ADVENTURE TIME JAKE THE DOG - DOG COSTUME

What time is it?? Costume Time!! Time to get your dog in on some Halloween fun! Or everyday fun if you love Adventure Time!

This year our buddy Toby was Jake the dog for a day!! This tutorial will show you all the steps and includes the pattern so you can make the exact same costume!

Hope you enjoy!

Step 1: Designing the Pattern - Jake's Costume

Supplies Needed:
Tools:

• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pen/Pencil
• Measuring Tape

Materials:

• Existing Dog Shirt
• Your Dog
• Paper
• Hooded Sweatshirt (for reference)

I started this project off by creating the pattern for the Jake Costume. I took one of Toby's (our dog) existing t-shirts and traced the seams to create the pattern, lengthening the sleeves about 2 inches so they would be long.

I referenced one of my hooded jackets to create the hood for the costume. I measured Toby's head to get the front opening height and the width, and adjusted the bottom of the hood to match the neck hole opening length.

Once the base of the pattern was complete I created patterns for the face including the mouth flap, nose, eyes and ears which are added to the hood to create Jake's face.

I have also included the pattern so you create the exact same costume for your dog! Toby is a small/medium size dog and weighs about 30lbs. He's got a long body and a short legs like a corgi, so just keep this in mind if try out the pattern : )

Step 2: Sewing Jakes Costume

Supplies Needed:
Tools:

• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Pins
• Pen

Materials:

• 1/2 Yard Yellow/Orange Fabric ( I used Mosaic Gold Anti Pill Fleece from Joann's Fabrics, you can find the same kind here)
• Yellow/Orange Thread
• Costume Pattern

To create the costume I started out by tracing the body pieces to yellow/orange fleece. If you are using the pattern I created make sure to read the labels so you know how many pieces to cut of each and if they need to be flipped over.

I started out by sewing the hood, laying the right sides together, pinning in place and sewing along the back seam with a 3/8" seam allowance.

Next I finished the opening hem using a 1" seam allowance.

I attached the front and back body pieces with the right sides together, pinning in place then sewed the seams (shoulders and sides) with a 3/8" seam allowance.

Then turned the body right side out and finished the hem with a 3/8" seam allowance.

I started the sleeves by finishing the hem using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Then pinned each sleeve closed with the right sides together, and sewed the under arm seams with a 3/8" seam allowance.

When both sleeves were complete I inserted them into the arm hole opening on the body making sure the sleeves were on the correct sides, pinned them in place and sewed them together with a 3/8" seam allowance.

The last thing to do is to attach the hood. I centered the hood opening on the front of the shirt and pinned around the neck hole opening, then sewed in place using a 3/8" seam allowance.

*I also cut a slit on the back of the costume so that I could still access Toby's harness and attach a leash. Since the costume is made from fleece I did not have to worry about the fabric fraying and had a nice clean slit.*

Step 3: Adding Jake's Face

Supplies Needed:
Tools:

• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Pins
• Pen

Materials:

• 1/4 Yard Black Fabric (I used Black Anti Pill Fleece from Joann's Fabrics, you can find the same kind here)
• 1/4 Yard White Fabric (I used White Anti Pill Fleece from Joann's Fabrics, you can find the same kind here)

• 1/4 Yard Yellow/Orange Fabric ( I used Mosaic Gold Anti Pill Fleece from Joann's Fabrics, you can find the same kind here)

• Stuffing
• Yellow/Orange Thread
• White Thread
• Black Thread
• Jake Face Pattern
• Jake Costume Body

I started Jake's Face by cutting out all of the fabric pieces.

I began by sewing the mouth flap (not sure about the exact name so I'm going w/ mouth flap!) I took both pieces and pinned them with the right sides together then sewed closed with a 3/8" seam allowance leaving a gap to insert the stuffing. Then turned the mouth flap right side out and added stuffing to puff out the flap and sewed the gap closed. I finished off the mouth flap by adding on the nose using fabric glue, this could also be sewn on before hand.

