The Doctor is In - Halloween Costume

I can do anything.  That's what I learned from this project.  It's also probably the best thing I've ever made.

I decided a while ago that Catie would be a doctor for Halloween, easy but cute.  I took one of Brad's old dress shirts and used that to make her costume.

I started with this dress of Catie's, it was basically the shape I wanted so I used that and made some pattern pieces our of flyers.

Then I cut my fabric out of Brad's shirt.  The smartest thing I did was to use the original buttons and button holes so I didn't have to re-create those at all.  Before I cut out the front pieces I unpicked the front pocket and saved it for later.

I apologize but it was at this point that I stopped taking pictures.  I was really confident that there was no way this was going to turn out.  You'll have to settle for me just explaining what I did.

Once my pieces were all cut out I started by sewing the yoke onto the back.  Once the yoke was on I sewed the shoulder seams together and at this point I was certain that I had cut the armholes too big.  I decided to press on anyway though.  I sewed the collar together leaving the bottom unsewed and turned it inside out so I had nice edges.  I topstitched around to give it a more finished look.  To attach the collar I pressed the unsewen edges inside a 1/4 inch and slipped the coat inside.  I topstitched to secure it all together.  At this point I sewed up the side seams of the coat.

I used one of her long sleeve onesies to cut out the sleeves and I hemmed them before I sewed up the sides.  Once the sides were sewed up I tried them on her and was sure they were going to end up too long but again I pressed on.

I took the sleeve and turned it it right side out, then I turned the coat inside out and inserted the sleeve.  I pinned it, sewed it and turned it the right way only to be completey shocked when it was beautiful.  I did the same thing on the other side sure that the first was a fluke but again it turned out to be so successful.

I took the pcket that I saved and trimmed it a little to make it smaller and re-sewed it on the lab coat.  I then hemmed the coat and added a second pocket down lower.

I tried the coat on her and realized that since I had used a dress it was pretty billowy and wide so I sewed up the side seams a litte to make it more straight and narrow.   So I was certain that the sleeves would be too long and uneven, the buttons wouldn't line up with the button holes, the arm holes would be too big making the sleeves not fit and it the hem would be uneven and too short yet somehow I managed to avoid all of those things and I even used a serger without any issues.  Like I said, I think it's the best thing I've ever made and I'm super proud of it.

The only thing I would have changed is that the collar is a little bit too wide.  If it was anything but a Halloween costume I would remove it and make it smaller but since it's just a costume I put two little x's in the corner of the collar to keep it in place.  I also handstitched her name onto the coat to make sure it's clear that she's a doctor.  (Also, she really doesn't have pierced ears, those are just little sticky dots my nephew had, I stuck them on last night and one of them made it through the night.)

Add a couple doctor items and it's finished.
Here's the coat layed out and then some much better pictures of her modeling.

I think she's the cutest little doctor I've ever seen.

One last story...
Last year Catie was a cat and she was adorable.  Catie has older cousins that she could borrow costumes from and I was adamant that I was never making her a costume and we would be borrowing every year... flash forward to this year and see just how much I've changed.  I was actually excited to make her a costume.  I'm already starting to think about next year.