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Homemade Jesse & Slinky Dog Costumes From Toy Story

Dude, I did it! I semi-DIYed my very first Halloween costumes, and I lived to tell the tale. It actually wasn’t too hard (do you believe that I didn’t sew a single thing?). Holla!

Halloween 1 Greeting

In case it’s not super obvious, Clara asked to go as Jessie (the cowgirl from Toy Story) and Burger gets to be Slinky Dog (also from Toy Story). Here were most of my supplies for Clara’s costume:

  • a “cowgirl hat” from a local pop-up Halloween store
  • red yarn and white duct tape from AC Moore
  • flared jeans from Old Navy (you know I used a coupon and bought them on discount Tuesdays)

Halloween 2 Materials

The first thing I tackled was making a long Jessie-ish braid from the yarn and used the white duct tape to connect it to the hat. Looks pretty bad from the inside, but thankfully it’s all covered up when Clara puts it on, and it doesn’t seem to bother her (she loves her Jessie hair, and it actually seems to help make the slightly-too-big hat fit her a bit better – even though it still slides around a little).

Halloween 3 Braid Taped

Oh and she needed winter shoes/boots, so I found these cowgirl-ish boots at Old Navy on sale, so they’ll not only serve as shoes for the costume but she’ll hopefully get lots of wear out of them this winter. I also picked up an on-sale white button down (in the boy’s section) that she can wear well beyond this costume. And speaking of wearing-beyond-the-costume, see the jeans? I cow-patterned them up with white duct tape that I cut into different cow-spot-ish shapes. So it’s 100% removable so the jeans, the shirt, and the boots can just be worn normally after Halloween until Clara outgrows them.

Halloween 4 Costume Done

As for slinky dog’s costume, I just got a quarter yard of brown felt from JoAnn (on sale for 50 cents), cut it into a small strip that wraps around Burger’s tummy, and used velcro at each side of the strip to secure it under his ribcage. Then for the “slinky” we just got two yards of silver trim (from the aisle with all the fringe and beaded trim that you buy by the yard at JoAnn). I didn’t even sew the slinky trim onto the felt since I secured it with safety pins on the outside of the costume under his belly (so they’re not against Burger’s skin, they’re on the outside of the felt sleeve). I intended to stitch it after pinning it just to see how it looked, but it seems to work as-is. Burger doesn’t exactly love Halloween costumes – he wiggles out of them in about 5.5 seconds – so I figured it wasn’t worth breaking out a needle.

Halloween 5 Burger Up Close

Oh man, and my favorite detail is the gold fringe that I added to the bottom of Clara’s flared jeans. She LOVES it (“look how they shake mommy!”) and I’m so excited that it was only $1 worth of trim from JoAnn which I safety pinned in place (so once again, it can be removed and Clara can wear these jeans for the rest of the year). Although she loves them so much, we might de-cow-spot them and leave the fringe on for a little while… just because she gets such a kick out of it.

Halloween 6 Clara Fringe Feet

Here’s Clara’s Jessie hair from the back. Isn’t that long braid adorable? Oh man, I think my brain will explode when she actually has hair I can braid. Squuuueeeee!

Halloween 7 Clara Back

Oh and the belt! I made that with another trim thing I found at JoAnn (it was woven leather-looking trim that was the perfect width for her pants). I secured it with a round plastic pin/button (you know, the ones people wear on their lapel that say “vote for me for student council”) but it was a clear fillable plastic button, so I opened it and put yellow construction paper in it with a star in front of it that I cut from leftover brown slinky dog felt. Since it has a safety pin on the back of it, it holds the woven trim together like a belt, so for around $4 I made her that little cowgirl accessory.

Halloween 8 Clara Smiling

Weirdly enough, Clara’s favorite Jessie activity so far has been sliding her legs out on the floor like this in her boots (and occasionally hurting Woody, if he’s nearby). She’s got the moves like Jagger.

Halloween 9 Stepping On Woody

What sort of costumes are you guys DIYing this year? Anyone else using odd things like white duct tape when it comes to your costume? Or are you happy to buy something cute off the rack if it grabs you? I gotta admit we did that last year…

Costumes Sucking Thumb

… and the year before…

Halloween Costumes

… and it was tons of fun too. Hope you guys all have a safe and happy Halloween!!! And I’d love to hear (and see!) what your kiddos are going to be this year. And any grown ups in costume = awesomeville. Links, links, y’all!

Comments

  1. Laura says

    Love your theme costumes over the years for Clara & Burger! We have two dogs – that would be so fun to do with them (a basset hound and a lab)!

    Reply

  2. Kim S says

    I love the creativity of homemade costumes! Mine were always homemade growing up. You did such an awesome job Sherry!

    No kids to dress up yet, but our slightly wolf-ish-looking dog got dressed up in Grandma’s clothing so he could be the Big Bad Wolf in disguise. He won “Most Creative Costume” at his vet office’s Halloween party! I wish I had a picture handy to show you guys!

    Reply

  6. Kristin says

    Very, VERY cute. Excellent job! Our kids are beyond trick or treating age, but we always made homemade costumes, often involving lots of sewing. But my husband & son are awesome designers & have made some incredible masks out of plastic milk jugs…tweaked & spray painted, you can make a pretty darn cool Nazgul mask.

