Happy Halloween – Toy Story (Simplicity 1765 & 8276)

Happy Halloween! Did you have a fun time trick or treating? Or handing out candy and looking at all the cute kids? What did you dress up as? This year our theme was Toy Story. We actually came to the party late and piggy-backed off our best friends. They were dressing up as Toy Story (Buzz, Woody, Jessie & Mrs Potato Head) and then I realized why not just join in on the party?!

It took a little while to figure out what I wanted to dress up as and same with Andres. Nico knew right away that he wanted to be Rex, the dinosaur – RAWR! He’s super obsessed with dinosaurs and was so happy when I told him I would make him a costume. Then he demanded that his daddy be the other dinosaur, Trixie. I asked him a few times what I should be but he didn’t really have any answers for me. I debated on Bo Peep but then finally decided on Hamm. Granted, my costume isn’t exactly like Hamm, but it IS a pig. I wanted Bowser to get in on the fun (and maybe regret choosing our family) so I made him a Mr. Potato Head costume.

First review up is with Simplicity 1765. This is a one stop shop pattern! I made 3 of the 4 costumes from this pattern, talk about being worth my money. I made Nico, Andres and Bowser’s costumes all from this one pattern. For Nico I made View A size 3. Nico’s measurements were 21-20-21 1/2 and height 38″. The smallest size on the pattern is size 3, and it seems a little big on him but I think that’s how it’s supposed to be. I used fleece from Jo-Ann’s and felt.

I didn’t follow the directions on the pattern for the leg elastic and casing – I just serged it on as I went because I’m lazy and this is pretty much a one time wear outfit. I also didn’t follow the instructions for the elastic on the mittens, I did it the same way as the legs and that was the stupidest idea ever. It was such a tiny spot to get elastic in and I was cursing myself over and over for not following directions. I looked at the directions afterwards and they had such a better way to do it – so follow those and save yourself frustration.

I omitted the spine spikes and claws. I added goofy eyes like Rex and his flared nostrils. I just freehanded the patterns for the appliques and played around with a rectangle of fleece folded over to get the nostrils just right. I then just hand-stitched both on.

Overall, great pattern for Nico and his new dinosaur costume!

For Andres’s I did view C and just added 2″ to each side of the hood to make it fit his head, remember this is a children’s/dog pattern. I probably should have added more to the sides of the face but I think this serves it’s purpose.

I didn’t add the lining because I didn’t really think it was needed. It would have tied the crown ends together nicer but it doesn’t look bad the way it currently is. I added about 1/4″ to the width of the front and side horns.

I didn’t really have any issues sewing this together, super quick and easy.

I only used 2 of the pieces of the pattern for Bowser’s Mr. Potato Head. I measured him wrong and made a medium. I was supposed to measure just the length of his back instead of part of his head. So the proper way is to measure basically from the bottom of the collar to the tail. His measurements were 13″, which is a size small. Since I made the medium, I had to cut off 1″ and sew across the top.

I free-handed the face for Mr. Potato Head by placing tracing paper over the top, marking the center and sketching with a highlighter so it wouldn’t go through the paper.

I plan on using the base pattern for this again to make Bowser some winter clothes. It was a crazy fast sew and could be completed in an hour. I’m not so sure how happy Bowser is in it, but he’s adorable and I love it.

Now my costume, this is Simplicity 8276. It’s basically a huge onesie and not flattering at all but super warm and comfy. I figure I can wear this all winter and stay toasty. I made View B.

My measurements were 36-31-41 and I made a size medium. This costume has insane amounts of easy, obviously, so guessing your size would be just fine. I did have to add 1″ to the length of the legs. I also added 2″ to the sleeves, which is a common alteration for me, but ended up removing it because it was too much.

I added buttons for the teets and a zipper instead of buttons. I think the zipper was 22″ or 24″ and I just removed 1″ from the straight side of the belly and used a 1″ seam to insert the zipper. Super simple and I didn’t have to mess with buttonholes on fleece.

Overall, super easy pattern and warm and snuggly for the winter! This is also a unisex pattern, which is great and you can easily just change up the animal easily.

Happy Halloween from the Plaza family! Hope you had a fun night and didn’t get any tricks!