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Sew our DIY easy monster costume tonight

Patch up your little monster’s worn jeans with Jessica Entwistle’s tutorial for a quick and easy monster costume idea.

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Published: September 15, 2021 at 10:05 am

Designer Jessica says: “Kids always seem to wear out at least one knee of every pair of jeans and trousers they own – I write from experience! Instead of recycling them, why not upcycle them by adding a monster patch to the knee. It’s really easy to do and the kids love the end result. Here’s my quick and easy monster costume, perfect for Halloween!”

If you're looking for DIY monster costumes to sew, this project is a good one to make – especially if you're in a hurry. This is a great project for beginners to try, as you only need to use a few simple sewing techniques.

If you're looking for more Halloween inspiration, check out our easy DIY Halloween costumes get ready for a spooky night with our DIY Halloween decorations and read our guide on how to carve a pumpkin for beginners. Plus get the children involved with our Halloween crafts for kids. Looking for a cute spooky project? Try sewing our bat plush pattern. Into using yarn? Take a look at our Top 15 free Halloween crochet patterns or our Halloween knitting patterns.

If you're new to sewing, you might find it helpful to explore our tutorials for beginners. Check out our sewing for beginners, how to use a sewing machine, best sewing machines for beginners and sewing kits for beginners guides.

Read on to find out how to make our easy monster costume step by step…

How to make an easy monster costume

Materials

We've found some fabric and thread for you to save you time!

Notes

Download our free monster sewing pattern in our downloadable pattern sheet PDF from Simply Sewing magazine.

You will need:

  • Child’s jeans ((we used age 7-8))
  • Fabric scrap (orange, to fit the hole in the jeans)
  • Felt scraps (white and black)
  • Orange sewing thread
  • Orange stranded cotton
  • Basic sewing kit
  • Free monster sewing pattern (download it using the link above)

Cutting out

Step 1

Cut away any frayed edges from the hole in the jean knee to make a bigger mouth for your monster.

Step 2

Cut the orange fabric so that it is 2cm (¾in) larger than the hole all the way around.

Step 3

Trace around the templates from the pull-out pattern sheet to use as patterns for the monster face.

Step 4

Cut out the teeth and eyeballs from white felt and the pupils from black felt by pinning the patterns on the felt and cutting around them. You can enlarge or reduce these on a photocopier if needs be to fit the hole.

 

Easy monster costume step 1

Stitching the eye

Step 1

Thread your needle with six strands of orange stranded cotton. Sew the black felt pupil onto the white felt eyeball using small straight stitches spaced evenly apart. Make sure they are of a similar length.

Step 2

With the needle still threaded, pin the sewn eye to your jeans just above the hole. Refer to the photograph for the positioning for the eye, or place it where you want it to be. Pin and then sew the eye into place using straight stitches.

Step 3

Repeat this to pin and stitch the other eye in place.

 

Easy monster costume step 2

Adding the teeth

Step 1

Work a machine zigzag all the way around the edge of the orange fabric to stop it from fraying.

Step 2

Work out the monster teeth placement by pushing the orange fabric and teeth through the hole in your jeans. Once you’re happy with this, sew the monster teeth onto the orange fabric using your sewing machine for added strength.

 

Easy monster costume step 3

Stitching the mouth in place

Step 1

Pin the monster mouth inside the hole of your jeans.

 

Easy monster costume step 4

Step 2

Tack the mouth into place to stop it moving while you stitch.

 

Easy monster costume step 5

Step 3

Using six strands of orange stranded cotton, carefully sew the patch onto your jeans by working a running stitch, then working straight vertical stitches between them. Keep these stitches evenly spaced and worked to the same length.

 

Easy monster costume step 6

Step 4

Remove the tacking stitches and hand your jeans over to your own delighted little monster.

You’ve finished! We hope you enjoyed stitching our easy monster costume idea! Looking for more DIY monster costumes to sew? Learn how to make a dragon costume for your child.

 

Easy monster costume

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