Fabric for a costume
Hi! First time posting in this forum.
My Mom taught my sisters and me how to sew. It was considered essential, especially for making otherwise-expensive dresses of the sort you would only wear once, like a wedding gown or prom dress, or wouldn't wear often, like piano recital dresses. When we were kids, she also sewed us matching nightgowns, beautiful wool kilts and coats, dresses, and Halloween costumes.
When my daughter was little, I tried to continue the tradition. I sewed her "layette," and later a preschool wardrobe in all purple and pink, then a Halloween costume: the classic clown costume that seems to have been around since the 1950s! Size 2 turned out to be enormous on her. The next year, same costume - still big on her. I think she was 5 or 6 and still when Halloween came around she said, "Let's get out the clown costume!" not knowing she'd finally outgrown it.
This year, I have a granddaughter!! She'll be 6 months old in October. In a baby shower game, my daughter said the baby's first costume would surely be a bunny. So after not sewing for years (and knowing it might be the last thing I sew), I want to make her a bunny costume.
I bought Simplicity pattern #9331. It mentions cotton and 'satin types,' and something about pile. I'd love to buy the fabric online not only for selection and frugality, but also because I have broken my ankle and it's difficult to crutch around -- don't know if fabric stores have the motorized wheelchair carts.
The real 'rabbit fur' looking fabrics look too unwieldy to work with for sewing an infant's costume. I'd like something nicer than basic jersey fleece. Some online shops advertise a "minky" fabric. What is that?? Any suggestions would be appreciated!! Thanks! 
= new reply since forum marked as read
But that's just me.
Fortunately, baby wear only needs a couple of yards of 45" -- hope it won't be too much! Things just look super thick online, and not sure my machine would stitch through them.
that the seam line won't wreck the look of the fur?
My experience sewing fur is that it's not really as thick as it appears -- once you pin it, it all smooshes (technical term ! 
) together, and the weave of it all isn't really dense.
Have fun! It sounds like such fun.
I took your advice and went with white flannel. I decided to order all the notions and fabric I'd need from JoAnne's and pick it up at the store (or ride in the car with Stinky the Clown, since I have a broken ankle). This would avoid shipping fees, and they had a great in-store sale.
He dutifully obliged, but it turned out the store was out of the fabric, as opposed to what their website had indicated! 
Can't get started without the fabric. Well, they offered me the opportunity to order it online at the same price without paying for shipping. That's fair.
However, it took more than a week to get the fabric. (I imagine the delays might have been due to the hurricanes.) Finally, it arrived! I washed it, dried it, and am starting to realize how much I've forgotten! It only shrank a little bit, but the pattern layout doesn't work at all. I double-checked the fabric width, made sure I'm looking at the right "view" and size, but nope... it is impossible! Argh!
Rather than keep worrying about what I (or they) got wrong, I figured out a layout that DOES work, although some of the ear pieces might go against the grain. Thank you for steering me away from fabric with a nap!!
Wish me luck. I HOPE I won't have to come back with too many questions!
My 6-month-old granddaughter, strolled around the neighborhood in her bunny costume, was the hit of the evening!! It came out beautifully, and she looked completely adorable. (My daughter even added little slippers that look like tiny bunnies!)
Thanks again for your help!! I'll be back with questions about a holiday dress, but didn't want to forget to say thank you here.
