I love making costumes. I always have and hopefully always will. From high school on I have always enjoyed working on costumes for myself and others for all types of events. When I had kiddos, it became even more fun to work on costumes for them. One thing I did notice as they got older was that they did not enjoy wearing certain types of clothing and premade costumes items. B also did not like to have any type of face paint or decorations on his skin or wear headbands so common for kid’s costumes. This meant that any elaborate costume ideas they had would need to work within these parameters. They also had a penchant for wanting costumes that were so unique there were generally no pre-made costume options or accessories available. So what did I do? Enter the sweatshirt costume.
It All Started With Some Cats
The first sweatshirt costumes I came up with were for a Pusheen costume B wanted and a black kitty cat W wanted. Their school required all costumes to be from books, and B had just gotten a Pusheen book for his birthday that he loved. That same year W wanted to be a black kitty from one of his favorite books as a baby so I had a lot of cats to figure out! Let’s start with the simplest option for your inspiration: the black kitty cat. We already had a black sweatshirt, jeans, and socks so we used those. Then I added a large pipe cleaner tail by twisting the end around the center back belt loop of his pants. This way you don’t have to worry about a clip not holding when they are at school or trick-or-treating. I then found some special cat ears for him that lit up as he is comfortable wearing headbands. B would take a little more ingenuity as Pusheen has some markings on their body and tail. I ended up finding an inexpensive grey sweatshirt, two different colored grey flannel sheets, and some grey sweatpants he already had. I started by adding the two stripes on his back. I roughly drew the shapes on one side of the flannel, cut them out, and then sewed them on using the straight stich on my sewing machine. Next I made the three small stripes on the hood using the same method. To make the ears, I made slightly fat heart shapes and then overlapped the tops slightly to make the ear cone-like shape. You should practice this part a bit with paper to make sure you get the right look. Next, I sewed them on slightly overlapped by making a few straight stitch rows back and forth to make them durable. I also had B come and check on the design at each step to make sure it was looking the way he imagined. Finally, I sewed a small piece of satin ribbon on the center back bottom of the sweatshirt so there was a loop to attach the tail to. Just fold over the edges of a 2 inch piece of ribbon and strait stitch on each end. To make the tail I used the same large pipe cleaner I used for W’s costume, but also made a tube for it so it has the stripes. For this, measure around the outside of the tail as well as the length you want the tail to be. For the width, take that circumference measurement and add a half inch. Then decide how many stripes you want and add a 1/4″ for each stripe to the length. Once the stripes are cut out, sew the stripes together and make it into a tube by sewing along the long edge with the right sides together and sew one end closed. Turn right side out, feed the pipe cleaner (cut to the length of your tail plus two inches) into the tube and then tack the pipe cleaner to the open end of the tube. This means hand sewing back and forth around the pipe cleaner while going through both layers of the open end of your tube. Doing this holds the pipe cleaner in place and keeps the tube from falling off. There should be a small amount of pipe cleaner sticking out to use to wrap around your ribbon loop and there you go!
Taking It Up A Notch
The next year, B wanted to be Scrump from Lilo and Stitch on our Halloween on The High Seas Disney Cruise. I had to take a breath and do some research on the specifics of the character. Luckily we had a small stuffed animal of Scrump and I was able to find lots of source material online. It was impossible at the time to find the perfect colored sweatshirt although I have since found a source for dyeable sweatshirts at a very reasonable price that I could have dyed to be the correct color. I used them for a tie dye project with some kids and was impressed by the product for the price. I highly recommend this option if you are struggling to find a sweatshirt the right color for your character. I then bought felt in the correct colors for some of the details, a pink ribbon for the necklace, a giant pink bow for the hair, and some yellow pipe cleaners. I took all my source material and very carefully drew and then cut out each shape I would need. I had them laid out in order and stacked correctly on the table next to my machine so I could keep track of each little piece. If you do not feel confident sewing small pieces on with a machine, it would work just fine to hand sew the smaller pieces, or all of them if you do not have access to a machine at all. Once I had the felt pieces sewn on, I added the ribbon necklace. I do wish I had sewn down both sides rather than just the one, so it laid nicely while he was wearing it. For the hair and bow, I added a loop similar to the one I did for the tail, but positioned so the clip of the bow that was holding the hair could go through it the correct direction. He wore some shorts I found in a similar shade to the sweatshirt as it was going to be hot on the cruise.
It’s All in The Details
Ok, so I have explained the way I created these two costumes, but what if you want to make a sweatshirt costume of a different character? Well, as always, I wanted you to understand my process before I explained how you can change and update the process or plan for your needs, so here is a list of general steps and tips and tricks (some covered above) for how to use this process to make this type of costume for yourself of someone else:
- Research the desired character. Pay special attention to colors and any details you want to include. Are the details 3-D or flat?
- Find your canvas. Look for a sweatshirt, bottoms, tights or socks, and any other accessories you want. Look for something the correct base color, but don’t forget the dyeable options at this store.
- Gather the other supplies. I highly recommend looking for sheets of felt and pipe cleaners, but also wander a bit around the kids craft aisles and the notions aisles at your local craft store for more inspiration. If there are specific things you are looking for like a bow, check your local dollar store or Target for inexpensive options you can use for a costume. Don’t forget thread or anything else you may need to attach the various details like ribbon for loops. If you are struggling with how to attach something, consider getting some hair bow clip blanks as I was really impressed with how well the hair stood up using the clip on the bow, if they are smaller you should be able to hide them behind the element they are holding.
- Prepare everything. You can make patterns on paper or draw directly on your materials if it won’t show. Lay everything out on a flat surface so you can check your reference material to make sure it is all coming together correctly and that you haven’t missed anything. Have patience as some shapes are harder to draw out then you may think.
- Sew on or attach all the details. Using either a sewing machine or hand sewing, attach each detail individually. You could glue the items down, but I recommend sewing as it tends to be more durable. If you have never hand sewed before, there are great how-to’s on YouTube you can follow along with to learn. Use ribbon loops to attach any removable items or things that cannot be sewn down.
- Check in as you go with whoever will be wearing the costume to make sure they are happy with the placement and look of everything. Believe me, it is better to know ahead of time if something needs to be changed. This is especially important for 3-D elements.
- Enjoy your costume! Have a great time in your super custom and comfortable costume!
For Halloween and Beyond
My kiddos really loved their costumes and were actually able to wear them for the year after each Halloween. The only reason they didn’t wear them longer was they outgrew them! If you plan on using yours for more than just a costume as they are essentially still a sweatshirt and need to wash it: remove all the detachable elements, turn it inside out, and wash it on your gentle cycle by itself then hang dry. One note: flannel does not last forever, so be very careful when washing your costume and know, eventually with many washes, the flannel may wear out. You can always replace it or create a new costume all together! I hope this post has inspired you to create your own sweatshirt costume or helped you to solve some of the challenges I face when it comes to making costumes for my kiddos. These costumes would also work well for people who prefer a simpler costume, someone who wants to be able to cosplay on a regular basis, or someone who may need an adaptive costume. I would love to hear about your costumes and ideas below!
