diy: monster costumes

Halloween was over a week ago, so sorry about this. I've had very important things going on, like fashioning casual headwear for my dog and reorganizing my tart pan collection. But now - an easy (also, very undetailed) explanation of making a monster costume.

I opted to be Cookie Monster because I'm basically Cookie Monster every day. "C" is for cookie, and that's definitely good enough for me. I lack self-control around sweets. I'm a messy eater. My hand-eye coordination and general sense of balance closely rival that of two guys packed into a monster costume, one controlling the head and another controlling the hands.

Allen is no grouch, but he does love trash, and when he heard I'd be Cookie Monster, he insisted on wearing a garbage can around his midsection. Perfect!

If you can sew at all and you have access to a sewing machine, you can definitely make both these costumes. For Cookie Monster, the most involved of the two, I simply copied a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants. To copy the pants, fold the seams together at the sides and the seam in the middle. Now just copy each of the four panels - two for the front and two for the back. The back panels will be bigger, so as to accommodate one's backside. Sew the panels together, just as the pajama pants are sewn.

To copy the T-shirt, just lay it flat on your fabric and trace the shirt exactly, with seam allowances - two panels, one front and one back. Install a zipper on the front panel, down to the waist. Sew the two panels together to make a shirt. Now sew the shirt and the pants together at the hip, ruching the shirt slightly at the seam, if needed.

For the hood, I copied the hood from a sweatshirt, adding a little extra length to the front, and I sewed it onto the neck of my costume. I cut off about half the length of the bill on an old baseball cap, and glued the front of the hood onto the baseball cap, to give the hood structure. Lastly, I drew circles onto a pair of ping-pong balls and hot-glued them, googly-like, onto the hood.

For Allen's Oscar costume, I simply copied a hooded sweatshirt, giving it a little extra length at the bottom. Allen cut out the bottom of a metal trashcan, and it was snug enough to stay put on its own.

I also made chocolate chip cookies (from this amazing recipe) and stored them in an oatmeal canister that I'd covered in paper and illustrated with Cookie Monster's likeness. One needs a little nourishment besides Butterfingers and spooky cocktails.