DIY: Simple Monster Costume Sewing Tutorial
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Halloween and costumes have never been my favorite. However, seeing the holiday through the eyes of my Two-Year-Old has been pretty fun this year. When we started asking him at the beginning of the month what he’d like to be for Halloween, he hesitated exactly 2 seconds before explaining he wanted to be a Yellow Monster with Blue Stripes. Where this conviction and idea came from, I’ve yet to discover, but he had a clear vision in mind for a Yellow Monster Costume, and I was thrilled to help bring his vision to life.
Having never sewn a Halloween Costume from Scratch, I knew this would be a challenge for me and my Sewing Machine, but it ended up coming together smoothly and simply. I’ll break down the way I pulled it together so you have a jumping off point for your own custom costume.
Supplies Needed:
- Flannel
- Sewing Machine
- Thread
- Zipper
- Sewing Pins
- Measuring Tape
- Outfit to Trace
This costume is approximately a 3T. I used 1.5 yards of Yellow Flannel and .5 Yards of Blue for the accents.
Custom Costume Tutorial
- Tracing the Body
Fold Fabric in half. Take a pair of pajamas or Shirt and Pants and lay them down on top of the folded fabric. Measure out 3 inches from the outfit and draw your “Cut” line all around.
- Pin and Cut
Pin through both the top and bottom pieces of fabric to hold them together so you can cut both pieces exactly the same.
- Sew Body
Sew the front and back of the costume together from the armpits down.
Tip: If you want to use elastic around the wrists and ankles of your costume, leave the bottom 2-3 inches of the pant legs unattached. It will make adding elastic much easier!
- Trace & Cut out the arms
Take 4 pieces of fabric and clip or pin them together. Lay the pieces under the body of the costume and draw out your sleeves. As with the body of the costume, make sure you’re drawing it several inches larger than your template. Ensure all 4 pieces are pinned tightly together and cut them out.
- Sew Arms
Split your 4 pieces into two pairs, and pin. When sewing together, leave 1/2 – 1-inch unsewn in on both sides of the shoulder/armpit.
Tip: If you’re planning on adding elastic to the wrist, leave 2″-3″ inches unsewn around the wrist. It will make adding elastic much easier!
- Attach Arms to Body
Turn your body inside out and the arms right side out. Place the arms inside the body with the armpit/shoulder matching up with the body. Pin the arm all the way around to the body and carefully sew together making sure not to sew the armpit shut.
- Zipper, Hems & Elastic
Time for Finishing Touches! Cut down the back of your costume to sew in your Zipper, hem the neckline and add elastic to your wrists and ankles.
- Decorate
This is where you can really have fun! I opted to use Stitch Witch to attach the stripes to our Monster, but you could just as easily use Hot Glue or sew on your decorations.
Tip: My only suggestion if you’re sewing would be to do the decorating before you sew the front and back of your body together. It’d be pretty tricky to sew on the front once the back was attached.
There you have it! A great template for any costume. You could sew a White one piece with Black Patches ironed on and have a Cow, try a Green costume with a Spine up the back and a tail for a Dinosaur… the possibilities are endless! I think this will be a fun way to add to our Dress Up Imaginary Play area as well.
Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to tag Rolling Richmond if you make a costume of your own. I’d love to see it!