Fuzzy wuzzy was a cryin'

 For Halloween this year I made my son a grizzly bear costume. He was given the choice of a bear or a lion because I had some left over brown fuzzy fabric gifted to me from my aunt. I finished it a few days ago but now he refuses to wear it. Negotiating with a two year old is not for the faint of heart. 

So... now I am trying to convince him it is just a sweatshirt since he will not even see the ears on the hood or the tail on the pants. So far he is smarter than I thought and will not fall for my games. If you want to make your own fuzzy animal costume here is what I did...

You will need:
Fabric - Enough to make to the size that fits (I used approximately 1 yard to make a 2T / 4T )
A pair of pants and a sweatshirt with hood to use as the pattern
Elastic
Scissors
Sewing machine or needle and thread
Felt -Optional

This project will take about 45 minutes to prep and assemble


After washing the fabric, fold in half then lay out pants and sweatshirt. Pin in place or chalk outline.

Cut out pattern and pin together until you are read to sew.

Pattern for hood and ears/tail

Inside of the back of the hood

For hood, cut two pieces for the side and then one center strip. Sew all together then add to shirt base. 

For the hood sides, make sure one is facing to the left and one to the right so the rounded side is the back of the hood.



To add elastic to the waist band of the pants and cuffs of shirt and / or pants, Fold the right-side in then sew seam with enough room for width of elastic. Leave 1/2 -1 inch opening to feel elastic through. Pull elastic all the way through and sew ends together. The sew closed seam.


I added felt to the tummy and inner ears. This is optional but can add some character to your costume.

For the tummy, round one piece of felt into a large oval. Pin in place then sew with a 1/4" seam allowance. I reinforced with a zigzag stitch for a second round.

For the ears and tail I just used a scrap piece of fabric (see pattern above). Cut 2 pieces for each ear and 2 for the tail. Sew together leaving bottom flat side open. You can stuff the ears to make them more full. I cut matching felt from tummy area to go onto the ears then reinforced with a zigzag stitch as seen here.




Once ears are ready you can cut a slit in the hood where you would like each to go. Insert ear and then sew each side of slit and ear together (see right).

***

I will break down my son sooner or later to wear that costume. If that later happens to come next year, I did add a 4 inch seam allowance so I can let out the length if needed. If you made a costume this year I would love to see your pictures or video!

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