Beads, Beads, Beads, and More Beads!

Sacajawea's dress in the movie "Night at the Museum" had lots of beads. Of course, hers were probably not plastic, but for a Halloween costume, plastic will have to do. That means, though, that Granmomma had to string those beads. I strung so many that I lost count. I put five on each string.

Then I threaded the tail of the string of beads through a needle with a large hole and stitched them all the way across the yoke on the front and back of the dress. I tied the strings together on the inside rather than knot each one.

Sacajawea also had a braid across the yoke. I braided three strands of cotton trim together and stitched it on. She also had on a choker made from beads, so Granmomma made one for Jenna, too.

Jenna asked for an Indian bag that she can use to collect her candy when she goes Trick or Treating. It just so happens that Sacajawea also had a bag tied around her waist. Of course, it wasn't large enough for all the candy that Jenna will collect, so I sewed expanding sides on the purse. There are leather ties to hold the front and back together when it doesn't need to hold lots of candy, but that can be untied to make a much larger candy collection vessel. I sewed fringe that I made from one of the pieces of fabric along the front sides and stitched colored beads along the edge. The strips of leather that I bought have really come in handy!

Jenna also wanted a dress for her American Girl doll so she can carry her like a papoose. So I used Simplicity 7688 view B to get the size right and turned it into a little Indian dress. Of course, she has to have a way to carry her papoose, so I made her a carrier.

Here are the two Indian dresses together to show the differences. Sacajawea had a blue yoke. I used some upholstery fabric for the yoke, the purse, and the papoose carrier. I used a fake suede synthetic fabric for the dresses. I bought it in 3 shades of brown.
The pattern I used to get the sizing right for Kellen and Jenna is McCall's 5953. I cut Kellen's a little bigger because the largest size in this pattern is an 8. Now, I need to make the hummingbird costume for Kellen's doll since Pocahontas's best friend in the Disney movie was a hummingbird.
This is the pattern that I am going to use for my friend's niece's Pocahontas costume. I'm going to make it by view C straight from the pattern in a size 5, which I'll have to cut down from the smallest size which is a 6.

I'm sorry that some of my pictures are dark and fuzzy. I'm using my husband's camera, and I'm still learning how to use it. It is much more complicated than mine was.
I am typing this and watching the UT vs. UCLA game on tv. My husband went to the game. I let my cousin have my ticket because I'm still not quite up to walking that far, especially up the ramp to our seats on the 50th row. So far, UT is ahead 10 to 3! Go Vols!
I think I'm going upstairs now and make a pie. I'm just in the mood. I may take it next door for my in-laws who are entertaining some relatives for the game.