Nightshade and Nightmare

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you probably already know of my love affair with Tula Pink‘s fabric. When Miss Tula released her Nightshade line a couple of years ago, matching her amazing design talent with an utterly gothic take on Halloween, I was instantly sunk. This line is probably one of my all time favorites of hers and I have some carefully hoarded cuts in my stash. I don’t share my Tula stash lightly, but when my niece’s birthday rolled around, I knew I had to make an exception.

My niece and I are surprisingly like-minded and she loves anything dark and creepy and cool, so I decided that a pillowcase made from some Nightshade would be the perfect thing for her to bring to sleepovers and such.

I made each side different so that I could use two different pieces from the focal Coven print. I pulled some fabric out of my stash for the sashing around the focal prints, and then a different tone on tone for the edging of the pillowcase.

And I absolutely had to use the Spider Blossom fabric for the background. It’s full of little hidden “Tula treasures” like skulls, lightning bolts, moons, and spiderwebs. Plus, it matches the case on my phone, so I thought a little nod to us matching was a good thing.

If you’ve ever heard a twelve-year-old girl squeal with delight, you can imagine the reception this gift got when we celebrated her birthday. It holds a place of honor on her bed, along with her One Direction blanket. lol

And just when I thought I’d have a little break and get back to doing some stitching and quilting for me, I got a call from my niece asking for help with her Halloween costume. You may recall last year she went as the Mad Hatter? So, this year she wanted to go as Sally from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. I swear this kid and I are sharing brainwaves. So, in case you haven’t seen the movie, here’s Sally…

Sally

Being a Tim Burton movie, it’s thoroughly dark and creepy. But, here was my dilemma. When you do a search online, what comes up is a plethora of horridly garish and brightly colored versions of Sally’s dress. Well, no thank you. So, a few weekends ago, my gothic twin came to spend the night and we went over to a resale shop. I started pulling shirts off the racks that fit in with the color scheme I had in my head. I wanted the overall feel to be dingy, muted, while still keeping with the patterned patchwork look. We found a dress that could be used as the base, and then I began cutting up the shirts we got and sewing them on. And here’s what I ended up with. Trust me when I tell you that she looks super adorable (in a very cool gothic way) in the dress.

I sewed all the scraps onto the base dress, and then I went back in and added some big decorative stitches for effect.

Here’s the back. We lucked out to find a dress that only fastened by a button at the top, so I wasn’t having to work around zippers or anything of that nature.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much work went into this dress. Probably 90% of it was done by hand. I did attach some of the larger pieces by machine, but I was trying to work between the lining and the dress itself, which made that a bit difficult.

I’m really please with how it turned out and so is she. I brought it to her yesterday and she immediately went to try it on. She paired it with some black and grey striped knee-high socks, black ankle boots, and grey wool wristwarmers. Love that kid!

But now that I have birthday and Halloween done, I’ll be getting back to my stitching and quilting. I can’t wait to see pics of her on Halloween though.

Thanks for stopping by, and you may have noticed that I’ve changed the template I’m using for the blog. Hopefully this fixes the issue with commenting since I’ve switched it over to a template that isn’t dynamic. Let me know if you’re still having problems though. I absolutely love reading your comments and they are important to me!

Happy Halloween!

I am grateful for matching macabre sensibilities.

58 thoughts on “Nightshade and Nightmare”

  1. Oh my gosh, your niece is one lucky girl! The pillowcase and the dress both! Wow! That dress came out so amazingly! She is going to look perfect for Halloween!

    I was going to ask you why sometimes I couldn’t comment on your blog. Hooray — now I should be able to all the time. 😀

  2. Oh my gosh, your niece is one lucky girl! The pillowcase and the dress both! Wow! That dress came out so amazingly! She is going to look perfect for Halloween!

    I was going to ask you why sometimes I couldn’t comment on your blog. Hooray — now I should be able to all the time. 😀

  3. I think you may have just won the BEST AUNT EVER AWRD LOL What a cool looking pillow and dress. Congrats on the finishes.

