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Halloween Costumes 2012: The Granny (from ‘Little Red Riding Hood’)

 Hey, remember to add your own homemade (by anyone) Halloween costumes to my flickr group on or before October 30th.  (There are already some absolutely darling things in there.  I love that many of you have been hard at work too!) Then, I will do another little Virtual Costume Parade and add photos of YOUR costumes on my blog, October 31st.  Oooooh, I can’t wait.  I love even more, seeing what all of you have come up with.  More info here.

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Well, here’s the last of the 3 Halloween costumes for this year.  I should make one for Steve and I now.  Hmmmm…  Maybe Steve should be the Huntsman and I could be, well, shoot…a tree?  My kiddos picked the wrong theme this year……momma ain’t gonna fit in!! ;)

 

But in case you missed them, here are the costume tutorials for Little Red Riding Hood and that Mean Ol’ Wolf.  Both were so fun to make.  Try them……you’ll see!  (And maybe you’ll surprise yourself like I did.  Good golly, I love when they actually work out.)

   
Halloween costumes 2012: the granny (from ‘little red riding hood’)
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 **And tomorrow, I will post all of the kiddos together.  We went to the “forest” to take a few pictures……just for fun.  Oh, and took some video too.  So, I’ll put together a quick photo/movie clip video for tomorrow.  They were so funny all together.  It made the whole theme completely worth it.  So check back in tomorrow…

 

UPDATE: Here’s the whole crew together, PLUS a cute little video of them acting out a few parts to music!

 

 

But yes, you all certainly guessed the last costume.  Our little Chloe is, hahaha, the granny!  And okay, I seriously die every time I look at these pictures.  They just make me laugh.  Every time.  (Even right this minute. Ha.)

 

 

There’s just something about that teeny little baby face with all that curly white hair and some reading glasses on a chain.  And, well, that granny cap and dress/apron combo finish it off perfectly!

 

 

And, oh, just wait.  Chloe lets us put those glasses right on the tip of her nose…..and never touches them.  She really gets into her character! ;)  (Actually, I think it’s from having the oxygen tubes poking up her nose for a week last month. She’s patient with things on her nose now, I guess.) Ha……LOVE IT!!!!

 

 

She plays the part well.  And has some great granny moves!

(And before you worry that the curly hair would bug your little one, I made a quick little knit hat to go under the hat, to act as a buffer, so that the white hair wouldn’t bug her.  And also to tuck her real hair up inside.  She doesn’t fuss or pull at the hat but I put a strap under her chin, just in case.)

 

 

 

 

This little granny is as sweet as can be.  And can’t wait for her visit from her sweet granddaughter, Little Red.  I think I may just change up the story……because how can I let that ornery old wolf try and gobble up that lovely little face!

 

 

HA, here I go, cracking up again.  It’s just that yummy little grin…….gets me every time! :)

 

Anyway, I better serious myself right up so that I can explain the “Granny-fying process”.

 

Anyone curious how the little Granny was all put together?

 

**And remember, I’ll show you them all together tomorrow, prancing through the forest.  I even found a Little Red Riding Hood song off iTunes.  Who would have thought there’d be a song for me to use for my little video.  Yay!**

 

 

 

Let me show you…

 

Supply List (made in toddler size 2T):

  • 2 yards of any fabric for dress and hat (I used 100% cotton)
  • 1.5 yard fabric for apron (I used 100% cotton)
  • curly white wig hair (check the Halloween aisle or your dress up box)
  • 1 nine inch zipper
  • cord elastic
  • velcro
  • reading glasses (check the $1 store or the thrift store)
  • necklace chain (you can buy pieces of chain at the fabric store……or raid your old jewelry)
  • jewelry wire
  • hot glue gun

 

**I bought the fabric and notions that I needed (and that wasn’t in my stash) at Joann Fabric. Now is a great time to buy fabrics because most everything is on sale for  Halloween.  Also, you don’t need a ton of hair for the granny hat……so you could cut off a bit from a wig in your dress-up box and you’ll never notice.

 

 

First of all, the dress. 

 

I made it just like the Little Red Riding Hood Dress but just in smaller form.  So I used one of Chloe’s size 2T dress to create a pattern piece.  Oh, and I also didn’t make the skirt as full…….I only made it about 3 times her waist size.  So, it was about 60 inches wide before I turned it into the skirt section.

 

 

Now, on to the apron.

