the side seams of the bodice all the way down the sleeve.
Next I pinned the skirt to the bodice and sewed and serged them together and this was the end result.
Add stitches across the chest.
I marked where I wanted the zigzag stitch and then followed the guide.
The Accesories
Collar and Tie
For the collar and tie, I drew a tie and cut out two peices. I sewed them together, turned the right sides out, pressed it and then finally tied it. The reason the ties are long was because I had orginally planned to have an attached collar and I was going to add velcro so the ties was easily removable. Plans changed so I tightened the knot and secured it with a couple stitches before trimming and using this tutorial for a
detachable collar and tie. Ah ha, see not all was a loss ;)
Skin and Stitches
Arms:
I wanted to make her arm and leg warmers that looked like Frankie's skin tone. I added stitches to make it look like she was sewn up. For this I used my
Coco Glove pattern from Violette Field Threads so she can put her thumb through. (Awesome pattern btw). I used the knit glove pattern and extended the length to go higher on Lexi's arm. I cut one on the fold and cut it in half to make it two gloves because I wanted it sheer instead of double layer.
I marked where I wanted the stitches to go and used that as my guide.
I just created "stitches" all the way across by tying knots and timing the strings so that they showed.
Then I pinned the right sides together and sewed them closed. There are my two "skin gloves". I also added a small peice of elastic at the top of the arm. Just enough to give a little stretch so the glove didnt slide down the arm and not so much that the elastic would be a bother either.
Finishing
Now just add boots, black and white striped wig, and a wide belt and you will have a Frankie Stein. Ill update with photo of whole costume closer to Halloween. Thanks for checking it out.
Edit: Added more pictures from Halloween. Love it!! She sure know how to work that camera. Love her. Peep the blue poly clay skull earrings. Another first, I had way too much fun.