Next I added the stuffed mouth flap to the center front of the hood and sewed onto the very edge.

The next step was to create the eyes. I pinned the white of the eyes to the black pieces and attached them using an edge stitch.

Next I pinned the front and back eyes with the right sides together and sewed them closed with a 3/8" seam allowance leaving a gap to insert the stuffing. Then turned the eyes right side out and added stuffing to puff out the eyes and sewed the gap closed.

To complete the ears I pinned the ear pieces with the right sides together then sewed closed with a 3/8" seam allowance leaving a gap to turn the ears right side out. Once sewn the ears were turned right side out and the gap was sewn closed. You could also add stuffing in them if you wanted them to be puffy.

The last step of the face is to attach the eyes and ears onto the hood. I attached the eyes by hand sewing them in place in a few areas so they did not move around too much. I attached the ears by pinning them in place and machine sewing them to the hood at the base of the ears. The costume is not that big so this fit easily in my sewing machine.

Step 4: Designing the Finn Toy

Supplies Needed:
Tools:

• Computer
• Ruler

I thought it would be really awesome to have a little Finn toy attached to the costume so it looks like he is riding Jake! I've seen some fun costumes using the idea of a character riding your dog and it fit perfect for this costume!

To design the toy I gathered some reference images from google and put them together to create the perfect toy design. I used Illustrator to create a clean pattern for the pieces. While coming up with this design I originally intended to sew the toy like a regular stuffed animal with seperate pieces for the arms, legs etc. but since it was so small this seemed like too much of a hassle so I ended up designing simple 2 sided pieces using iron-on transfer paper to create all of the designs including the shirt, pants, face etc. This was soooooo much easier and it looks just like the cartoon which is what I wanted!

I also designed the pattern to have a 1/4" seam allowance and extended the black border to include this, that way when you sew the pieces together they will have a seamless black border and a true cartoon look!

This pattern is also included in this tutorial so you can create the same Finn toy! Additionally you could use this pattern to create a Finn toy for yourself! : )

Step 5: Sewing the Finn Toy

Supplies Needed:
Tools:

• Computer
• Printer
• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Iron

Materials:

• Iron on transfer paper ( The Finn pattern fits on 11X17" iron on paper, you can find the same kind I used here)
• 1/4 Yard White Fabric ( I used stretch twill but I think a knit would work better such as jersey)
• Black Thread
• Stuffing
• Wire

I started out the Finn toy by printing out the pieces on iron on paper. The pattern is designed for 11X17" paper due to the size and takes 2 sheets. This pattern is also designed for light iron on paper so the images are flipped, if you are using dark iron on paper then you will want to flip the image over so it prints out correctly.

Once the pieces are printed you can cut them out and iron them onto your fabric. Since they are light iron on transfers, the print outs are laid face down onto the fabric and the paper backing gets peeled of once completed.

The next step is to cut out all of the fabric pieces.

I started the sewing process with Finn. Lay both Finn pieces (front & back) with the right sides together, I did not pin mine because I did not want to poke any holes through the iron on transfer. Then sew together using a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a gap to turn right side out. You want to be careful when turning the pieces right side out so that you do not tear the iron on paper, mine got some cracks but still turned out great!

Once the Finn character is turned right side out you can insert the stuffing, then sew the gap closed. I also added wire to the arms and legs so that they would be pose-able.

Repeat this process for the sword, shield and backpack excluding the wire.

The next step is to attach the backpack, I used a needle and black thread to hand sew the straps closed.

Then you can attach the sword and shield to Finns hands, I used a needle and black thread to attach these.

To complete the costume you just need to add the Finn toy to the Jake costume! I used a needle and black thread to hand sew Finn in place. Then you can pose him and way you want and your ready for some Halloween Adventures!

Step 6: Wear and Enjoy!

The very last thing to do is to put your costume on your dog and enjoy! It is SO funny to watch a dog in this costume and see the little Finn toy bouncing around! Really brings Adventure Time to life!!