fox mask

i have started creating alex's halloween costume for this year! while on vacation i made her the fox mask. i found a pattern on etsy from https://www.etsy.com/shop/oxeyedaisey who has some really super cute stuff - i may have to go back for more patterns. i already have ears for her costume so i adapted the pattern taking the ears off the mask. typically this should be all felt, but i couldn't find the orange i wanted in felt so that part is a suede leather. it looks great, but that does make it more difficult to stitch. in fact, i poked my finger with the needle so many times pushing thru that leather that i didn't notice that i drew blood and kept stitching. that was on the nose section and since i was on vacation i did not bring back up fabric with me (i had already cut out the pieces and that's all i travelled with.) alex was so sweet saying, "it's okay, you've worked so hard on this already i can wear it like that; it's barely noticeable." sweet girl, but it was certainly noticeable and did not want her walking around halloween with a large blood spot on her fox nose. so i took it back apart and decided to attempt spot treating it before throwing that piece away. i happened to have a tide on the go packet so i soaked that orange leather piece in some water and tide; i think i let it soak overnight, if not for at least several hours. and amazingly enough...it came clean! i can still see where the spot is but it's hardly noticeable and nobody else is going to be looking that closely at alex's fox nose. so i restitched that back on and finished up the piece. the nose is sewn on slightly crooked, but that just adds character, right? alex loves the mask and can't wait for the whole costume to be ready.