With Halloween comes pumpkin bread, spooky decorations, and this reoccurring parenting conundrum (besides knowing the exact amount of candy you can steal from their bucket without them knowing): how to make a good-looking costume for a cartoon character your child loves from a tv show. Because how do you make a cute costume meant for a cartoon character? Today we’re partnering with Nickelodeon and Kmart to show you how to make a DIY genie costume for your child from the cute Nick Jr. show about two genies called Shimmer and Shine…
The minute Edie saw the show Shimmer and Shine, she’s been obsessed with it and was even more obsessed when the Wish and Spin doll from Kmart showed up at our doorstep for this post. It sings! It dances! Edie’s in pure toddler heaven, and we were given the fun challenge of making a costume based on it. Here’s what we came up with:
The idea was to use a simple tank and pants and embellish with trim and a little bling. We made chiffon pants to go over the leggings, a felt vest, and a chiffon wrapping hat (which is my favorite part!). If you’re feeling ambitious, go for the whole costume. If you’re not wanting to pull out a sewing machine, you can make the hat, top, and vest without one and just wear the legging or buy a chiffon skirt. Here’s how we did it:
For the top:
1. Glue trim in a decorative pattern along a tank top
2. Cut bottom of tank top to desired length
For the vest:
1. Cut out a vest pattern using felt
2. Sew (or glue) vest pieces along the side and the shoulders
3. Glue trim along the front of both sides of the vest
For the hat:
1. Cut ice cream pint in half or to desired length.
2. Cut a 1-inch circular hole at the base of the ice cream pint
3. Glue felt around pint, to cover the exterior portions
4. Glue trim and gems in a decorative pattern around the hat
5. Take a long piece of chiffon and tie the ends together in a knot
6. Push the chiffon through the hole cut at the top of the hat, so the knot is hidden inside the hat
7. Gently place the chiffon to either side so that it pours down on both sides and lays just beneath the chin.
For the pants (if you’re comfortable with a sewing machine):
1. Fold fabric. On the fold, cut out an exaggerated “L” shape using your child’s waist measurement.
2. Repeat for second side of pants.
3. Place fabric pieces together (right sides facing) and sew along each side of the pants and along the inside seam. Here’s a helpful hint: cut off excess fabric using pinking shears to reduce fraying.
4. To make the waistband, fold the waist seam over about an inch to the inside and sew along the length of the fold-over where the pieces of fabric meet, stopping to leave a 1-inch gap where you can insert the elastic.
5. Add a safety pin to an elastic measuring 1 inch less than your child’s waist measurement and push it through the hole. At the end, sew the elastic together using a zig-zag stitch and close the hole.
6. Repeat this step at the ankles using your child’s ankle size as a guide for desired tightness.
7. Wear over leggings and tie glitter trim around waist.
This post is sponsored by Nickelodeon and Kmart. More Say Yes Halloween costume ideas right here. Crafting, sewing, and DIY instructions by Gaby Viglas. Photography and creative direction by Liz Stanley. Assisted by Stephanie Gardner. Thanks to sweet Edie for modeling!
seriously awesome
Edie’s smiles are perfection!
This is so darling! You did an awesome job!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com