Anyone know how to make an Elmo costume?

How old is Madeline? I got my daughter one several years ago from Goodwill. It was basically a footed sleeper (she was in a size 5 girls) with a hood attached. The hood was padded and was like his face from the nose up. I don't think that would be too hard to make as he is basically red with big eyes and an orange ball nose.

Hi Jae,

She's 16 months old and in a size 18 months. The footed sleeper idea is pretty good!

My daughter was 2 1/2 and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, it just happened that we were not going to do costumes that year, but cousins came over and we walked with them anyways. I threw on her Elmo pants (they just had a elmo patch on them that was his face) and a sweatshirt that was big and warm, and had Elmo on the front.
Every door we knocked on said she was a cute as a button Elmo, and that she looked much warmer then most of the costumes they has seen... LOL.

Kathy

Have you checked any of the consignment shops near you? Good Will or the Salvation Army stores may be a place to check and see if they have any costumes.

Just a thought.

Yard sales are great for halloween costumes.

Kathy, I know how you feel - we just went to look at costumes at Target today. 20 dollars for my five year old, and 16 dollars for my 19-month-old son. I think they were 20 percent off, but still....and the costumes didn't even look like the quality was any good. I sure hope my netwinner gift cards come soon.

Anyway, I saw a elmo costume there for toddlers, and I think it was 16.95$, and it was basically just a fuzzy red material for a simply shirt, and there was a hood on in the same material....no real mask. Babies don't usually like the masks....

Well you could always remove the stuffing from an Elmo jk :)

The rug idea is good..I think another cheap alternative might be buying cheap sweats and using feathers (then dying them red?) Im not an expert in making kids costumes though..

Sounds like you got some great ideas!

We bought ours ....

at 16 months old, with a limited budget, I'd do the following:
* Get a red sleeper. Easiest, and you can use it for christmas too. ;-)
* Get a bonnet, either red, or dye it red. Joann fabrics, or any other fabric store, will have dye.
* Get 2 styrofoam balls and use that hot glue gun and glue them to the red bonnet. Glue some black felt cut into circles for the eyes. If your daughter still mouths things, ping pong balls would probably be better.
* Fabric stores sell novelty "fur" fabric. Get some with your remaining budget and use that hot glue gun to "tack" the fake red fur around the bonnet/sleeper. Remember, with a hot glue gun, you can use hot water to re-melt the glue to take the fake fur off and continue to use the sleeper and bonnet!
Since you're still relatively "early" with your costume choice, I also recommend you hit the Walmart/Target stores. They usually have fabric sections and sell el cheapo fabrics, even fake fur fabric, for cheaper than what you'll find at the fabric stores. But guaranteed the fabric stores will have what you're looking for. Make sure to hit their websites first, because most fabric stores will have printable coupons. This is their busiest time of the year, so the competition is pretty tough. Good luck!

These are great ideas, thanks!

I hope you find one cheap because you're going to make yourself nuts.

Then you're going to make me nuts!

My friend and I just got back from the fabric store!! We bought some red and blue fur fabric (on clearance) and velcro. We also got the foam balls and nose. Total it cost me $9. Some minor sewing and Elmo and cookie monster will be roaming our streets this halloween. Our little boys are also 16 months old. I also bought green fur fabric and a plastic trash can from the dollar store since my 3 year old is going to be Oscar.

I went to a Catholic school so I never learned to sew. Sorry.