No-Sew Cat Costume

After I broke my leg, all plans for sewing a costume went out the window. Since I would be stuck on the couch, I looked at options for no-sew Halloween costumes and gave my daughter some choices. She loves kitties, so she finally decided on being a cat.

No-Sew Cat T-Shirt:

For the shirt, I found a basic black tshirt on clearance for $2. I got my Cricut out and cut a cat shape from the Pumpkin Carving Seasonal Cartridge on the silver glitter Cricut Iron-On heat transfer.

If you've never worked with Cricut Iron-On, here are some basic instructions:

1. Set your iron to the Cotton/Linen setting with the steam OFF.
2. Lightly preheat the area with the iron for 10-15 seconds. This really does help!
3. Place your image, liner side UP onto the area. If you don't place the liner side up, it will stick to your press cloth.
4. Carefully lay a press cloth or dishtowel over the design. You don't want any of the pieces to shift!
5. Apply medium pressure with the iron for 25-30 seconds.
6. Flip the material over and apply medium pressure with the iron to the back for an additional 25-30 seconds.
   *If you have any parts that didn't stick for some reason or if edges are flipping up, re-iron the pieces or loose edges for 10 seconds.
7. Let cool and remove liner. If you try to remove the liner before it cools, you risk burning your fingers or peeling the iron-on up.

Shirt's done! Set aside and finish up the rest of the costume.

(Almost) No-Sew Tutu:

Supplies:
2 Rolls of Tulle: 6 inches wide, 40 yards in both black and purple (found in wedding section of Hobby Lobby)
Piece of Cardboard
2 Rubber Bands
Fabric Scissors
1 inch wide Elastic

Start by making a waistband. I measured around her waist, and cut a 1 inch wide piece of elastic to an inch or two smaller the waist measurement. I learned the hard way that the elastic stretches out a little during the process and had to cut and re-sew. Then, I had my mom sew the edges together (you could also add velcro or hand-stitch instead of machine sewing). Set aside.

I found an extremely easy way to cut the tulle. I decided on having the skirt length at around 11-12 inches. Then, I cut a piece of cardboard to 12 inches and about 9 inches wide. Hold the end of the tulle at one end of the cardboard and wrap the tulle around the cardboard until you get to the end. Make an arrow or other marking at the end you started wrapping the tulle So you don't end up with one odd piece when you cut.

Wrap the rubber bands around each edge to hold the tulle in place. Carefully and slowly cut at the end that you marked. The tulle is a little thick, so it doesn't cut perfectly even - but once the tutu is put together, you won't even notice. Once the entire edge is cut, you can carefully remove the rubber bands and you'll have a bunch of about 24 inch strips. Repeat with the other roll of tulle.

Wrap the waistband around the cardboard piece. Using two strips of tulle at a time (I started with the black tulle), fold the strips in half. Then pull the strips, loop side up, behind the elastic. Pull the ends of the tulle through the loop, and pull down tight so the ends of the strips are now facing down. This will make a knot along the elastic. If it starts to come undone, just pull a little tighter. Keep repeating until you have tied all the tulle. Mine came out evenly and I didn't have any extras. If you are short, you can always get another roll and cut as needed. When I tied on the purple tulle, I added two knots of purple tulle between every other two knots of black tulle (2 black, 2 purple, etc).

Once all the tulle was added, try the tutu on and fluff the tulle to check the fluffiness and fit. Mine was perfect, but if you need it more fluffy, add more tulle. Too fluffy (is that even possible)? Just remove some of the knots. You can also trim the tutu edges if it ends up being too long or the edges are too uneven for your taste.

For the tail, we bought a black feather boa. I wrapped it around her waist and tied it in the back. I tucked one end into the elastic of the tutu, and left the other end hanging. The options for adding the tail are endless, and it honestly might take a lot more trial and error depending on your child's activeness level (you may need to attach the tail in a stronger way). Take a test run or two and see what adjustments you need to make.

We found a cat ear headband with similar texture to the tail. You could easily make the ear headband yourself by cutting off some of the boa, folding into a triangle and attaching to a black headband. You could also style your little girl's hair into pigtails, and make two clips with the boa and clip into the hair if your child isn't a fan of headbands.

Pair the costume with some striped tights or leggings, add some cat makeup (nose, whiskers, etc) and your little kitty is all ready to trick or treat! Me-ow!!