The Bub in the Belly

Yes, it's Peter Pan! Any resemblance to this image?

Those of you who saw Ryan's hat earlier and predicted that he was going to be dressed up as Robin Hood - not to worry! The majority of people thought he was Robin Hood even when he was in full costume! I think I made the wrong choice - next time I should pick something that is unmistakable. When I picked Peter Pan, it didn't even occur to me that he might look like Robin Hood, although there are many similarities in their attire. I was inspired to pick Peter Pan because of Ryan's latest haircut - it's so short! Anyway, if you're curious about the differences - generally Robin Hood's get-up has more browns and Peter Pan's has more greens. Also, Robin Hood carries a bow and arrow whereas Peter Pan has a small dagger.  

The green top is my own creation. There are a few tutorials on the internet but it didn't look that difficult so I decided to come up with my own pattern and construction. When I finished it, I realised I had made a tunic and I asked myself why didn't I just buy a green tunic??? Hahaha! No, no, I don't think you can find a tunic like this - it has to be this shade of green, it has to be long enough to cover the butt, with scallop edges on the bottom and on the sleeves. And, of course, it has to be in Ryan's size.

The top that you see above is an "improved" version. This photo below shows the top before I made "improvements".

On the original, the neckline is very large, which is similar to the actual Peter Pan neckline. It had to be large to allow Ryan to put the top on (the material (flannel) doesn't stretch) but I didn't like the way it was gaping. So I sewed on a toggle-and-loop closure and made a placket to finish the neckline. You may also notice a little pocket on the left breast - that was not in the plan. I added it to cover a rip in the top which I accidentally made when I was unpicking the original neckline!

Another "improvement" to the costume was the pair of leggings. I couldn't find leggings in this shade of green so I bought a pair of jeans instead (which you can see Ryan wearing in the original version above). Still, I wasn't happy with the jeans so I ended up buying a packet of green dye and ta-da! the green leggings were born. I think it looks much better than the jeans.

I sewed the hat and the feather from felt using this tutorial and pattern and yes, the author does say that it can pass off as a Robin Hood hat as well.

I would have ended the post here, except that I wanted to share some of Ryan's creative poses.