Easy DIY Charlie Brown Costume

Due to the approaching arrival of Baby Monkey at the beginning of the year, this Halloween I took the easy way out and got a store-bought costume for my little Monkey.  Last year, however, I was a tad more ambitious and decided to make his costume, though I made sure it was something easy that wouldn’t require any sewing!

My little Monkey has a sweet little round face, and last year, when he still had more of his baby fat, it was even rounder.  So I thought it would be perfect to dress him up as that other round-faced favorite of mine, Charlie Brown!

I especially loved that Charlie Brown’s well-known outfit was so simple to recreate.  Here’s all you will need:

Materials

Yellow cotton shirt (long-sleeved is best, depending on the weather)

Black fabric marker

Ruler

Black pants

Black socks

Dark shoes (black is best, but if you are like me and don’t want to buy a new pair of shoes just for Halloween, a very dark blue is fine)

Instructions

1. If the shirt is new, make sure to wash and thoroughly dry it first.
2. Use your ruler to sketch out a basic zig-zag design on the shirt.  The zig-zag should be on the lower half of the shirt.  The exact size and width is up to you, although I opted for one that was neither very narrow nor very wide.
3. Trace the zig-zag in marker, then fill it in.  Be sure to really color it in darkly, since – depending on the brand of marker – lighter marks may fade in the wash.
4. Let the shirt air dry thoroughly, then wash and dry according to the fabric marker package directions.  (Here are some instructions for how to use Crayola fabric markers.  I must admit I don’t recall following all of these steps closely; we just went with what was on the package and it turned out just fine.  The close-up photos I have included here are from after the outfit was worn and washed several times, and as you can see, I will still be able to use it for Baby Monkey in a few years!)

Enjoy!  What easy costumes have you made? 

This post has been shared at The Mommy Club.