Monday, October 24, 2011

Simplicity 2506

The finish line is near... This is the last costume for this year, although I still have to put together Myra's "hair", it feels like quite an accomplishment to be so close to finished! 
But seriously, have you ever seen a cuter dinosaur?? That baby is ridiculously photogenic. Anyway, the pattern is Simplicity 2506. It is basically a jumpsuit, hood and booties. The pattern includes variations to make a dinosaur, angel, mouse, 2 bears and a devil, but it could be easily modified to be almost anything. I did make a few modifications, with the biggest being I made the suit out of fleece rather than felt. Really, who wants to wear felt?? I also skipped the fins along the hood and tail. They're really cute, but Duncan is supposed to be Rex from Toy Story and he doesn't have fins.
Instead of velcro as the back closure, I used a zipper. In retrospect (after wrestling Duncan into this for the pictures), I really wish I had made a snap placket across the inseam for diaper changes. It would have been really easy to do. 
I also modified to hood closure. The dinosaur hood is supposed to close with a tie, but that is a strangulation hazard, so I went with velcro here, so that it just pops off it it gets pulled on. Initially, I just stitched velcro to the corners of the hood, but it isn't quite long enough to close that way, so I attached velcro to either side of a strip of bias tape to connect the two. It isn't as pretty, but it does work. If I were making this costume again, I'd have used the hood pattern for one of the other views as all the others close with velcro.
I didn't have any of that cool gripper fabric that you find on RTW sleepers, so instead I used some dimensional fabric paint to paint some dino feet on the bottom of the slippers. Since the paint has a rubber texture, it provides some grip, and since Duncan is pulling up and cruising, I didn't want him slipping around.
The pattern calls for ribbing for the wrist bands. Since the recommended fabrics are all non stretch, I thought I'd just use the fleece, but it just didn't have enough stretch when I tried. I ended up using some black sweater knit, which looks kinda cool and should help keep the cold out. The tail is stuffed with fiberfil, but if you're making this, be careful not to stuff it too full. It exits the jumpsuit right at the seat, so if it's too full, baby won't be able to sit down.  Overall, this is a cute and versatile pattern that isn't particularly challenging to sew. Definitely a winner as far as I'm concerned!

26 comments:

Cindy said...

Nope! I've never seen a cuter dino! Love the costume...it's adorable on him.

Karin said...

Absolutely adorable!

auntninn said...

He is delicious! I made the mouse from that pattern two years ago and it is a quick, cute one to do. I moved the cheese bow tie to a cheese ear bow. :-)

Witch Hazel said...

What an super cute dino he makes! Really great job. :)

Beth said...

He's super cute! Good call on the fleece. I have seen the non-skid foot fabric at Joann's before--but it's white. Your paint is a great solution and it matches better.

Great costumes from your sewing room this year.

Eugenia said...

So cute!!! What a super-fun and totally adorable outfit.

Marie said...

Oh, that is adorable! What a great looking costume.

Marjie said...

I made a dragon suit similar to this for Ryan when he was in second grade, but I put a complete head on top of his head, including an open mouth with cellophane "fire" illuminated by a tiny flashlight. It was such fun! I also used fleece. Felt is a terrible costume fabric, and would be even worse for a baby. Duncan is just adorable!

Nikki said...

Super cute! He looks like he loves it too!

Andrea said...

I want to pinch his cheeks he is so adorable. His costume looks great!!! Thanks for the comment you left be about the queen of hearts costume I made.

Tawny said...

Adorable! Another costume well done. Baby Duncan will be nice and warm in his Rex gear.

Pam said...

Wow! That dinosaur is super cute - especially the first and last pictures! Well, mommy - I only have one thing to say - you have a Brad Pitt on your hands - hope you're ready for that:)

Sue said...

What fun sewing you have been doing - totally adorable dinosaur!

Joy said...

Both the Woodie and dinosaur are adorable!

I can't imagine felt would be very durable or comfortable. Does felt stretch? Uh, no.

MushyWear said...

Simply adorable and definitely photogenic!

Reethi said...

Cutest picture ever!

Victoria said...

Such an adorable costume and little boy:)

meli88a said...

Cute AND cuddly looking!

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

Love those BLUE eyes! Your costumes are just stunning - you win Mother of the Year!

michal said...

arorable little dinosaur!

kbenco said...

Such a handsome, cuddly dinosaur! What a great costume.
I bought gripper fabric from Seattle fabrics (in the gloves section) for many costume/pyjamas whilst in the dress up stage. It lasts really well.

Sam Rose said...

That is kid is adorable! Such a cutie! And the costume is perfect!

Patrick Niemeyer said...

Thanks for posting! I'm about to get started on this same pattern and was just researching a couple tips.

KOEY said...

hello may i know if there is a lotso bear costume for kids??
Would u mind sding me an email if yes?

Katie Deshazer said...

I don't know of a specific Lotso pattern, but I think any bear style pattern would work, if you made it in purple fur and added some tummy stuffing.

Katie Deshazer said...

You could use flannel and it would work technically, but I don't think it has the body to make the costume look quite right. You want something stiffer or thicker. You definitely do want some stretch in the cuffs, but if you can't find knit or would rather not use it, you could lengthen the sleeve to make a casing and use elastic there instead of ribbing. I would go with at least one inch wide elastic (or wider) to approximate the look of the cuff.