It’s one week until Halloween!! Can you believe it? And more importantly…are you ready? I just finished up Henry’s Halloween costume and am super excited to share the photos of the final result with ya’ll! Here’s the sneak peak I gave you a few weeks ago…

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And after a few little sewing projects, here we are now!!!

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I’ve mentioned a few times here on the blog that I am not all that into Halloween AND I am not all that into sewing clothing – particularly, children’s clothing. Neither really get my creative juices flowing and never end up quite as good as I hope. But, after pulling this adorable little costume together, I have to say, I kinda-sorta “get” the allure of creating Halloween costumes…just a little bit. Because, for the first time ever (at least with clothing and costumes), the final result was exactly like the image I had in my head…maybe even better. I mean, does a cowboy get much cuter than this?

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This costume wasn’t all that difficult, although it did require some basic sewing skills. But it also didn’t take a ton of time or a ton of materials, so if you don’t have a costume for your toddler boy just yet – maybe give this one some thought!

Let me show you my favorite part – those pants – oh yes, those oh-so-fantastic red-fringed jeans!

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I found the red fringe on sale for $2/yard at Hancock fabrics – I snagged up a yard as soon as I saw it, not exactly sure where or how I’d incorporate it. Then I had my best costume idea ever: sew it into the side seam of the pants. I went to a local kids’ clothing consignment shop and picked up some boot-leg jeans for $4. I then picked out the side seems of the jeans while watching The Voice one evening. I pinned the fringe into seam and sewed the sides back up. The result? These awesome jeans that Henry actually gets a kick out of wearing – ha!

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The vest was a little more labor intensive, but not too terribly hard. I found the cow fabric on sale, also at Hancock’s, for $7/yard…I only used about a quarter yard or so, so I have a lot leftover! I had the red gingham fabric in my stash. I used this pattern (my mom had an extra copy in her basement and gave it to me-I don’t think it’s available anymore!).

I’ve probably said this a million times – sewing clothes, especially kids’ clothing – makes me want to run and hide and go buy a costume from a costume store. But I decided I could do this…and just got to work. Taking it one step at a time, I first sewed the outsides together, then the lining, and then painstakingly sewed the lining to the outside (that was by far the toughest part!). I finished it off with buttons, and it even has a strap across the back to tighten or loosen as necessary. It’s not perfect – but it’s a Halloween costume after all – and most importantly, it gets the job done…and is pretty darn cute if I do say so myself! The scarf is just a 20″ square cut of the red gingham fabric serged on all four sides and then folded up.

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All told, this costume probably took me about 2 hours and $10 to pull together. Not bad for a pretty adorable result!

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Oh! and the cowboy hat – we’ve had that for quite some time! It was actually the inspiration for the costume. It was given to Henry by his Godfather, who received it and wore it as a toddler about 16 years ago, so I don’t have a source for you. Henry wears it around the house all.the.time.

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The first moment of truth with kids and clothing is “will it fit”? Check! And boy did all those pieces come together just right to make a darn cute Cowboy!

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And because every Cowboy needs a horse, we dragged his rocking horse out from his playroom and he gave it a spin, so to speak. Wish I had a source for you on this one too – my Dad bought it from a co-worker.

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The second moment of truth…”will they wear it”?

Ummm…not so much!!! All these photos were taken in rapid fire while bribing him with m&ms to keep the various pieces on! At first he didn’t like the scarf, then he didn’t want to wear the hat, then he really wanted the vest off. Sheesh! But the pants – oh, he likes those red fringed pants for sure. But who wouldn’t, really?

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My sister suggested sewing the scarf to the vest so that it fits like one piece – might not be a bad idea! And…I think I want a tighter-fitting red shirt under the vest instead of white. Good thing we have another week to make some last-minute adjustments! Fingers-crossed he actually wears everything on Halloween night!

See You Soon!
Megan