DIY WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE FAMILY COSTUME

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Ok you guys…SO, I made these costumes two years ago, but I have had some requests for a DIY.
It is still early September but when you are making Halloween costumes, especially for the whole family, the more time the better!
 Although I didn’t take step by step pictures as I went, I did pull them from the costume box and have attempted (ha ha notice that word) to explain how I made them.
Read the tutorials after the jump

Ok let me preface this with saying, I am not a seamstress so my sewing “terms” and explinations might be crazy ha ha.  So if anyone has ANY questions I will be sure to respond and answer them all!

First is Max’s costume… 
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I actually got the tutorial from THIS You Tube video.   This video is AWESOME, especially for the non sewer like myself. But I wasn’t a fan of how cheep it looked so I changed some things up and I’ll share them here.
First and foremost is the fabric!  I think this is key.  I got a super soft fluffy fabric.  I don’t remember the name (since I am just doing this tutorial now and I made these over 2 years ago) but I thought it looked exactly how I pictured Max’s outfit to look.
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 The crown:
I got two pieces of white foam sheets (from Michaels).  Depending on the size of your child’s head you might need both.  I cut out a crown shape, measured it on my son’s head and then spray painted it gold.  Sew the ends together and make sure to leave a good amount at the bottom of the crown, because you will sew on a strip of fur.
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The tail and the fur on the crown should match.  I wanted my tail to be more full.  I measured where I wanted the tail and how long I wanted it to be to the ground.  Cut out both pieces (bowing out a lot in the middle), sew them together (right sides in), turned it right side out and then hand stitched it onto the back.  (No stuffing inside)
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I wanted the toes to be more of a neutral color so I used some muslim fabric.  But they are just like the tutorial on the video.
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ha ha nothing fancy here as you can see on the backside
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Whiskers:
 I used a thin wire which I found at Michael’s in the jewelry section.  They went through the fabric super easy and I just tied a little knot with the end so they didn’t fall out.  I would stitch them a little as well, to be safe.
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 Our Monster Costumes:
I found this fabulous fir/ hair like fabric from Jo Ann’s.  The legs where made from flannel fabric.  It is thinner than felt and easier to cut and sew together.
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I took a maxi tank dress I had, and used that as my pattern.  I cut out from the dress a few inches and made sure it got nice and wide at the bottom.  Make sure it ends by your shins.  Cut up a little in the middle and sew some leg holes.  They don’t need to be finished because you will sew and attach the feather legs.
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Make a cut down the back and sew on velcro.
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 This part is pretty tedious, but looks so awesome.  I measured a piece of flannel around my calf, to find the widest part.  The finished piece was about 6 inches high and 13 inches wide.  Cut out a bunch of rectangle pieces in the correct size, and in alternating colors.   Then cut each piece in a jagged pattern, leaving a strip at the top to sew onto the other pieces  You are going to want the legs to be a little loose, and leave room for the velcro as well.
All things to take into account when measuring the width.
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Sew them together.  But make sure that the color you sew on top has the jagged points alternating so you get that feather like look.
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 Once you have made the legs long enough (you are going to want them to be long, covering your feet) you are ready to sew them onto the leg holes.
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 Attach some velcro
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 Make some monster feet like you did for Max.  Tutorial is on the video.
Also, I sprayed my hair with a red hair halloween hair spray :)
Now onto my husbands costume…
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 We found some grey sweatpants at the thrift store… Or you can find some HERE , HERE or HERE.   Cut out small V shaped cuts.  MAKE SURE you don’t cut them too close or you will just have a big hole.  And they will need to wear something grey or black underneath ha ha.
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 The tail is the same as Max’s tail but MUCH longer.  I just measured how long I wanted it when my husband tried on the pants.
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 I bought a white classic long sleeve.  Bought some yellow Rite Dye and dyed it yellow.  Then taped off the shirt and used some burt orange acrylic paint to make the stripes.  If you are NOT into DIYing this here are a few shirts you could use… HERE and HERE (although they are short sleeve)
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 Ok you guys this was by FAR the hardest part of all the costumes ha ha.  I free hand made this crazy head and it didn’t turn out exactly how I pictured it, and was a little odd shaped.  BUT I recommend getting a head pattern from an adult halloween costume (maybe Joann’s?).  My other tip is to make sure you don’t make the horns too big or they will be all floppy.  And you want them to stand up.
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Monster feet the same as the Max tutorial.
Good LUCK!!!  This has been one of my favorite costumes, still.

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36 thoughts on “DIY WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE FAMILY COSTUME

    Angela Mauldin Gray

    I so love this! I only wish I was this creative, can I just buy the three costumes from you? lol!!!

    ha ha you can do it Angela!!! And thanks so much!!

