So, bolstered with my newfound costuming confidence, I set off to make the desired Halloween costume for my two year old (Goosie). When I asked her big sister what she wanted to be for Halloween, Goosie (who I generally assume isn't actively listening to word I say) shocked me when she very excitedly came up to me saying "Elmo! Elmo!" So, I quickly searched Pinterest for an adorable Elmo costume for a girl. I was underwhelmed by our choices, but found this cute DIY at Girl Loves Glam that sounded easy enough.
So, I sent the hubs out to the store to find red sweatpants and a long sleeve red shirt in Goosie's size. Why is it whenever you want to buy something in a very specific color (like cherry red), it becomes crazy hard? Luckily, the hubs managed to find some velour leggings and a shirt one size too big (though it fit like it was 3 times too big) from the toddler boys' section.
Then I headed to the craft store and emerged with much better success than when I went for Honeybee's costume. I didn't find exactly what I needed for the headpiece, but I was able to tweak it enough (aka - pull off the decorative peacock feather that was over the giant red feather pad that I needed). So, I had all my supplies: the clothes, the flexible fabric glue, my strips of fringed red felt. Yes, felt... if anyone has looked at the original tutorial yet, you've caught on to where the drama begins. Somehow in my sleep-deprived new mommy haze, I kept reading felt on the supplies when the costume calls for fleece. Awesome. Well, surely this will still work, right? Felt is a fabric too, it will just be a little stiffer, right? WRONG. Apparently, felt is less compatible with the flex fabric glue & therefore doesn't stick at all, let alone permanently.
Ok- at this point, I had two and a half days before Goosie needed her costume for the first of the many Halloween celebrations held in our area. So, Plan B... again.
I was able to make the adorable headpiece still, with the feather pad, an oval of orange felt, big goggly eyes & a glue gun. This kid is going to be Elmo one way or another. Well, I know how to make tutus, and Goosie's eyes certainly lit up when Honeybee tried on her tutu gown. Why not just make a little red tutu to wear over her clothes? Granted, she doesn't really look like an actual Elmo in this costume, but I was out of patience and ideas. So much for an easy DIY, huh?
So, I grabbed supplies to work on the tutu (a red crocheted baby headband, since Goosie is still skinny enough to wear it as a belt, red tulle - measured and cut so it would fall just above her knees when folded in half, and a crochet hook) and knotted away. Now, just a couple of tips, if you want to do this:
- Use a cereal box - put the headband around the box & tie away! Plus, you can store the extra tulle in the box to keep it from getting messed up, lost or played with by little hands (or paws, if you have pets)
- Use a crochet hook - yes, I saw this tip in the tutorial for the Elsa-inspired tutu gown, but I didn't use it. Actually, for Honeybee's costume, I didn't have a crochet hook (because I hadn't worked with the crochet tops before and didn't think about how tedious it was to pull tulle through tiny little holes a gajillion times) so I actually used a mechanical pencil. It worked really well. I just used the clip to hold the tulle and pull it through the hole. For Goosie's tutu, I decided to try the crochet hook. Fair warning - there are a million kinds of crochet hooks. I didn't know this, I thought all were created equal (again - can I just reference my utter lack of crafting skills here?). I bought a cute pink hook, that was honestly a little too shallow to really hold the tulle well. So you might want to ask for a little assistance at the craft store or from a crafty friend to make sure you are getting the kind of hook you need for your project.
I finished the tutu in just a couple hours. Total project time: 2 and a half hours (including failed attempts at the other costume 3 hours - I gave up really easily). So technically, since I had another costume project in mind to start - my optimism was definitely unfounded and no, I cannot do this. But, since I changed to another tutu - Yes! I can absolutely make those! And honestly, Plan B was a hit. Goosie was super excited to have a tutu and she loves her Elmo mask.
See? Even Elmo thought she was adorable!
Elsa & Elmo hanging out together in all their tutu-rrific glory
Happy Halloween folks!! Now, I'm off to figure out my next crafting adventure since I have tackled my most pressing project. If you have any suggestions - feel free to comment below!
They both look adorable!
ReplyDelete