Introduction: No-Sew Octopus Costume
Age range: 4 and up
Level of difficulty for a child helping the adult with the costume: easy
Parental supervision recommended
Time needed: 1 hour
What you'll need:
- Hooded sweatshirt
- 4 pairs of knee socks (8 socks total)
- Duct tape
- About 30 plastic grocery bags
- Craft felt sheets in black, white, and pink
- Glue dots
- Scissors
- (optional) Rubbing alcohol
Step 1: Step 1: Make an Octopus Face
1. Cut facial features from craft felt. For eyes, cut 2 large white circles and 2 smaller black circles. For the mouth, a crescent-shaped black piece, and a small pink piece for the tongue.
2. Glue facial features together with glue dots, and then onto the sweatshirt. They should be easy to remove after you're done with the costume.
Step 2: Step 2: Attach Octopus Legs
1. Stuff 6 knee socks loosely with plastic grocery bags, leaving about 3" empty at the top.
2. Tape the 6 stuffed socks around the inside waistband of the sweatshirt. To anchor the sock to the sweatshirt, use a 4" piece of tape running vertically (up and down) over the edge of the sock and another piece of tape running horizontally (side to side) across the edge of the sock.
3. Flip the sock up and tape the other side as above.
4. Wear the last pair of socks with your costume when you dress up!
Note: I decided to use the child's legs as the last set of legs, but if you'd rather, make the sweatshirt with 8 legs, leaving your own legs out of the equation.
Step 3: Tips
Have fun with your sock choices. They don't have to match each other!
Finding Socks: You can find colorful knee socks in the girls' or womens' hosiery section of your local department store, dollar store, or online, or use athletic socks for a sporty socktopus.
Reuse the Clothing When You're Done: When you're done with the costume, you can dismantle it and use the hoodie and socks again.
Don't Trip: Attach the front two socks, and then try the sweatshirt on to make sure the socks aren't too long. They should hang at or above the ankles so they don't become a tripping hazard.
Make the Costume Last: If you want the costume to be more long-lasting (like for a dress-up box), glue the facial features to the sweatshirt with fabric glue and sew the socks to the sweatshirt waistband.
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