Dinosaur Hoodie Costume

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to re-share a project I did last winter for my oldest son who was/is very into dinosaurs. I am thinking about doing another hoodie costume for my daughter so keep your eyes open for more on that. :)

I am not a seamstress by any means, but I have pulled out my sewing machine on occasion to make pillow covers or hem pants or do a simple project. I want to learn to sew better and more difficult things, but I know that takes time and practice. Our trip to the museum this week spurred a project that was pretty easy to pull together and my little dinosaur-lover is quite happy! After seeing the costumes at the science museum that were made from an adult sized hoodie, I decided I could make something pretty similar at home. (And frankly, I'm astounded by how many costume possibilities there are with a hoodie if you think about it!) So Bubba Roo and I took a trip to the store yesterday to pick up the supplies.


Materials Needed:

* Adult-sized hoodie jacket (I purchased a Large because that was the smallest size they had in green and I didn't want to make another trip, but a medium or a small would work well too)
* Felt squares - 1 white, 1 black, 1 orange, 1 green, 1 yellow
* Green thread
* Scissors
* Liquid stitch glue
* Pins
* Green fabric (I used a jersey knit fabric that worked really well, because I also used it for my scarf project and it was on the clearance rack - you could use whatever fabric you prefer)
* Stuffing

Steps:

1. Cut small triangles from the white felt and pin around the rim of the hood for teeth. Using a straight stitch, secure them to the hood.

2. Cut out two yellow eyes, and a white and black piece for the center. Glue them to the top of the hood using the Liquid Stitch. I ran a stitch down the center of the eye to reinforce all three pieces.

3. Cut two nostril pieces from the black felt and secure them to the hoodie with the Liquid Stitch.

4. From the green felt, cut several large triangles. Follow the seam from the hood and starting at the top of the hood pin the triangles upright down the center of the hood and continue down the back of the jacket. On the inside of the jacket, use a straight stitch to secure the felt.

5. From the orange felt cut 6 triangle pieces for the claws. (I made the center triangle larger than the others). Pin three triangles on the top of each cuff and stitch them in place.

6. For the tail, take the green fabric and fold it in half. Cut a large triangle shape, as big as you want the tail, making sure the fabric is "wrong-side up". Sew up the open edges, leaving a small opening for the stuffing. Turn the fabric right side out, and fill with stuffing. Sew up the opening.

7. Pin the tail in place and on the inside of the jacket, stitch along the center to secure it.

8. Zip up the jacket on your little dino-lover and viola! A scary (cute) little dinosaur!

Excerpt from original post: Race Cars & Ruby Slippers, Feb 19, 2010

P.S. I'm sharing this post over at the new craft blog, Polly Want a Crafter. Check out all the great fall craft ideas!