Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  I’m posting this early just in case someone wants an idea on how to make a Word Girl costume for their child.  Last year we asked our daughter, “What do you want to be for Halloween?”  She said, “Word Girl!”  At the time, she had discovered this cartoon character featured on channel 13 (PBS Kids), and that’s what she wanted to be.  I searched for costumes online and found some that were made already, but their biggest size was a 4T and I usually like to buy a size bigger for my daughter.  I also found pictures of DIY Word Girl costumes and I thought, “Well, if they did it.  Why can’t we?”   

Here’s the clip art I used for inspiration and to make sure we had everything covered:

This is Word Girl and her trusty sidekick, Captain Huggy Face as seen on channel 13 (PBS Kids)

My daughter, Olivia, as Word Girl with her trusty sidekick Captain Huggy Face 🙂

Here’s the breakdown:

Red long sleeve turtleneck – Old Navy (I couldn’t find a crew neck shirt, but since it was chilly outside the turtleneck was ok)

Red leggings – K-Mart

Shiny, yellow fabric – Lady Jane craft store (absolutely PERFECT for the cape, cut to size and we used a button for closure)

Plush monkey – www.toysrus.com

Red, yellow, and blue felt, yellow and brown craft foam, black pipe cleaner, and white pom-pom ball – A. C. Moore

Black boots – Already had

Between my husband and me, he sews the neatest and is not afraid to tackle something new so he made both CAPS using red felt.  He didn’t use a template or pattern.  Just measured my daughter’s head, cut the felt, and sewed it up!

I used the yellow felt and a template to cut out the STAR and my husband sewed it unto the shirt.

I made the BELTS with the craft foam and used Velcro with double-sided tape to open and close.

I made Captain Huggy Face’s pants and shirt.  I didn’t use a pattern or template.  Just sort of measured the felt on the monkey’s body and started sewing away.  Unfortunately, this method resulted in the shirt coming out really small, but lucky for me stuff toys can be squished.  I squeezed him into that shirt because I wasn’t going to make another one.

For the antennae on the monkey’s cap, we used a black pipe cleaner and affixed a small, white pom-pom ball on top.

I was trying to find some red or burgundy leg warmers to put over my daughter’s black boots, but I couldn’t find any.

I was a little worried that people wouldn’t know who she was dressed up as, but I was worrying for no reason.  After they came back from trick or treating, my husband told me that every kid who saw her shouted, “Word Girl!” and my daughter couldn’t stop smiling.  There were even mothers asking, “Where did you get the costume?” at which my husband proudly proclaimed, “We made it ourselves!” 🙂 We had a great time putting this costume together and my daughter’s face, every time another piece came together and she saw herself transforming into Word Girl, was very enjoyable.

We also went to a Halloween party a few days before and my husband and I dressed up as pirates, which we bought at Party City.  I had to make some alterations to my costume because the skirt was too long so I shortened it and the sleeves were too wide so I took them in.  My youngest was a daisy flower, but she fussed nonstop with her costume.

For this year, I’m not too sure if we’re dressing up.  I’m still thinking about that.  I’m looking for something simple for my youngest.  As for my oldest daughter, the costume has been store bought already because she wants to be…stay tuned! 🙂

Take care all.  Until next time…