Cost Breakdown

55.72 Red fabric 8yds @6.99/yd
2.70 Blue fabric 1.3 yds @1.96
1.21 Blue netting 1.3 yds @.88
4.05 Fusible interfacing 3 yds @1.35
1.65 Wide bias tape for nametag insignia
1.95 Machine needles
2.85 White thread
1.95 Turquoise thread
6.97 Butterick skirt pattern
6.47 McCalls shirt pattern
1.89 Velcro
6.10 4 spools red thread
9.60 8 buttons
1.44 1 yd cording (epaulets)
1.14 1 yd cording (cord from brooch)
2.88 Ping Pong balls
1.34 sandpaper (sanding brooch parts & ping pong balls for paint)
.28 paintbrush
15.85 -- Hobby Lobby nonitemized: paint, tassels, white fabric for pockets, gold ribbon for pockets & neck insignia, white bias tape for detailing, brooch parts (wood disks, jewel, pin backs, jump ring), epoxy, more Velcro
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$ 126.04 Materials total

6 hours on Thursday
4 hours on Friday
6 hours on Saturday
6 hours on Sunday
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22 total hours @ $10.00/hour

$ 220.00 Labor total

$ 325.00 Total cost

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The labor cost is a bit wonky. I didn't count the several hours I spent prowling shops, and I had someone else helping me for some hours on Saturday and Sunday, and I didn't count those hours. So the *true* number for labor hours should be somewhere around 30-35 hours, but I was getting into serious estimation territory and decided not to worry about it.

Also, I didn't count sales tax into the materials cost, and I didn't charge her for stuff I bought that I didn't use - 3.5 yards of red fabric, 3 yards of netting that was supposed to line the skirt that I decided it didn't need, the tassels I bought that were the wrong color, the gold cord I bought that was also the wrong color. It would not have been fair to charge for stuff that didn't go into the making of the costume.

If I were doing costumes professionally, I'd probably be able to ge the materials cost down by ordering wholesale, by ordering fabric several bolts at a time, and by getting good enough that it wouldn't take me as long to sew or to construct the accessories. But as it is, this is what it takes for me to construct a costume. Do you understand why costumes cost so much now?