Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Oompa Loompa Costume recap



I have noticed the blog is getting people who are looking for Oompa Loompa Costumes, so I wrote out how they were made.. maybe this will help someone.


My nephew LOVED the Oompas, so it just fell in to place that we would make our 1 year olds Oompas for Halloween. After much searching and finding out only the new style oompa costumes were available for purchase, I realized I would have to make our boys costumes myself.

We used:
1 Brown turtleneck
half yard white/brown striped fabric
2 big buttons
pair of tights
Brown marker
brown yarn
Velcro
white fabric (how much depending on how large you are)
Green hair paint

Optional family pack -
2 white tee shirts
Iron on printing paper




*Shirts- We couldn't find the brown turtlenecks, so we dyed ours brown with a box of Rit. Once they were finished, I cut and seamed the brown striped fabric matching the length of the cuffs and neck of the turtleneck. **Make sure to allow room for stretch! Cut the fabric a bit longer than you think you need so you are able to stretch the turtleneck over your head and same for the cuffs.
I had 3 rectangular pieces of brown striped fabric seamed on all four sides. Then fold fabric over the neck and cuffs of the turtleneck, pin in place (it won't lay flat, it will need to be slightly bunched to allow the room for the stretching). I did a quick hand stitch to hold the fabric permanently in place.

*Pants- The pants were made free handed. I just grabbed newspaper and cut out the shape that seemed right and made the pants go outwards at the thighs and back down at the calves. (Mine were a bit big, so when I transferred the pattern to the fabric, I used a 3rd and forth button to close the gap on each leg).
After the pants were in place, I cut out two long strips for the suspenders (measure how long you will need them so they crisscross in front and back and add a couple inches) Sew right sides together (but leave one short end unsewn) and turn right side out.
Sew each suspender in place in the front with the button on top, then the suspender, and the front of the pant. For the back, we sewed velcro in the inside of the pant and outside of the suspender for easy on and off. *To recap, the front of the pants show the suspenders under the buttons, the back tucks the suspenders inside.


*Tights- A pair of tights needed brown stripes so we took a brown fabric marker (or you could use a brown sharpie) and made our own stripes. To make the stripes fuller, stretch the tights over a piece of cardboard tube (like a paper towel or wrapping paper tube) as you make the lines. I also used a piece of paper as a straight edge.

*Pom-poms- Make little pom poms for your shoes! Cut two pieces of yarn about 6 inches long. Then take your brown yarn and wrap it about 40 times between two outstretched fingers. Use one of your 6 inch pieces to tie all your yarn together in the center. Take your fingers out and cut the ends of the yarn (where your fingers were) so it is all individual pieces tied together. Fluff and use the ends of your six inch piece to tie to your shoelaces.

Don't forget the green hair!

We decided to complete the Oompa look with Mom and Dad wearing Charlie and the Chocolate factory tee shirts.
I found "Golden Ticket" and "Wonka Bar" graphics online and cleaned them up a bit on photoshop. Next we printed them out on iron on-transfer paper. Warmed up the iron (read the directions of your transfer paper for techniques) and ironed them on for instant costumes.

Yay! You are now an Oompa Loompa!

3 comments:

Brooklyn said...

Wow, what a clever way to make your own Oompa Loompa costumes! I love how they turned out! I like how original it is too. I bet they had a lot of fun in them.

phunnigrl said...

These are so cute and your boys look adorable in them. I love love Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It is my favorite all time movie. When my daughter was lil I tried to get her to be a oompa loompa...it never happened. What are the plans for this year??

Anonymous said...

Thank you for such a great idea. My daughter wants to a be oompa loompa this year for Halloween and I had no idea what to do for a costume.