While I haven’t posted in a while on this blog, I have actually had an extremely busy crafting year. I have many projects I haven’t posted (either because I don’t have time or didn’t document them enough) and I’m going to try and catch up with a few. With Halloween just passing and another project completed, I wanted take the opportunity to showcase Halloween costumes I’ve done for nieces and nephews over the years. Since 2020, I’ve done a total of 4! In this post I’ll show Henry VIII, Harold and the Purple Crayon, a parrot, and Max from Where the Wild Things Are.
Henry VIII (2020)
This was my first Halloween costume for my first nephew! The making of this one is a bit of a blur – except that I remember drafting the robe pattern myself. I made it much too small the first time, and had to add a gusset down the back to accommodate the ever expanding baby. I used faux fur and a piece of ribbon from Joanns (RIP) for the trim. If you’ve read any Halloween content from this blog in the past, you may recognize the leftover fur from the Halloween Spiders project. I used some leftover wool I had and found a tudor men’s flat cap tutorial online to create the Henrician hat. I wish I could link it because of it’s simplicity, but I can’t find it. The closest I can find is this video.
And here is the handsome tyrant! This was truly one of my favorite creations 🙂
Harold and the Purple Crayon (2021)
The following year brought the first family-themed costume! I learned my lesson from the last costume and wanted to use a knitted, pre-made onesie as a base this time, and Harold and the Purple Crayon came to mind! I made a giant crayon out of paper towel rolls and other trash, painted it black followed by purple, and finished it off with thick layers of mode podge.
The parents’ shirts were a lot of fun. I drew facsimiles of the book illustrations on paper, and then used a tracing wheel to transfer the patterns to the shirts. All I did then was use purple fabric paint to color it in. Don’t forget to put a piece of cardboard between the front and back of the shirt during this process! I then followed the directions to iron the paint to set it. I believe these shirts are still in circulation in that household to this day.
And I present to you: Harold and the Purple Crayon! I’m proud to say the purple crayon lasted through the night, despite the attempts to use it like chalk on the sidewalk 🙂
Parrot, to go with a family of pirates (2024)
Introducing my niece! This was her second Halloween, and the family theme was pirates. We decided to make her a parrot. I largely followed this tutorial from Mama.Papa.Bubba with some modifications. I adjusted the colors and shapes to more closely match real macaws (a largely unnecessary modification for a baby costume but I can’t help myself). We wanted the red cape to be reusable after Halloween so while I hot-glued the feathers to each other, I used thread to baste the layers to the cape.
Max, Where the Wild Things Are (2025)
And that brings us to this year, with a new nephew! We decided to go with another classic children’s book: Where the Wild Things Are. I didn’t document much of this, but below are the pattern pieces I drafted for the ears, claws, and crown made out of craft felt.
Michaels was the main source of materials this time (RIP JoAnn), so I couldn’t find the color faux fur I wanted but it was cheap so I went for it. I attached the fur much like you would any binding at the bottom of the felt crown. I also sewed up a very simple tail and secured it to the onesie with a diaper pin.
Also loved this project. He looked so cute!
Final Thoughts
I live for doing these children’s Halloween costumes every year. Hopefully I have a few more years between all of the nieces and nephews before they are too cool for it. I’ll be posting a lot of overdue updates throughout the rest of the year, including my first attempt at a regency wardrobe for the Janes Austen Festival in Bath that I went to in September. Stay tuned!
