Costumes! Costumes! Costumes!

More Copyright Stuff..

So now you’ve built a snowman costume, and have gone against my advice as having a look alike character, or giving it a name (like ‘Frosty’).

Your ego suggests that you lend it (or even rent it) to your neighbors or your local school or church; or possibly wear it in a parade.  After all, you are a good friend and citizen, and want to help.  But you also want a little recognition for your generosity.

Will you be found out, as to using a copyrighted character or copyrighted name?  And what are the ramifications if you are?

If your costume is used once a year in the privacy of your home; you likely won’t be found out. Once, however, you expand into other areas (see above), your chances of being outed are increased exponentially.  And the ‘outing’ might be something as simple as a photo that gets onto Facebook.

If the copyright owners find out, then you might be looking at something as simple as a ‘cease and desist’; or possibly something as serious as a lawsuit of which you will likely lose.

Again the caveat is to not build a copyrighted character; and to not use a copyrighted name. 

Be creative.  Make up your own character, and make up your own name.  You might even want to copyright it yourself.

Copyrights and trademarks.   

A few days ago, we featured a video with a snowman and several other costumed characters.  In the future, we plan on a series of videos that will explain how to build this type of cartoon character for your own use. 

A caveat now, and a caveat for the future is to not duplicate an already existing costumes cartoon character.  If you’ve seen it on TV, in the comic strips, in the movies, it likely has been copyrighted and is illegal for anyone to duplicate without the express permission of the copyright holder.  And frankly, even if it’s for a worthy cause (as in raising money for a charity, for school, for anything) most copyright holders will not be cooperative in allowing you to use or duplicate their characters.

Altering your character a little (different nose, different hat, etc) does not necessarily mean you are not duplicating someone else’s character.  If it looks like ‘Frosty’, then it is ‘Frosty’.

And lastly, even if your character is substantially different, don’t name it the same as an existing famous character.  Don’t call your snowman, ‘Frosty’, for instance.

Be careful! Be creative!  

A little levity for today:

Christmas characters bring Christmas cheer to Wendy’s

(note the Snowman leaning forward throughout most of this video.  This indicates a design flaw.)

Duration : 0:2:59

Q: “I am look for a size 20W Dress pattern for Mrs. Santa Clause.

Can anyone tell me where I can find 1 cheap/free? would be best and cheap will work too. Thanks 

A: Remember pattern size is not the same as ready to wear dress size, so choose a pattern by measurements. Cheap: most chain fabric stores like Joann and Hancock offer $1-2 specials on Simplicity, McCalls or Butterick at least a couple of times a month. You’re not likely to find anything labeled as “Mrs. Claus”, so take a look in the costume sections for patterns with the silhouette you want. FWIW, one year I made a friend an “emergency” Mrs. Claus costume of a red and green plaid flannel nightgown and a big white hoover apron over it, with red rickrack trim and holly appliqued on the pocket.

Some suggestions (and be sure to look at all the pattern views by clicking on the photo that comes up:)

Simplicity 3723

http://www.butterick.com/item/B5265.htm http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5155.htm http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M4548.htm http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M2337.htm”

Indirectly contributed to this site by an unknown writer/author, and is not necessarily the opinion of the management or staff of this site.

Q: “The largest Santa costume I have ever seen was sized XL. And even those XL’s are quite meagre sized, closer to a large than an extra large. Surely if Santa was a big fat man, they should make Santa costumes to fit big fat men. There’s nothing in this world that looks as stupid as a thin Santa.”

A. “There’s nothing in this world that looks as stupid as a thin Santa.That’s the fist time I have ever heard a skinny person discriminated against. Too funny!”

Editors note: In my past life, we had Santa costumes that fit men well over 500 lbs. and the costumes were listed as XXL or even XXXL. Presently, most suits are manufactured in Asia, and don’t seem to follow most sizing standards.  I would recommend checking with your nearest fulltime costume shop.  Here is a link that will assist you.  

http://www.costumers.org

Learn how to add trousers a Santa Claus costume for a Christmas party in this free holiday video clip on holiday costume ideas. Expert: Matt Cail Contact: www.homepaintings.biz Bio: Matt Cail is an artist who works in oil, water color and acrylic paints, among others. Filmmaker: randy primm

Duration : 0:1:21

Q: “I assumed I would be able to find one online, but there seems to be very few patterns for santa suits and I can’t find any that are free.”

