Easy Monkey Piggy Back Costume!

Costumes that look like 2 things are the BEST!
And for an almost 2 year old...the awesomeness is exponential!

Here's a pretty simple one we did for our son...but with the basic idea, you could make one ANY size and with ANY toy!

Step 1: The Olden Days.

We made this costume back in 2003 for son #1.
He was 1 and a half...but walked at 8 months.
Because it was the olden days...we have
very few and very grainy pictures of it!
And no step by step pictures!

The BEST part is watching the RANDOMNESS of a new walker!
The child would take off in one direction...but it
looks like the monkey just running him around!
Hilarious!

Step 2: Monkey #2

Son #2 wore it when he was 1 and a half.
He didn't walk until he was 14 months...
so at this stage, he HATED it.
But I managed to snap some pics in our basement.
Lovin the red eye!

Step 3: Redemption

To redeem himself...I forced my 4 year old into the
suit once again to take some better pictures.

It did not fit...but we managed to squeeze his
skinny legs in there!

Anyhoo...hopefully you can see basic structure and construction.
It's kind of guess work...but the idea is simple!

Step 4: Construction

Okay here is what we used to make it.
*Stuffed Gorilla/Monkey toy (about same size as child wearing it)
*2 pairs of sweat pants that fit the child
*1 pair of overalls that fit the child
*pair of white child socks
*pair of black daddy socks
*stuffing
*elastic, needle and thread, scissors

Step 5: Process.

We started by cutting open the back of the monkey toy.
Pulled out it's stuffing...and unpicked its feet.
We cut out the front of the overalls so the body of the child would fit through.
and sewed it to the open back of the monkey...
(I say monkey because that's what we call it.
You could do this same costume with any stuffed toy)

Then 1 pair of sweats was put inside the body cavity
and down through the monkey legs.
This is for the child to actually fit inside comfortably.
The black socks were added to the bottom of the monkey
legs because a stuffed monkey/gorilla toy has very short legs.
The top of the plushy feet were fitted with some elastic
to be worn around the ankle to hide the feet/shoes.

The other pair of sweats was stuffed with the monkey stuffing
and filled to look like legs and a bum.
(the bum is the critical part here...it has to look like
the backside of a child in piggy back position)

The white socks are stuffed and sewn into/onto the stuffed sweats...
then those are fit down inside the overalls and tucked
under the monkey arms...and stitched in place.

Step 6: Try It!

Then test it out! Let your monkey run amuck!

This costume is an attention getter!

Thanks for viewing! Let me know what you think...or if you've done anything similar!
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