YAAAAAY! YAAY! YAY! Lots of excitement all up in this sewing oasis...
So you may remember a while back, I started a Shark Costume Tutorial series to show you how I constructed Big Boy's Halloween costume last year. My original intention was to have the entire tutorial series posted by Shark Week, but I never actually finished it. In the beginning, I just got behind, but ultimately I decided not to for a couple of reasons. First, I spent almost all summer living My Other Life. While I did a little sewing in hotel rooms, I just didn't have the kind of time to really do this project justice. But I made the final call to stop midstream when I realized that I wanted to make MAJOR improvements to the pattern and simplify the process for people wanting to sew it.
Significant refinement of design and concept were in order, and in all the effort to compose the pattern and instructions, I realized I'd reached that magical milestone: The time had arrived to launch a pattern line with real, professionally laid-out graphics and the whole sha-bang. Which brings me to today...
SO EUREKA! IT'S HERE! The FIRST EVER JustSewOlivia sewing pattern!!
I give you, "Shark Bait!" YAAAAAY! And through Halloween, I'm discounting it to $3!
Get the Shark Pattern here on Craftsy!
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Improvements
Here are some of the improvements I've made to this pattern over what you see on Big Boy in the photo: The most obvious improvement will be in the tail. I shortened the tail to make it stand out and have more life, like Bitty's dragon tail did.
Get the Dragon Costume pattern here!
...And on Etsy!
Get the Dragon Costume pattern here!
...And on Etsy!
Second, although you can't see it from the pictures of Big Boy's costume, the original process for making the back fin was a complete debacle. So I went back to the drawing board and found a much simpler, faster, more satisfying way to put it together. (I don't want anyone going bald pulling her hair out or chucking a sewing machine into the Bay like I almost did when I designed the original!)
Lastly, you'll get stunning process photos. Although I never have as many photos as I would like, I do strive to provide many vivid, helpful images to accompany the instructions.
A word about free and not-so-free content:
This part is delicate, but I want to be completely straight-forward. We all love blogs, because we love free instruction and free design ideas bathed in clear instruction. I'm no exception. However, producing a (good) blog takes mountains of time and no small amount of money, and up to this point, my tiny business could be classified as a "negative profit." (Ha! But seriously...) As I have always tried to do, I desperately wanted to do this project right for you, my amazing reader, which meant hiring out some graphic work. That's an entirely new realm of deadlines and expenses. I also wanted to do it right for my family. It's time to try to make this thing GO. So please consider that I'm able to provide the free designs and instruction that I do by the support you give in small purchases like this.
Finally, if you're not familiar with Craftsy's pattern store, you might consider looking there first when you need a pattern. Craftsy makes its money off its class offerings, so it doesn't charge designers a fee to list there nor a percentage of the proceeds. While I will continue to offer patterns on Etsy, you might consider starting with Craftsy, because you pay the same price but your favorite designers make a touch more when you purchase there.
I am THRILLED beyond words and thank you -- THANK YOU -- for coming along on this journey with me!
