For Halloween last year, Hero wanted to be a Power Ranger. I borrowed that costume from my mom's old stash. Easy!
Pretty didn't have a strong opinion, so I just asked my sister what she had in Pretty's size and borrowed that. Pretty was excited about getting to wear "red sparkle shoes" as Dorothy. Easy #2!
The only thing I didn't have was a good costume for Dragon. At first I was going to add some diamonds and cuffs to a sleeper and make him a Power Ranger, too. But then I saw this idea for a sock monkey costume. I loved it and thought, I can do that! So I did.
Kathleen at Grosgrain didn't give any sort of tutorial, other than to say that she used thrifted sweaters and a pajama pattern to make up her costume. So I had a lot of wiggle room.
I also used thrifted sweaters. I had these baby pants pinned FOR-E-VER, and thought they would be perfect! I only made a little change to the way I sewed them, to make it easier. I never could figure out the stuff-one-leg-into-the-other way of sewing pants...
I extended the length and rounded the bottom of the legs, so they would look like a sock monkey. Then I made the back panel the way the tutorial on Sew a Straight Line describes, putting the red in the place of a design on the bum. The changes I made was to sew the "J" shape on the front panel.
You'll have the front and back panel like this:
Now, just lay one on top of the other, right sides facing and sew all the way around! Since I was making a closed bottom for the sock monkey, this could be done in one continuous seam. But if you were making real pants, with openings for the feet, you would just sew the side seams first, then do the inseam (inside/crotch seam).
Finish it up with an elastic waistband, and you have pants!
For the shirt, I used a pattern for a knit shirt from my mom. But if you want a tutorial, Dana's 90 Minute Shirt would be super cute! But I wanted the option of tucking Dragon's little fingers inside. Halloween can include snow some years in Utah...
To add a pocket that I could tuck over, I cut out a rectangle, hemmed one side, and placed it on the edge of the sleeve. I sewed around the three sides shown in the picture.
Then hem the sleeve and finish sewing the shirt. Attach the sleeve to the shirt,
and sew under the sleeve and down the side seam in one long line.
Now you have a sleeve where you can fold over the hands to keep them warm.
To make the hat, I used this Upcycled Boy Hats tutorial from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar. I lined it with an old white t-shirt and added little monkey ears on the side, the same way I would for an actual sock monkey. Last, but not least, I made a tail, stuffed it and sewed it into place. Voila! Sock Monkey Baby!!
Hands out:
Hands in:
Cute monkey bum!
I may be biased, but I think he's the cutest sock monkey I've ever made...and I've made a lot of sock monkeys!
