Welcome Great Pumpkin: Linus and Sally T-shirt Costumes

At the beginning of October, we attended an event at Knott's Berry Farm

to highlight Camp Spooky. The kids were so excited to go and they 

were supposed to dress up for the costume parade and contest.

However, since it was supposed to be almost 100 degrees that day,

we decided that Hogwarts robes and uniforms just wouldn't be a great idea.

So, my brain started thinking of all the great faux costumes I could put together

so that the kids could participate in the costume parade, but not melt in the heat.

Lifeguards, surfers, and water polo players were just a few of my ideas,

but none of them seemed just right.

Then, it hit me!

Peanuts characters!!!

After that it just seemed natural that JT should be Linus, Isabella should be Sally,

and little Gracie Loo should The Great Pumpkin!

And what I love most about Isabella and JT's costumes are that they are made from t-shirts!

LINUS COSTUME TUTORIAL

The Linus costume was the easiest.

All you need is a red t-shirt, masking tape and a black fabric marker.

Tape off the shirt by starting at the top and putting two lengths of tape and a space.

Repeat this pattern all the way down the front of t-shirt.

Follow the directions on your fabric marker, and then color in all the little gaps

you left in between the masking tape lines.

Let it dry - per product instructions, and then slowly remove the tape.

Do the same thing with the sleeves.

I did not do the back of the shirt, since Linus is a two dimensional character :)

SALLY COSTUME TUTORIAL

Isabella's Sally costume was a little more involved.

First, I used fabric paint and a round sponge tip applicator to paint on the polka dots.

Usually Sally wears a pink dress, 

but in the movie version of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,  

she wears a blue dress.

Then I cut off the sleeves and opened up the side of shirt by cutting up the side seams.

I put the dress on Isabella, inside out, and pinned it to her to get her shape.

I sewed new side seams and then turned the long sleeves into short puff sleeves

with some elastic and re-attached them to the dress.

Finally, I made a faux peter pan collar out of the scraps and attached it to the dress.

There you have it, how to make Peanuts costumes out of t-shirts!

If I didn't already have the pumpkin costume from when JT was little,

I probably would have made a pumpkin costume out of a t-shirt too.