I’m posting this now but these are actually last year’s Dr. Seuss Character day costumes for Read Across America week. When it comes to just about anything, I dislike purchasing something from the store if I can make it myself. Luckily, when Aidan was a baby, I took the time to learn to crochet with the help of good ol’ YouTube. Having that as a skill, really opens up the possibilities of what you can do, especially when it comes to school dress-up days and costumes.
Aidan chose to dress up as Mac the Turtle (from Yertle the Turtle). She has always been her own person and quick to come up with her own ideas for things like this. But where on earth would I buy a turtle costume in the correct colors, or even close? I did search online briefly but was unable to find anything. Crochet to the rescue! I made a turtle backpack, using colors I had on hand and also made a simple beanie but chose to add a triangular shaped bill for the turtle’s “mouth” shape. I added a few little sprigs of yarn on the top (to make our Mac look more like the drawings from the book), and some backstitching to make a face. Aidan threw on some different shades of gray for her clothes, just working with pieces we had in the closet. Cost to me for this project: NOTHING, because all supplies were items we already owned.
I loosely based the turtle shell backpack off of a free pattern for a baby turtle shell, which you can get here: https://stitch11.com/turtle-love/
Peyton wanted to go a more original route and be The Cat in the Hat. Fitting for her, because she always, “knows a lot about that.” For this one, I just found a simple crochet hat pattern and kept working the rounds, interchanging my colors to make it taller. I then stuffed the inside and crocheted a round circular piece to hold the stuffing in the hat and stitched it on the inside. I also made a simple belt shaped piece, using only double crochet to make her “bow-tie.” If you’ll notice, I was completely out of true-white yarn, but I used some speckled off-white yarn for the hat, instead, and it still totally worked. Again, no cost to me because the yarn came out of my stash. Apparently, there are some upsides to hoarding! Ha ha
I had fun again this year, creating new costumes for Dr. Seuss character day. This time I went much simpler, but both girls were very pleased. See that post here: https://livingthejoneslife.com/2019/03/04/read-across-america-week-dr-seuss-diy-character-costumes/
We hope you enjoyed these costumes and decide to give them a try yourself!
Thanks for reading! -Erin
THE JONES FAMILY 