I saw this figurine while in Salem, Massachusetts, and thought that Charm’s Bryant Gown would be a perfect base to create a glamorous Sally costume. I wanted to create an elevated look using hand-painted silks, but you can also use cotton broadcloth and basic fabric paint for a less luxurious dress. It’s the perfect costume idea for day eight of this year’s 13-day-long Halloween Extravaganza!

(And, hmmm, doesn’t Jack Skellington’s wide lapels remind you of the Princess Coat? Add a Patsy Blouse, a black necktie, and some Audrey Cigarette Pants, and there’s another Halloween Extravaganza idea!)

Resources for the Sally Costume

• Bryant Gown pattern for the dress
• Silk shantung in a variety of colors (we love Silk Baron’s silks!): black, yellow-gold, teal, and pink
• Black chiffon for the sleeves and flounce
• Black fabric paint and resist for silks
• Black ribbon choker necklace
• Long straight red wig
• Glamorous false eyelashes and makeup to resemble stitches (optional, of course!)

Dress Instructions

Omitting the sleeve and flounce for now, plan out your style lines for the patchwork on your pattern pieces. Cut the pattern pieces along these style lines and add seam allowances to each cut side. Make sure to label your new pattern pieces well, as it can get very confusing once you go to sew them together!

Paint dots, swirls, and stripes onto some of the pieces with your opaque fabric paint and resist. (Here’s a tutorial for painting silks). Cut and seam the pattern pieces together, then follow the instructions to sew the dress.

For the sleeves, use the Puff Sleeve pattern piece and cut in a floaty fabric like chiffon, omitting the band. Hem the lower edge or reshape the hem into tatters.

For the flounce, fold out the pleats on the pattern pieces to remove them. Cut the flounce in black silk. Add three layers of black chiffon ruffles, stitching the ruffles directly to the flounce.

Using the black yarn or thin ribbon and a very large needle, visibly hand stitch each seam in a haphazard pattern. Add a couple of patches visibly hand stitched to the top of the seams.