DIY Critter Costumes

Honestly, this might be more of an inspirational post than a true DIY.

Foxy Freyr

I did do these hats myself, but since this was the first time I’ve ever tried making something of this sort, I did not make an actual pattern for others to follow as I went along. I will however describe what I did and post pics and explanatory sketches in this post, so if you are handy with sewing, you should be able to create something similar, using this as your starting point. Also, feel free to ask questions in the comments-section, I’d be happy to answer and elaborate : )

BunBun

So here’s how it all went. I decided on a forest for the boys’ first birthday-party, yet needed to do it with a minimum of expenses, so buying costumes was out of the question. Also, where’s the fun in that ; ) Again, to keep costs at a minimum I bought them clothes as part of the outfit, which they can wear on an everyday basis subsequently; bodysuits and tights in uniform colours to match the hats I was sewing. The hats, or choice of critters, I based on their nicknames, so the boys are pretty much dressed “as themselves”; Lille Bamse (little teddy-bear), Foxy Freyr and Bunbun.

Click Images for large illustrations

The materials consists of cotton-linen, batting and ordinary sewing-thread. But any non-stretch fabric would do, as would any type of fluffy liner. I did all the sewing by hand as I don’t have a sewing-machine at the moment, but most of it you could easily do by machine and save some time and bother.

To begin with I did a quick sketch of each animal, and then I tried breaking it down into parts – that is to say, different parts of fabric, to fit a roundish three-dimensional shape (the head!)

Then I cut the fabric and started the sewing. First I made the inner part of the hat, a simple head-shaped dome, slightly larger than the boys actual hat-size. (This is important. Otherwise you’ll end up with a much too small hat)

Secondly, I mounted a layer of batting on top of this rudimentary hat. No need to make it pretty.

Thirdly, and the fun yet tricky part: let the sculpting commence! 1) At this stage you have to try and visualize which part you want to be most prominent. Like a snout for example. And ears. As tempting as it might be to start with these, leave them for the last stage, and start out by 2) covering uniform stretches (like the back of the hat) with fabric, mounting it on top of the batting. You don’t have to stitch up the edge, leave that to the end – just make sure that there’s enough fabric for a nice finish once you get there. 3) Once you are done with larger fabric-stretches, you can start on the detailing. Start out with the larger details like a snout or muzzle, and sew and build up the shape separately before attaching them to the hat. Pin it with needles to get the desired composition or look, before you stitch it on. Remember that there is a lot of freedom to this kind of sewing; you can do a lot of free-hand sculpting with needle and thread, ruching the fabric, making concave indents by sewing through the batting, and so on. 4) When you’ve finished building and sewing the hat’s main facial structures, you can start on the fine details. I hand embroidered eyes and nose on with ordinary sewing-thread (I drew them on first using sewing-chalk), but you could also use buttons, pearls or similar, as long as you make sure that they are securely fastened. 5) Finish up by double-folding the fabric along the edge, stitch the hem, and add a ribbon or elastic band to fit your child’s head.