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comfy dress up: baby sunflower costume

Now that I have a few homemade Halloween costumes under my belt, I can tell you comfort is key when making a baby's costume.  Especially for kids like mine, who don't tolerate a lot of accessorizing, it helps when their "costume" doesn't differ much from their normal clothes.


Cora's top is a Flashback Skinny Tee (pattern by Made By Rae, made with the puff sleeve tutorial she recently posted).  I thought the loose sleeves could be the leaves without looking too literal.  The leggings (pattern by Lil Blue Boo), were lengthened and I added ruching to the bottom of the legs.

I made the flower "necklace" using a template from Martha Stewart.  The pet sized flower pattern is a great size for babies.  I didn't have enough yellow felt on hand, so I used yellow jersey from my fabric stashed fused with a craft weight interfacing.  To make sure it held up to some abuse, I zig zag stitched around the edges of each flower petal.  I actually like the look of it much better than felt.


Cora wore her costume yesterday without complaint (sitting still for photos is another story).  Comfortable costumes make a happy baby!  And I'm happy knowing she can wear the shirt and leggings as separates after Halloween.


Want to hear something great?  The polka dot knit came from a 99 cent/yard fabric store (I've posted it before here), and the yellow jersey came from a t-shirt I bought on clearance from Old Navy for 49 cents.  So all together, this costume cost under $2.00 to make.  Booyah.

One down, two costumes to go!

Here's what I've made in past years:

Halloween 2011:  Pumpkin and Wonder Woman
Halloween 2010:  Skeleton and Aerobics Instructor
Halloween 2009:  Bluebird

p.s. I don't always follow my own advice.  My original plan for Cora's costume was a Cabbage Patch Kid.  She wouldn't even need special clothes ... just a wig!  So I crocheted her a simple beanie with yarn looped in for bangs and pig tails.  Yeah - it lasted about one second on her head before she'd whip it off.  Don't be fooled by this picture (her arms are pinned down).  I came across the "hat hair" idea while browsing Pinterest, and you can buy similar hats from this Etsy shop.