DIY cucumber fancy dress costume

Cucumber vegetable costume

Costume parties or celebrations with themes are where you can tell the wo/men from the mice. Some people go all out and dress up. Others don’t. I fall into the former category. It has happened, more than once, that my husband and I have been the only people dressed up at a themed party.

Apart from the awkward looks en route to the event, there’s that sinking feeling you get, when you walk into the party and everyone looks at you. As they say in the classics – $#!T happens.

We had a Veg Pride thing going on in Cape Town. And of course we opted to dress up. My husband sewed string beans to a hat and went as Crocodile Dunbean. I rustled up a cucumber suit. Not everyone thought I was a cucumber. Some thought I was a zucchini, others a courgette or even an okra. Which was good enough for me. At least I was a vegetable.

Iron creases into fabric

You need: –
A piece of green fabric 115 centimetres wide and 1.5 to 2.00 metres long. (I used pongee lining)
an iron and ironing board
dried soap or chalk
needle
green thread

You do: –
First, you need to put creases into your fabric. I folded the fabric up bit by bit and ironed the the fabric.You don’t have to have to get perfect folds or be exact. The only reason for doing it is to create the effect of ridges that you find on a cucumber or zucchini.

Use soap or chalk to make lines

Then use your soap or chalk and make random lines alongside the creases.

Next, using a needle and thread, gather up the top and the bottom of your fabric. Make sure to do a double stitch at the beginning and end of your gathering so the gathers stay in place. I only used a knot. Mistake. The gathering pulled loose.

Also, use good quality thread that won’t snap or break. You are going to to be moving about in this get-up after all.

You can, wrap a towel or blanket around your waist to fill out so you are nice and round before you put on the fabric.

Finally, and you need help for this, pin the gathered ends together with a safety pin around your neck. And again around your ankles. You may have to use a few more safety pins to hold the sides together. But do bear in mind you need some space for at least one hand to poke out.

Have not yet washed the piece of fabric, but I’m assuming the soap will wash out so I can use it for

Gather top and bottom

dressmaking.

Next week I revert back to regular clothing DIYs.
To view past DIY fashions and ideas, visit the Greenie Galleries at the top of this page.

See you next week.

Greenie.