    Reply

  7. Sonja says

    I laughed when I saw your white duct tape because I just sent my husband out to look for some! My daughter is dressing a mummy — we ripped up a sheet last night and will assemble her costume with the duct tape right before she heads out trick-or-treating! Hopefully, it will turn out! Anyway, great job on the costumes! My mom actually made me a LONG yellow braid like that for a Rapunzel costume in high school!

    Reply

  9. jennfer g says

    this year my daughter [3 year old] wanted to be kwazii from the octonauts and since they don’t make octonauts costumes i diy-ed it. kwazii is an orange pirate kitten… so i purchased an orange halloween shirt and an orange skirt [couldn’t find any orange leggins] at target, blue leggings from old navy [to substitute for his blue boots]and my mother in law found a sailor hat for me. i slip stitched a yellow felt belly/blue felt collar on the shirt and an orange felt tail on the skirt [so i can remove it for her to wear again]. i painted the hat blue, added the octonauts logo and some felt kitty ears… i think it turned out pretty well.

    my son [1 year old] is going to be a marathon runner [i got the idea from parents magazine]. i am putting him in a little runner outfit and pinned one of my husbands old running numbers on it.

    Reply

  11. Amber says

    Love it! You did a great job on that braid! Hope Clara gets lots of candy, and someone throws Burger a bone! I made my daughter’s costume this year without sewing (double win). She is Amelia Earhart with airplane and all.

    http://www.willscasa.com/2012/10/diy-halloween/

    Since you will be traveling so much this year with the book tour, maybe Clara can go as Amelia Earhart next year. Burger can be a banner the airplane pulls or something. I don’t know I haven’t workshopped this yet.

    Reply

    • Kate says

      So funny, I stenciled a t-shirt with almost the exact same design (I wasn’t coordinated enough to order one ahead of time) which I’m wearing right now!

      AND one of my friends gave me a onesie with the “Arghh… Kiss my Booty” on it since my husband (and I) are really into pirate stuff since we dress up as pirates for ren fairs. And I’m only 2 weeks ahead of you in my pregnancy… crazy coincidence!

  16. Jessica says

    I made my first DIY costume for my little bean this year too….actually, I made TWO! lol! She won the costume contest at my work with her homemade Audrey Hepburn costume (inspired by an adorable photo on pinterest!) which included a tulle tutu style black dress and a homemade “fur” shawl with a huge pearl button closure. Add a tiara and big sunglasses and BAM….cutest costume award! lol! I was so proud. The second costume was a clown, also inspired by pinterest, and also with a tulle tutu since my bean is obsessed with being a princess. So for trick or treat on Sunday she will be “Princess the clown” lol!!!

    Btw….great job on Clara’s costume….it’s truly adorable! :) Happy Halloween!!

    Reply

  18. Lindsay B says

    Oh. Em. Gee. Cutest EVER! You did a great job! Homemade costumes are always so much more fun. I made my 13 month old daughter’s this year too- she’s a garden fairy. Which I’m not sure is actually a thing, but I think it works :)

    I missed last year that Burger was a banana along with Clara’s monkey costume. Happy Halloween!

    Reply

  19. mary @ B&Gjournals says

    ahh, i had forgotten about burger as a banana peel last year–and i really can’t believe how much growing-up clara has done in the past year. glad your family is safe, hope you enjoy the night together!

    Reply

  20. Kristen says

    too bad you don’t live closer! My son Everett was born a few months before Clara and is going as Woody. His bff Nolan (also 2) is going as Buzz, and my 6 week old is going as bullseye ;) We could’ve had the whole gang together haha

    hope the little lady has a fun night out! great job on the costumes!

    Reply

  26. jung a says

    love it! i semi-diyed my daughter’s costume this year too. she wanted to be katy perry. all i bought was the wig, and everything else we had on hand. i just made some felt starburst mints and sewed it to her dance leotard. there’s a photobooth pic of her (and a cowboy) on my instagram: junglebarrya.

    Reply

  28. Alice says

    Clara has to be the cutest little cowgirl ever!!!

    Every since I saw Toy Story (still haven’t seen Toy Story 3 but I have heard it is a tearjerker), I have wanted a Woody doll. Now I want a Jessie doll too!

    Reply

  29. Dina says

    These costumes are so cute! I have to leave your site because I’m having too much fun clicking through everyone’s links to their costumes (I’ll resume when I get home this evening), but before I go I’ll leave my own link. I made my just-turned-1 year-old into a piece of shrimp sushi for Halloween. I got the idea from Martha Stewart, but then made a headband for the greens, wasabi and ginger. The best part is it only cost a couple bucks for the felt, plus some other materials I already had at home. You can see it here: http://octobernotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/happy-halloween.html. I took those photos yesterday and I’m STILL laughing every time I think about them… hehe.

    Reply

  30. Zoe says

    This is adorable! My mom always used to make my halloween costumes… One year I was a tube of toothpaste and the next I was a picnic table. My mom says you should be happy that Clara makes reasonable requests!

