Thursday, February 25, 2016

Dinosaur Costume!

It only took me ... 4 months, but I finally finished my tutorial on our Halloween Dinosaur costumes!

So the idea for our Halloween costume this year started with the amazing dino tails from Running with Scissors  you should really check out her tutorial for a great tutorial!  I will explain a little, but she is much more detailed than me!

Side note: The Kelly Sisters at Running with Scissors has requested that no one use her dinosaur tutorial/tails for personal gain on any level.  Please continue to respect that wish!  Please do not use her tutorial, or this tutorial to make tails for profit, even on a home-based scale.  That being said, make them for yourself, for friends, give them as gifts, share the love!  Thanks!


A family of Dino tails!


So first thing, I made the tail spikes from felt (by the yard) you only need about 4 inches of felt for this part!


Pin it and sew the spiky side


hmmm, guess I lost the pictures of the next part, cut your two triangles and pin in the spikes down one end and sew up the two long sides.  (I prefer to leave my hole for turning it inside out on the non-spike-straight side)

Next, make the straps to hold the tail around your waist.  Cut four strips, 3-4 in wide and as long as you need for the person wearing the tail.  I measured my kiddos waists, then added an inch or two for overlap.  Because of the additional width of the tail it gives you sufficient strap.  Make two straps that will total your chosen size.  

Sew up the two long sides and one short side and turn them inside-out




Once you have it right-side-out sew several inches of velcro on the straps.  (a long strip (mine are 6 inches or so) allows for growth and different kids to fit the tails)

Then pin the circle for the end of the tail and the straps inside and sew around being careful to not catch fabric you don't want.  (take into consideration which direction the velcro is facing - OR - wait to sew it on until after you sew the circle!) Then use the hole you left in the tail to turn it all inside out.





Stuff and sew the hole closed!



Now the Shirt!


Can you believe that's the best picture of the shirts I could find!


First, draft a hood.  If you have a hood pattern, go for it!  if not, just trace a hood that you already have! sew it up and I turned under the front edge and used my double needle to make it look good and professional


Pin the hood on and sew it on.  I sewed right in the 'ditch' between the shirt and the neckband to hid the stitch and make it look like I bought it that way.




Overlap the front of the hood, centering it on the center front of the shirt.


Cut out however many spikes you need to go up the back of the shirt and over the hood (this was a 12mo size shirt)  The spike is a diamond, designed such that if you fold it in half it becomes a triangle.


Pin the spikes on the shirt


Stitch up the middle of each spike (leave them all connected until you get the last one stitched.  don't cut the thread between each spike, it will take f.o.r.e.v.e.r.)


Then go back and stitch each spike together.




Finally, I personalized the shirts.  I used a 2 1/2 inch piece of 3/4 inch quilt binding and zig-zag-stitched it to the inside seam (I also put the size on the back seeing as I cut out all the original tags.)


Hope you enjoy!  I want to see what you make!  What kind of variations have you come up with?


Oh, and for those of you who are thinking, 'my kid is super messy, can I wash this?'  The answer is YES!  I have washed ours several times, I would suggest washing them inside-out for the sake of the felt spikes, but they are still holding strong!



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