  4. I think you may have just won the BEST AUNT EVER AWRD LOL What a cool looking pillow and dress. Congrats on the finishes.

  5. How wonderful that your niece is so close to you that you can do this type of thing together! These memories are going to be so precious to her as she grows up!

  6. How wonderful that your niece is so close to you that you can do this type of thing together! These memories are going to be so precious to her as she grows up!

  7. That costume is so wonderful!! I, like Natasha, think that you should be up for the Best Aunt Award! I love it. And I’d love to break into your house too and steal your Tula Pink Stash! :o) The pillow is darling!

  8. That costume is so wonderful!! I, like Natasha, think that you should be up for the Best Aunt Award! I love it. And I’d love to break into your house too and steal your Tula Pink Stash! :o) The pillow is darling!

  9. Oh, what wonderful things! I can only hope my daughter (who is currently 3) wants to do crafty, creative, and creepy things like that with me when she is your niece’s age. 🙂 Great job, Auntie!!

  10. Oh, what wonderful things! I can only hope my daughter (who is currently 3) wants to do crafty, creative, and creepy things like that with me when she is your niece’s age. 🙂 Great job, Auntie!!

  11. Fabulous to have an Aunt like you!! LOVE the gift you made her and the Halloween costume too.
    I have been collecting the Tula fabrics myself and they are just fantastic!!!!!!

  12. Fabulous to have an Aunt like you!! LOVE the gift you made her and the Halloween costume too.
    I have been collecting the Tula fabrics myself and they are just fantastic!!!!!!

  13. You are clearly a front runner for Aunt of the Decade! Love the pillowcase and the Sally costume is perfect. Well done!

  14. You are clearly a front runner for Aunt of the Decade! Love the pillowcase and the Sally costume is perfect. Well done!

  15. The costume is just wonderful!!!!!! I love it and the pillow case is too sweet. And yay, I can comment again! I couldn’t before.

  16. The costume is just wonderful!!!!!! I love it and the pillow case is too sweet. And yay, I can comment again! I couldn’t before.

  17. Seriously, you and your niece should get The Coolest Duo award. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pillow and the costume is beyond amazing. When she grows out of it you should make it into a big pillow or something–all that amazing work should be out on display. Great job!!!

  18. Seriously, you and your niece should get The Coolest Duo award. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pillow and the costume is beyond amazing. When she grows out of it you should make it into a big pillow or something–all that amazing work should be out on display. Great job!!!

  19. Wow, Michelle! That is a wonderful costume – very creative!

    For some reason the lady in the fabric in your first picture even looks a little like you!

  20. Wow, Michelle! That is a wonderful costume – very creative!

    For some reason the lady in the fabric in your first picture even looks a little like you!

  21. Love those fabrics ~ what a fun pillowcase! And that dress is amazing ~ any chance of seeing a pic of then entire ensemble?

  22. Love those fabrics ~ what a fun pillowcase! And that dress is amazing ~ any chance of seeing a pic of then entire ensemble?

  23. What an amazing Aunt you are! I am sure that you are her favorite. Long after the costume is gone, she will have these wonderful memories of you.

    Thanks for turning me on to Tula Pink! I love the new Acacia line and wish I had the Hex quilt before they became extinct.

  24. What an amazing Aunt you are! I am sure that you are her favorite. Long after the costume is gone, she will have these wonderful memories of you.

    Thanks for turning me on to Tula Pink! I love the new Acacia line and wish I had the Hex quilt before they became extinct.

  25. OMG! That dress is FABU! WOW. I’m impressed. And you’re right-the costumes for Sally out there are just too bright. Yours is perfection! And if you’re looking to give away any more pillowcases, I know a witchy gal who would love one, lol. I’m going to have to search out that fabric and make something!

  26. OMG! That dress is FABU! WOW. I’m impressed. And you’re right-the costumes for Sally out there are just too bright. Yours is perfection! And if you’re looking to give away any more pillowcases, I know a witchy gal who would love one, lol. I’m going to have to search out that fabric and make something!

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