    Reply

  32. stella g. says

    It’s a white duct tape kind of year for us, too! We did the classic arm-and-neck-cut-outs from a brown plastic bag. A roll of white, silver and blue duct tape each, and wha-la! R2D2. In fact, the cutest little 18 month-old R2D2 you’ve ever seen.

    Reply

  33. JennieM says

    We are a duct tape halloween this year. We made WWW wrestling belts (card board, duct tape, plastic jewels and an old belt) and wrestling boots (duct tape, old flip flops and old tall athletic socks) – the boys look super!

    Reply

  34. Laurie says

    Where’s the video???? Great costume. Anyone who doesn’t know who she is obviously doesn’t own a television. Even in her pictures Clara comes off as a really happy kid. No offense to John, but she’s really looking like her Mommy when she smiles.

    Reply

  35. Aida says

    So cute and I’m jealous that I didn’t think of the duct tape for the cow print. Ingenious.

    My daughter was also Jessie this year (she’s 4) and I did some minimal sewing for the chaps. Otherwise it was duct tape (belt), glitter foam, paint, glue and sequins.

    http://instagr.am/p/RclPpKFMkw/

    All the yellow on the shirt is painted. I actually thought of you when trying to sew yellow satin to the shirt became an EPICFAIL. Inspired by your blog – I thought – Sherry would just paint this… and Ta Da!

    Happy Halloween – from one Jessie to another.

    Reply

  39. Katrina says

    I’m dying! She looks so cute :) I was up late last night working on my older sons costume he’s going as a big popcorn box! lol :) He loves it :) so it makes it worth it. In the past, I’ve made ‘boxer costume’ a Lego block, a ducky :)

    Reply

  40. Lisa G. says

    I always thought that Clara looked exactly like Sherry, but she looks JUST like John in the hamburger costume! I love that you dress them up as a team!

    Reply

  42. Jenn says

    Clara and Burger look great, what a creative way to do Slinky Dog! I like to make my daughter’s costumes but she isn’t too comfortable with hats yet. So many costumes need something on their head! However I remembered one of my favorite costumes my mom made me: a poodle skirt. She even still had the leftover rhinestone chain so I was able to use it on Hayley’s costume! She’s only 15 months but she had fun visiting our neigbors.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151320059014913&set=a.380711854912.191732.631079912&type=1&theater

    Reply

  44. Ryan says

    Clara looks adorable! And I love Burger as Slinky dog, it’s so simple and clever. I’m really impressed that you were able to make the whole thing without sewing.

    I DIYed costumes for myself and my boyfriend this year. We went as Link and Zelda from the classic Nintendo game. Leave it to us to pick the most intricate costumes to DIY.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152220376185481&set=pcb.10152220376320481&type=1&theater#!/photo.php?fbid=10152220376185481&set=pcb.10152220376320481&type=1&permPage=1

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152220376270481&set=pcb.10152220376320481&type=1&theater

    Reply

  46. Emily says

    My oldest son (4 yrs) is wearing a store-bought Optimus Prime costume. My youngest (2 yrs tomorrow!) is wearing a homemade Mickey Mouse costume. It’s pretty simple: black sweat pants, black long-sleeve shirt, red shorts with white paper “buttons” on the front. But my favorite part is his tail. We used some kind of electrical wiring that my husband had leftover from a project, covered it with black electrical tape (being extra careful with the ends), folded one end to serve as a hook (so it can be easily removed in the car), and hooked it into his pants. It’s extra long, but we curled it up like Mickey’s and it looks soooo adorable! Is it weird that I think my kid is super cute with a tail? The only thing we’re missing is the big, yellow shoes. We were going to spray paint an old pair of my shoes, but figured he’d have too much trouble trying to walk in them. So, he’s just wearing his regular tennis shoes. But the tail makes up for it! ;)

    Reply

  47. Momcat says

    Oh! She! Is! ADORABLE!!!!! Nice job, Momma! Love the fringe the best. And Burger’s costume is hilarious! Ride ’em cowgirl! (Toy Story = best kids movies ever!)

    I for one am really happy I don’t have to come up with costumes anymore, though I think my son’s best one was the year he was a Krispy Kreme delivery guy! (We put the giveaway candy in a KK box which he held on his lap). It was always hard to come up with a good costume that worked with a wheelchair. One year I made a barber pole that slid down onto his raised armrest, so he went as a barber. Otherwise it was the standard clown/ghost/Scream characters. Hope you all have fun tonight and not-so-scary fun for sweet Jesse/Clara!

    Reply

  48. Penny says

    The college in my town has a competition between about 8 of the dorms at Halloween. They each pick a theme, then we take the little kids around the Sunday before Halloween for games and candy. This is one of them, with my two grandkids and myself. My daughter made my grandson’s costume-he is Link from Zelda, my granddaughter is a dragon ninja, I am obviously a witch, the the rest of the Toy Story crew are college students. Clara and Burger would have fit right in!

    https://picasaweb.google.com/106638371640366508116/Halloween2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJyL0Z_mrI_i-AE&feat=directlink

    Reply

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