 

There are so many ways to create apron…..so do whatever method is easiest for you.  But here’s how I made mine.  I cut a large rectangle that was 38 x 13 inches, 2 little rectangles that are 6.5 x 5 inches, a long strip that’s 5.5 x 50 inches, and a smaller strip that is 1.25 x 11 inches.

 

Then I serged around the entire large rectangle (you could zig-zag as well…….or hem the side and bottom edges to finish them off).  Then, I basted and gathered the top edge (here’s a gathering tutorial if you need one) until it was about 10 inches wide.

 

Next, I turned my long strip into a really big piece of double fold bias tape by folding the large strip in half lengthwise and pressed, then I opened it up and folded the raw edges in towards the middle fold and then folded back in half on the original fold.  Then I pressed again.

 

Then I slipped the top edge of my gathered fabric inside of my wide bias tape, overlapping by about a 1/2 inch.  I also made sure to center the gathered fabric right at the center of the strip, and then pinned it in place.  Then I sewed along the entire open edge of the bias tape, making sure to include the ruffled fabric in there.

 

Then, I sewed the two small rectangles together with right sides together, leaving a small opening along one side.  Then I trimmed the corners, turned it right side out, poked out the corners, and pressed flat.  Then I stitched around the entire rectangle, about an 1/8 of an inch from the edge.

 

Then I made a tube out of the smaller strip of fabric and sewed one end to one of the top corners of my sewn rectangle.

 

Then I added velcro to the end of the strip plus a little bit on the back side of the other top corner of the sewn rectangle. Then I placed the bottom edge of the sewn rectangle behind the top edge of the other half of the apron, and overlapped by about a 1/2 inch…..and then sewed it in place.

 

 

And lastly, onto the hat:

 

First of all, I made a little knit hat that is used as a base to the wig/cap, to keep the wig hair from irritating your subject but also to tuck hair up inside and out of the way.  I just used some white knit fabric from my stash, which was already textured and extra stretchy but it doesn’t have to be.  I just used what I had.  And keep in mind, you could also use the bottom of an old white Tshirt.  And then turn it into a really simple knit hat.  Don’t worry too much about the shape or steaming it if it’s a little wonky around the seam, etc.  Also, you don’t have to add extra length to make a folded up band around the bottom.  I just left my bottom edge plain and raw.

 

Then, onto the rest of the hat.  I cut out a circle that was 14 inches in diameter and then serged around the outer edge.  (You could zig-zag as well.)  And also grabbed my cord elastic.  Your circle may need to be bigger or smaller, depending on your subject’s head…..but this size worked well for my semi-large headed 19 month old child.

 

Then, I left a tail of elastic at the first end as I sewed a really wide zig-zag over the top of my cord elastic that I placed about 1.5 inches from the circle’s edge.  (You can either draw a circle that’s 1.5 inches from the outer edge and line the elastic up with it as you sew or just eyeball it.)

 

Also, don’t pierce the elastic with your needle because you want to pull the elastic through this little makeshift elastic casing in the next step.  After you make your way all the way around the circle, leave a little elastic tail at this end as well and then cut off the extra.

 

And in case you are wondering, the pictures above show the elastic about 5/8 inch from the outer edge.  It wasn’t enough, so I re-did it so that it was 1.5 inches from the edge, like shown below.  You’re welcome for my trial and error! ;)

 

Then, start pulling your elastic ends to gather in the hat.  Pull it in just enough to make the hat snug enough to stay on your subject’s head, then knot the ends.

 

Now, its time to add your wig hair.  Add a thick 2-3 inch line of hot glue to the hat, right above the elastic and then press down chunks of wig hair.  Then repeat all the way around the hat.

 

 

 

 

Then, if you don’t think your subject will keep their hat on, you can create a velcro strap to fit under their chin.  You can either create a tube of fabric out of the same material or you can find some coordinating ribbon and add a velcro strap to your hat like I’ve done in the past. I certainly needed one for my little Chloe!

 

 

And lastly, the granny glasses:

 

For the chain, I just cut enough length from an old necklace.  At one end of the chain, I kept the chain clasp on and attached that to one side of the glasses.  To attach the other end, I used some wire and looped it through several times.

 

 

And that’s it.

 

Now your little one is all granny-fied!!

 

 

Now go and enjoy her!

-Ashley

 

 

 

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Featured Sponsor:

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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