October is here! It’s my favorite month because of two things...my birthday falls right in the middle and HALLOWEEN! Costumes and costume making are up there on my favorites list and I’ve been planning this year’s ‘stume since I finished binging a certain show recently - Bob’s Burgers! Louise Belcher costume, coming right up! I snagged all my supplies from JOANN, including this XL tee that’s going to be the base of the costume!
Louise Belcher c/o Fox/Bob’s Burgers
On top of the shirt, I needed some wire and pink fleece for the ears as well as some green dye to match Louise’s dress color!
It’s dye time! I prepped my t-shirt and submersed it in water before tossing it into the washing machine and adding my dye.
The pre-wash wetting maneuver will help ensure the color stays bold and even!
While the shirt was cycling in the dye, I moved onto the hat portion of the costume. To create a hat, you can make one from scratch like I did OR you can always buy a pink beanie base and then add ears if you’re on a time crunch. I feel like Halloween always ends up arriving so quickly, so if you don’t have enough prep time, there are ways to still make it work!
I crafted a pattern similar to one based off of a basic beanie, just adding length on each side to match Louise’s flaps. The circumference around my head was 20 inches and 13 inches from my head to my shoulders.
(The pattern is for one side of the hat, as I’ll be cutting out two layers of fleece at once to double the size.) Hello soon to be hat!
Next on the agenda...the ears and the little rectangular bits that go at the end of each flap. I made freehand patterns and used remnant fleece to create. I trimmed out four of each ear and rectangular piece (2/piece) and pinned them together.
With everything pinned, it was time to stitch! First came the ears...
Then came the flap ends …
To help make the ears stand up, I added wire to the interior of both ears. Little trick...use hot glue to keep the wire in place!
Next it was time to stitch the base of the hat together. The front and back of the hat (where it was pinned) was stitched first, leaving the top of the hat open.
Here’s where the ears come in! I placed the ears on the right side of the fabric facing down and then stitched them together. This will close up the open portion of the hat while setting the ears in place!
The little rectangular bits were stitched to the end of the flaps next, getting this hat ready to go
The final step before being fully costume ready was the t-shirt! It was dyed perfectly and all it needed was a quick take-in! I pinned and then stitched it to make it a smidge smaller.
And with the help of a black bob wig, my Louise Belcher costume was complete!
I just love how the hat looks!
I mean, we’re twins!.
It’s just such a fun costume to wear!
Wearing a wig is always add an extra element of mystique to any costume!
When something is this enjoyable (and pretty simple to DIY) - that calls for a celebration!
Happy Halloween!!!
