Last but not least we have my little guys praying mantis costume.
As always this costume just came together as I went along. I even got to one point where I almost gave in and threw it away, but I worked through it and came up with a costume that I think resembles a praying mantis…or at the very least a grasshopper.
For the main parts of the costume I used a green taffeta fabric that I ordered from Fabric.com. Then I made the underlying shirt and pants from a green knit that I also purchased from Fabric.com.
For the green knit shirt and pants I used the All You Need Jammie Pattern from Heidi & Finn. These two pieces came together super quick and the fit was spot on. I did make them in a size smaller just because I wanted the fit tighter with his costume.
For the hooded vest part of the costume I used The Knight Hoodie pattern from Charming Doodle as a starting point. The pattern pieces work great as a vest. Of course you need to leave off the arms and a few other pieces as well. I also changed the shape of the hood a bit as you can see.
The vest ended up being much shorter then I planned on but that happened due to the crazy sewing I had to do because I was sewing taffeta and knit fabric together. As you know those two fabrics should never be shown together! But that is what happens when you only have 2 days before Halloween to make it and very little fabric to work with.
For the eyes I made some balls out of fabric and then covered them with some tulle. Then I set them into the head piece. I gave the face shape by making little pleats. The head was the most time consuming part of the whole costume. To make all of the details on the face I did a bunch of top stitching. The antenna are simply wooden dowels covered with knit fabric and then hot glued into one of the seams on the back of the head. Luckily the pleat on the back of the head was the perfect spot for the antenna and they even stuck up like they were supposed to.
For the hands or claws…or whatever they are on praying mantis I made little cover-ups. They simply slide on and stay in place with elastic. I did interface them just to give them a little more stability.
On the back of the costume I made some wings and an abdomen. And again I added more top stitching for detail.
My kids are already brainstorming about what they are going to be next year for Halloween.
WOW up a TRULY AWESOME JOB !!!!! Lucky little man to have such a talented MOM !!! You rocked this suit CONGRATS !!!!!!
This is amazing. Really… I love the line ‘wings and the abdomen.’ Because of course, we have to be anatomically correct when making insect costumes! This is beautiful, the topstitching on the head is a detail I probably wouldn’t have thought of and it adds so much!! And I bet they are brainstorming for next year…they now think you can make them into ANYTHING (which you probably can)… !
Amazing!! What a fantastic costume!
Really … so beautiful and amazing!
Oh my goodness! Christina, you TOTALLY outdid yourself with this one! I was so curious as to how it was going to turn out and you did NOT disappoint, in the least! <3
This is so cool. Your kids are so lucky! You are an amazing mom. I think it turned out fantastic!
You had me ooohing and awwwwing over the other two costumes (wishing I could wear one) 😉 but this just blows my mind. Absolutely hit this one out of the park. THAT is a one of a kind costume. Praying mantis is a pretty cool insect, and you went and made a costume!!!! Awesome! Of course- you have a sweet little boy in this one, not Zorak from Space Ghost. lol
Amazing what you can do without a pattern! Love, love, love it!
From a fellow costume lover, you totally outdid yourself on this one! Wow! I have no idea what I would have come up with if I were making a praying mantis, but this is incredible 🙂
This is absolutely incredible!!!! All the details…holy smokes!!! WOW
INCREDIBLE! What a fun costume! I love how you set the eyes into the head and those antenna….adorable!
This is incredible! When you told me your son had requested a praying mantis costume I thought it sounded really difficult. This is way better than anything I imagined. Wow.
Christina, this is truly awesome!
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sharing this one. A must rea post!
OMG…you are my lifesaver! I have been searching the internet high and low for a praying mantis costume for my 8 year old son. Would you be willing to make? Price? thanks!!!!
I love this! I have a 6 year old who is a bug enthusiast, and of course they only make but costumes for girls! I wish you had an etsy shop!!