Hooded sweatshirts are a terrific base for many kinds of costumes, especially animal costumes. I like them because (1) they are inexpensive, especially if you buy them at a thrift shop, (2) they keep children warm while trick-or-treating on chilly nights, and (3) they can be reworn, with or without the decorations still attached.
Another nice thing about hooded sweatshirts is that you can spend your precious time doing creative decorating -- adding ears, tails, wings, or faces -- rather than sewing a garment from scratch.
In 2002, when Bess was 7 and Ella was 2, they decided to be pandas for Halloween. I found two black zippered sweatshirts on sale in the boys department at Sears. I used some white fleece I had on hand to make ears and a white panel across the body. (Pandas have black ears on a white head, so this isn't literally accurate, but it gives contrasting colors without having to remake the hood.) They wore black pants and gloves. I could have drawn black circles around their eyes, but they didn't want to do it.
After they were through trick-or-treating, I took the white panels off the jackets, but the girls wanted to keep the ears. Ella now wears Bess's jacket; the smaller jacket has been passed on to a niece or nephew. We talked about recycling the black jacket so Ella could be a puppy this year, but I think she is going in a different direction.
OMG, how cute are they!! So little!
Posted by: Debberoo | 10/28/2009 at 12:46 PM