 
A: “By the time you print out all the pages and tape them together to make a pattern, you might as well buy a Santa pattern. JoAnn’s always has them on sale.”

‘Butterick’, ‘McCalls’ and ‘Simplicity’ are major pattern makers and one or more are likely to have a Santa suit pattern in their repertoire.  

Pattern books from these (and maybe other pattern makers as well) can be found at most fabric stores for your perusal.  

Fabric stores tend to carry the pattern makers seasonal lines.

If Butterick, etc. have an online presence and sell direct, I would order the pattern rather than downloading it.

And because patterns are the pattern makers livelihood, you might find them to be a bit pricey.  Add in the cost of the fabric, thread and accessories (belt, wig and beard, boottops, etc.) and determine for yourself if it is a better value for you to make, or buy.

Care and Cleaning of Your Santa Costume 

Because most Santa’s perspire heavily during a visit with the children, and sometimes even are the recipient of a wetting; it is recommended that the Santa outfit be cleaned on a regular basis; and in general, dry cleaning is probably the best way to do the cleaning.

BUT (notice that’s all caps) the white trim might become permanently yellowed after a dry cleaning or two or a few.  Also dry cleaning rarely removes the lipstick and rouge stains that we mentioned earlier.

If the trim is felt, then the best thing you can do is dry clean the entire outfit.  If the trim is a plush like material, it should be removed and then laundered to both clean it, and fluff it out to bring it back to its almost original appearance.

If possible, and you have a little time, it’s best to strip off the white trim and launder (as in Tide or Oxydol) it using a washer and dryer.  The first time you do this it is very time consuming because of the closeness of the stitches.  It’s much easier the second time IF you baste the white trim back on instead of machine sewing it back on.

Caveat: Washing the entire suit, including the white trims, will probably cause the red to bleed into the white, thus giving you a nice red suit with PINK trim.

Lipstick on your Santa Beard and Wig? 

‘I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus’.  Jimmy Boyd sang this song in the fifties and it’s still popular some 50 years later.  Does anyone know if Mommy smudged lipstick on Santa’s beard and hair, or the white trim on his suit during this encounter? 

It’s really more likely that Santa got the lipstick and/or rouge on himself by applying too much makeup.  Santa needs pink cheeks and cherry red lips to really look like Santa.

Unfortunately, Santa’s white beard, and sometimes the white trim on his suit pay the price.

Fret not!  There are solutions that will at least reduce the stainage if not remove it in total.

Lip stick remover is probably the best solution to remove the makeup from the beard.  At worst, it will reduce the stain from red to a light pink.  Washing the beard, ala yesterdays post, may reduce the damage even further.

Later we will discuss how to clean Santa’s suit, to include the lipstick on the white trim. 

The care and cleaning of a Santa beard and wig.

If the quality of your Santa wig and beard set is such that it is washable (some wig and beards set are cotton, mohair, or cheap synthetics and should not be washed), then washing your set should be done periodically.  If you opt not to wash the set, then a good spraying with Lysol or some other disinfectant should be used after every use, particularly on the mustache and chin strap, as well as the base (cloth or net base) of the wig.

Caveat.  Never, never have the wig and beard dry cleaned.  It might end up so matted that you will never get it looking good again, even with extensive brushing.

Using a mild detergent/soap, gently soak the wig and beard in water and then gently brush the interior of the wig, and the back of the mustache and chin strap with a stiff brush.  If you’ve used Spirit Gum to adhere the mustache to the upper lip, then you might need to use a spirit gum remover (likely available at your local costume shop) as part of this step in the process. 

The wig and beard at this point might be combed (again gently) to make certain the knotted and matted areas are removed.  Even though the wig/beard set may be naturally and permanently curled, the objective is to have it as straight and mat free as possible.  Then it (the set) should be layed on a terry cloth towel to dry naturally. Heat is a huge enemy, so never use a hair dryer to hasten the drying process.

If one is so inclined to ‘dress’ the wig and beard, that is, to re-wave it, this is probably a good time to do it…while it is still wet. 

We used clamps and ‘marceled’ (waves) the set.  The waves were alternated in rows from left to right and then right to left.  Visualize a 1920’s movie star and that is the effect you want in general 

Is this time consuming?  Yes, but you’ll have a much better looking Santa beard and wig for next season. 

On storage, yak hair and other natural hair can be affected by the light and cause the wig and beard to yellow if not properly stored.  Like a white wedding dress, it’s always a good idea to wrap the wig and beard in blue tissue paper.