FO: Halloween Fox & Otter

Throughout the year, I ask my girls what they want to be for Halloween so that I have an idea of what to anticipate before the time gets close. What they want to be changes quite a bit as the months pass depending on what characters they are into at the time. In 2021, the two of them were both adamant about the same costumes for several months before Halloween: a fox and an otter. The two of them were/are obsessed with these animals. They are definitely their respective favorites. Both girls have amassed a collection of stuffed animals to create a family and they are all named Mommy Fox, Daddy Fox, Baby, Grandma, Grandpa, Brother Sister, etc. It all started when I bought Penny an otter stuffed animal on vacation that summer. kids are funny - they never latch onto the things you think they would, yet they get so attached to the most random things, right?  So I knew for months that I needed to make a fox and an otter happen in time for Halloween.

I entertained the idea of making body suits for both girls, but this being Florida I knew they would sweat to death that way. I decided to just try to find a t-shirt and leggings in the right colors and then make the hat and accessories, but even that proved to be a challenge. I searched for months to find the right color of t-shirt readymade, but no dice. As time got closer, I decided to just get white jersey and dye it. The t-shirts were just plain white tees from Hobby Lobby, but since I couldn't find white leggings, I just traced off a pair of leggings that fit them and sewed up a pair in plain cotton jersey. Then I grabbed some Rit dye in orange and brown and dyed them. The thing with dying is that they always dry lighter than they seem when wet, and I knew this, but at a certain point it just didn't seem like anything was getting darker, so I called it good and removed them from the dye baths. The girls didn't mind - they were still orange and brown :) 

The girls were so adorably excited to be wearing their colored suits lol. These are some of my favorite pictures from this project because they were just to thrilled with such a plain outfit. I grabbed some orange, brown, white, and cream fleece from Hobby Lobby to make the accessories because it was honestly all I could find in the right colors that I knew would give good structure without extra steps.

I riffled through my pattern stash and found a few that had elements I could use. I grabbed Simplicity 1351 first, but since I didn't want to make the bodysuit I just used its details or my costumes. The tails were super simple - the fox tail I made exactly as the pattern shows, but for the otter I just took the raccoon tail piece and tapered it to more of a point to look like a real otter's tail. The pattern is designed to insert these in the back seam, but I wanted the tails to be removeable so the girls could sit in their car seats and whatnot. I toyed with a few ideas to attach the tails, but in the end I just opted to safety pin them to the butt of the leggings and this worked fine. Don't overcomplicate things, right?

For the hats, I grabbed a pattern I had recently thrifted for just this purpose - vintage Simplicity 9983 (lol "vintage" from the 90s - so weird). This pattern was for a whole fleece suit as well, but the hat was separate from the body. The pattern I had was adult sized, so I did a tissue fitting of it on my head and just took a guess and used a 1 inch seam allowance when sewing it together. This made for a slightly roomy hat but not swimming on them, which is perfect because now this will grow with them, which I love. I did the fox hat first since I had the features off the other pattern to go by. I followed the directions for Simplicity 1351 and just put them on this other hat base. The facial pieces are all machine appliquéd by sewing with a very tight zig zag stitch around the edges and I was extremely proud of how these came out. It gave a very professional finish. The ears were assembled separately and then hand sewn on.

The otter had to be freehanded since the pattern didn't include an otter. I looked up a bunch of different otter photos - real and stuffed animal images - so I could get an idea of how otters are represented in sewing. I settled on this design and I think it came out great. I drew on the mouth and just used the same zig zag from the appliqué to embroider the mouth. The ears were the ones from the hedgehog pattern, but I pinched them in half and then sewed them on by hand. Both hats close with a metal snap, which has been great. 

The completed outfits all together :) I feel like the quality of the hat and tail make up for the lack luster body suit lol. But for these two 3 year olds, this was the greatest costume reveal of all time.

I love the sheer amazement in Ivy's face looking at her tail, lol. My girls just adored their costumes and they were so proud to tell everyone that I made them - it made all the late nights sewing worth it. They wore it to several Halloween parties and were so cute yelling out ," I'm a fox!" and, "I'm an otter!". They still dress up in the hate and tail sometimes when they just feel like a fox and an otter. I'm so glad I took the time and effort to really make them well made - at the time I just wanted something that would survive excited 3 year olds for Halloween, but since these hats fit even my big head, I know these will be loved for a long time and they will hold up to it. This just makes me even more pleased and proud.

Here they are with my nephew - Curious George - on the night of Halloween holding their pumpkin bags that my mom has made for every child and grandchild. Aren't they all cute? Don't you love the Minnie Mouse flip flops? lol That's Florida for you. They said they were too hot in their tennis shoes. Anyway, this was a very memorable Halloween costume for both them an me. Now my kids think I can make them literally anything, which has been both a blessing and a curse if you know what I mean. It definitely set the precedent, but I don't mind since I started out sewing by just wanting to make my Halloween costumes every year as a teenager. I loved how excited the girls were for this make and I will continue to make them their dreams each year on out.

 Summary:

Fabric: Fleece in orange, brown, cream, white, and black - $10; 1 yard white cotton jersey, $6.99

Pattern: Simplicity 9983 (vintage), Simplicity 1351, rtw leggings traced off

Notions: RTW white cotton t-shirts, $2.99 each; Rit Dye in Sunshine Orange and Dark Brown, $10; metal snaps, $0.10; thread, $0.50

Total Cost: $33.57