Chapter 2 page 397 - My Chicago Plan Pt 2 - Go Big or Go Home

This is part 2 of a multi-part post - click HERE for part 1

I know this race is going to be fun, but a bigger challenge than I feel I can conquor right now so . . . I've been thinking about my racing strategy to maximize my likelihood for success (success = finishing before the race closes).  You may remember I ordered this shirt from Cafe Press recently hoping this saying would "bring the 'tude!" needed to kick butt . . .

Cafe Press emailed me last week to say they canceled my order  because the merchandise wasn't in stock.  UMMMM, gee thanks!!!!  Now what am I going to do??????

I started googling costumes  . . . thinking that a costume would result in a lot of comments and interactions and hopefully cheers - all things which I'm going to need to "just get through" the 13.1 miles in Chicago.  I spent a lot of time looking into different options, but none really suited me or the race (too hot, too long, too hard to run in, too crazy, too sexy, too confusing - "who are you suppose to be?".  I then rememebered how many comments my tiara generated during the Diva Dash 5K back in June (recap HERE if you care).  I thought a tiara alone wouldn't be enough of an impact so I remembered THIS post from "Run To Health" and then things started clicking.  I remembered seeing a ribbon that said "Princess" at Michaels Craft Store so . . . my costume was coming together . . . I'd be a princess :)

So here is part one of my Chicago RnR Half costume . . .the tutu

Lots of Tulle - I bought rolls of fuchsia, baby pink, and white. 

I measured out a piece of elastic  - this ended up being almost the most complex part of the project.  I initially made it WAY too big - elastic stretches and the fuller the tutu becomes the heavier it becomes so the elastic stretches and is weighted down.  After 4 cuts and resews I am just going to tie it together on race day!  Put the elastic loop around a chair so that you can use both hands to tie on the tulle.  FYI - I would definitely choose a thicker and stronger elastic the next time.  By the time I was done it was a stretched out mess!

I cut my strips at 24" which makes each piece 12" since it will be doubled over.  It's perfect on the front and sides, but maybe a little too short for the back.  I also choose this length at the beginning when I has measured to wear the tutu very low (I wear a fuel belt and didn't want to have too much around my waist in one spot).  I might opt for 36" the next time.

Fold strip in half, and put loop under the elastic.

Pull 2 ends through the loop.

Pull the 2 ends through (down).

Pull tight.

Pull really tight.

Repeat with each color or strip in whatever color pattern you would like. This shows them with a lot of room between the knots - this keeps it from being super fluffy (still quite fluffy, but less then the next picture).

Here, I pushed the knots very close together - wow - that made the tutu VERY wide . . . I couldn't have it this way otherwise I would have had to strap a Wide Load sign on my back.  It was crazy huge.

Because it was just too bulky I began taking off LOTS of the tulle strips.  You can sort of see on the left side how much thinner it is (you can see elastic in between each tulle knot) versus the right side which I hadn't "thinned" yet - the knots are very compacted and you can see how much bulk it has on the right side compared to the left.

I removed LOTS of tulle from the tutu.

And took off even more - I probably took off at least half (if not more) of the total strips.

This is the final version - MUCH thinner (much more running friendly).

Stay tuned for Part 3 - costume accessories (these aren't done yet so it might be a few days until I get the next installment posted).