Sewing Machine Mania

November 30, 2007

Turns out that a dragon costume is a little harder to come by than one would imagine. Or maybe other people would imagine it to be difficult, I was initially quite confident that I would be able to throw one together relatively easily. But when it comes to actually figuring out how to have a nice large tail (with spikes) and a nice big belly and maybe even a dragon head…not so easy. At first I thought I would borrow Heidi’s sewing machine and just carry it on the plane with me. But then I got concerned because the FAA is so damn strict they probably have a rule against sewing machines. That and my flight was at 6:30am, so at 5:00am when I was leaving the house I sure as fuck didn’t feel like lugging a sewing machine around.
On Monday I bought a sewing machine. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with thread so I couldn’t start the project until Tuesday. At 11pm on Tuesday I had the needle and bobbin threaded. This was slightly later than I had been planning. I sewed a tail, unfortunately it looked very much like a snake and very unlike a dragon tail. However, I was optimistic about the project. Several trips to fabric stores, Target, and Walgreens later, I had my supplies. The next two nights were spent staying up until 3am sewing. In some circles, this is called a manic episode. My logic was that if I dedicated enough time and effort, I was destined to end up with a cute little dragon costume. I had it pictured perfectly in my head.
However, dragon costumes are a bitch to make. I strongly advise against it. The tail ended up looking good…enormous, but good. The belly…not so much. Most people thought I was pregnant. (Morons, how many pregnant people do you know with a tail?) The halloween party was fun regardless. But after a week without sleep I had to come home to a house littered with green fabric, fluff, and needles. Since then, my sewing machine has been used solely for sewing nice square things like curtains…no bellies or tails.

Posted in The Chronicles of Memphis