film petit: Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds

6:00 AM

I'm pretty honored/ thrilled to get invited to be a part of film petit this month!
If you haven't followed previous months, Kristin at skirt as top and Jessica at a little gray have a series where once a month they and a lucky guest sew children's clothes inspired by a movie.
There's been some awesome sewing in past months, definitely worth checking out!
film petit button for your blog

But this month's film is themed for Halloween with Alfred Hitchcock!
I grew up watching old movies, and these were really scary as a kid.  The movies are great, and the costumes seem to have a bigger role than most movies do now.  During Project Run and Play I made a dress inspired by Dial M for Murder, so I was excited to get a another stab at sewing for Hitchcock.
This time around, I went boy and got a little creepy with the Halloween version of film petit, being inspired by The Birds.  

Don't forget to hop over to Skirt As Top to see Norman Bates go psycho and A Little Gray for an adorable Melanie Daniels fighting off some birds!


So on to my take of THE BIRDS.

It was another great day in Bodega Bay, California.


RJ was enjoying his afternoon at the dock.


Until he noticed unusual behavior with the local birds...


When out of nowhere, they attacked!!


The birds pecked relentlessly.


Unfortunately, RJ didn't have change for the payphone to get help!


Tragically, another Bodega Bayan fell victim to the carnage of....
the birds!


ON TO THE SEWING:
Daniels Tee with Grandpa Pants



inspiration:
There's quite a mix of inspiration sources on this look.
Because the movie takes place in the coastal small town, I had a little nautical vibe going with the stripes and three contrasting shoulder buttons.
I chose green for the tee since the main character, Melanie Daniels wears the same green dress suit the entire film.
Then the for the Grandpa pants, the movie was filmed in 1963 and the style of the pants nods to the high-waisted trousers men used to wear.  I designed them with the fabric and overall shape of the pants my Grandpa used to wear, but sewed the details more like jeans to try to mix the vintage vibe with modern styling, making them casual play pants rather than formal-wear.

There's also a great scene in the film with school kids are running down the hill trying to escape from the crows attacking.  I love vintage kids clothes because they're simple designs and use plain fabrics, not plastered with characters or goofy stuff like today.


 sewing details:

GRANDPA PANTS:
-made with crosshatch gray wool blend suiting
-used a pair of his pants as a pattern and altered the legs for a simple, loose leg opening
-functional zip fly, buttonhole elastic waistband, and hook and eye closure
-patch pockets in back and regular curved front pockets
-scant pin-tuck on pant-leg fronts to maintain the crease found in men's trousers
-sewn with contrasting rust thread to mimic jeans rather than dress pants

DANIELS TEE:
-original pattern drafted with raglan sleeves
-contrasting cuffs, shoulder buttons, and waistband chunk
-three functional buttons at left shoulder
-made with stripe slub knit (walmart) and kelly green interlock (JoAnn)
blue contrasting was scrap knit and I have no clue where it came from

photoshoot:
We visited my husband's home town, and they have a reservoir which served for our Bodega Bay backdrop.
RJ was pretty excited to take these pictures, as you could probably tell from his acting...but he insisted:
a) we needed fake blood (honey and food coloring)
and
b) the birds would end up killing him

So it was pretty fun, and we tried to not go too crazy with the gore for this one.

It was so fun to be part of this month's Halloween film petit.
You'll love Kristin's kids replaying the famous shower murder and Jessica's cutie wearing a miniature Melanie Daniels look!
They also have a flickr group if you've sewn any kids clothing inspired by a movie!

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29 comments

  1. This is great - he deserves an oscar!

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  2. That is awesome!! I'm in stitches here.. :-) I love his facial expressions, the picture with the phone booth is priceless. That is a talented little actor you have there!

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  3. Jess you nailed the movie poster graphics, I love that! And I'm in love with your outfit, I kinda want to copy it EXACTLY for my boy. RJ is such a crack up!

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  4. I really love both of the pieces you made for your son, and I too want to copy them for mine. The pictures you got of him are fabulous and hilarious. He did a great job.

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  5. Gah!!! This is crazy Jessica! I can't believe it! Your son must have absolutely loved this!! So much fun.

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  6. so funny! sign that kid up for movies!!!!

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  7. Hahahaha! Love that RJ - such a ham! So awesome that you really went for it with the photoshoot - I thought about fake blood but totally chickened out. This outfit is awesome too. Thank you SO much for joining us for Film Petit this month! You were the perfect guest to sew Hitchcock with us. :)

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  8. He perfected your look! I love his cute face! You sewing, as always, is perfect!

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  9. Awesome awesome job!!! I love the entire outfit! I want that shirt for myself! And your photo shoot is so fun, funny, "gross"! Ps...I just used your dino tail tute for part of a halloween costume...i've been wanting to use it forever...yay, i finally did! :)

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  10. Reeeaallly cute! This is just so fun to watch. I love his shirt! That button shoulder is just too cute! I bet he had fun doing this photo shoot!

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  11. Ahhh, this is too awesome. The photo shoot is perfect and that outfit is super cool! Nice work!

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  12. Hahahaha! This just made my day! Love it!! The birds are priceless!!! I love this movie yet it scared me as a child when I had to walk past a playground filled with angry birds everyday. your son captured my emotions perfectly! Great job on the outfit too!

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  13. This is so AWESOME Jessica. Cute clothes and great photoshoot!

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  14. What an actor! LOVE the pants!

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  15. great actor,director, costumer,film writer.
    your talents just never stop and obviously they are being passed down to your children.

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  16. Excuse me while I pee my pants in hilarity! You are amazing!

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  17. Cool clothes Jessica and awesome photos. Your son is such a ham. He's great in all your photo shoots!

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  18. Jessica, this is so awesome! What a fun boy you have, and a great outfit you made. I love it!!

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  19. so great!! Your little man is just really hilarious. He played the part perfectly. hahaha. And I love the clothes you made for the shoot! The pintucked pant legs and shoulder buttons on the shirt were wonderful touches.

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  20. that's a great looking outfit! such amazing details in your clothes, always. great photos too, he looks like he's having a blast!

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  21. He's a natural! I love it! Such a cutie. The outfit is superb!

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  22. Totally awesome! I'm digging the grampa pants.

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  23. I love the leisure pants and the buttoned up shoulder!

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  24. I would buy a pattern for this shirt and pants in a freakin heartbeat! So awesome!

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  25. This is just amazing. The clothes are to die for and the photography is fabulous. I could so use some photography tips.

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  26. The clothes are amazing, and as has for your budding actor, I'm super impressed too. :)

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  27. I'm loving the grandpa pants! And you two have a wonderfully morbid sense of humor :)

    I made some of your ecords for my niece and her mom loved them. http://www.impatientwithpcos.blogspot.com/2012/10/hot-off-sewing-machine.html

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  28. What a perfect location for the photos and RJ is a great actor. I absolutely love the whole outfit.

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