Mickey Mouse Costume

Naturally, since we have a Daisy and Donald Duck, we needed a Mickey Mouse.

Duncan's costume should have been the most simple, and the basic pieces were. The shirt is a raglan tee from the 04/2010 issue of Ottobre, and the shorts are from the 03/2011 issue, but really any basic tee and shorts would do. For warmth, I made both pieces out of fleece. The tights are purchased.

But Mickey's ears gave me the most trouble! My initial plan was to add a hood (Ottobre conveniently provided one with this tee pattern), and put ears into the hood. Unfortunately, the fleece was too stretchy and soft and my poor ears were limp. I tried everything to make them stand up - hair canvas, fusibles, batting, even popsicle sticks - but nothing worked.

Finally, I gave up on the hood idea, and decided to see what knitting patterns were available on Ravelry for a Mickey Mouse hat. There weren't any knit patterns I liked, but this crochet pattern immediately caught my eye. Of course, I've never crocheted a hat, but there's no time like the present to learn!

Then we tried the hat on the boy. And this happened. Every time. The other two kids love the hat, so I know it isn't uncomfortable. Duncan is just ornery.

I added some elastic bands with a velcro closure under the chin. (Safety note: If you are adding a chin strap to a hat for a small child, you must be sure that the closure is easy to open in an emergency. This is a major strangulation hazard. Velcro or snaps are a good choice. Ties are not.)

Fortunately, the strap seems to keep it nicely on his head, and his ears are nice and perky. Come on, Halloween! We are ready!!