    Angela Mauldin Gray

    I am going to give it a shot! husband is a fuddy dud so it will just be me and my son. lol I’m going to make mine super simple and try to do what I can on my sons. thanks for your post, I’ll send my finished project if I follow through.. :)

    awesome!! I can’t wait to see!

    Angela Mauldin Gray

    well, I am not a seamstress, but it was my best shot.. lol thanks for the inspiration

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    You did great! I’m still frantically sewing the bird costume for tomorrow ;)

    Angela Mauldin Gray

    Well thank you. this was my first ever made costume. Good luck with yours. I’m sure it will be great.

    Oh Angela!!!! I never saw this!! Its perfect!! I love it so so much :)

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    This is such a great tutorial! I already purchased a Max costume for my son, but am going to try to make Carol and Douglas for me and my husband. Will report back!

    Virginia Stirlen

    Where did you get your Max costume? I can’t find them anywhere!
    Thanks!

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    I got mine off eBay, but I saw them on Amazon too!

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    Carol costume done! Will post pics soon. Still need to make mine lol

    Aleksandra Gajdeczka

    Hi! I made this Max costume this year from your tutorial, and I have to say, it’s my favorite ever. Here’s a pic of my 2.5yo daughter wearing it. Thanks so much for the inspiration!!

    Oh my gosh Aleksandra!!! I am dying!!! It is sooooo stinkin cute!!!! You did such an amazing job! Your daughter is precious!

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    Great work! :)

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    I purchased our baby’s Max costume, but our Carol & Emil turned out GREAT (thanks for your awesome tutorial!) – I’m especially proud of the bird legs! :)

    Jeska Dzwigalski

    I just posted to my blog about this project, if anyone is curious: http://www.jeska.org/2015/11/04/art-class-day-12-halloween-furry-animal-hat-on-creativebug/

    I found a pattern for the hat/hood from Simplicity and Creativebug had a great tutorial – you can read more at the post.

    ahhhhhh it turned out AMAZING!!!! I love love love it!!!

    Aww, thanks. Oddly enough my LO found it in our costume box this morning and insisted on putting it on again :)

    So STINKIN” adorable!!! I love matching Halloween Costumes and your family’s costumes are top notch! Thanks for sharing!!! Pinned it!

    Emily Burdette

    Where did you fine the white onesie for Max?

    Morgan Scarborough

    What did you use in carols legs? I’m attempting to make this and have no costume making experience

    its all felt for her legs. Not the thick felt but the softer kind that is easier to sew :) You can do it! ha ha I am NOT a seamstuss at all.

    Morgan Scarborough

    Thank you for the encouragement, when i was buying the fur and soft fluffy fabric at Jo-Anns they were all asking if i was making star wars costumes… we will see! I’ll post pictures though :)

    ha ha ha yeah the fur does look like chewbaca! The best part is its just for Halloween and you can hide mistakes! All of my costumes are hugely flawed but as long as they fit and last through the night that is all that matters ha ha. Good luck! post pictures for sure, cant wait to see :)

    Ty

    I know you made these costumes a while ago, but do you by chance have a tutorial on how you made the bat ears pilot hat? I viewed the link you posted but want it to look like more like yours. Did you use felt for the whole hat? How’d you sew the ears on? Etc. Thank you so much! I want to make it for my son this year.

    Larina Swartz

    Hi! Do you think there is any chance that I could glue a lot of what you described instead of sewing? I can sew a button, but that is the extent of my knowledge and even that doesn’t look very good. I am hoping to make Max for our 13 month old and a monster for our 4 1/2 year old, including Max’s ship for them to ride in (maybe, if I have time).

    Yeah I think you can!! if its just for halloween and if you don’t wash i would think most of it will hold up, not positive though? I do know they have no sew glue at the fabric stores that works like sewing. I have used it on pants and have washed them and it has worked great! Maybe check that out on some of the pieces you really want to stay? good luck!! the ship sounds ADORABLE!

    Larina Swartz

    Thank you so much! I am making my shopping list now. Really appreciate the fast response :)

    […] ourselves. This time, I made all of our costumes and basically copied a great tutorial that I found HERE. I do think that I did one thing better though. Blayne’s monster head was super easy. I went to […]

    Crystal

    Loved this tutorial! Our costumes came out perfect and were a hit this Halloween!! I wish I could post pictures to show you. Thank you again for sharing!

    My daughter loves Where the Wild Things Are and she was really excited when I said she would have her own Max, King of all Wild Things outfit. I used your guideline and it turned out great! Thank you so much.

    Kim

    Where did you get the fur for the crown and tail.

    SaraWalk

    Hi Kim! I just got the fur at JoAnn Fabric :) But you can find it at most fabric stores. Just look for whatever fake fur is the best quality.

    Sarah Bishop

    Hi! My husband and I adore these costumes. Would you be willing to sell them?

    SaraWalk

    Hi!! Oh thank you so so much! Oh I would be we no longer have those costumes :(