halloween costume DIY: ms. pac man

my friends and i usually go out to the bars the weekend before halloween. and obviously, i have to dress up!

this year i really didn't know what i wanted to be. i really wanted to be a sock monkey, but opted not for a couple reasons:
-it costs $55!!!! i'm not made of money, people!
-i was a baby last halloween, which involved me wearing a one-sie, and i was really warm the whole time. not too interested in doing that again..

so i was looking on all those halloween costume sites, and kept seeing this pac man ghost costume:

and i thought: that would be so flipping easy to make!!
i already had a yellow/gold tank dress from american apparel that i got years ago. and a light bulb came on:

i'll be ms pac man!!!!

~how i did it~

 i went to joann (a craft & fabric store) and found these squares of pre-cut felt that were 4 for $1. i got 2 sheets each of red, white, and black felt.

the eyes were super easy. i traced an oval-shape i found around the house (i think i actually squished randy's double extra gulp cup from 711) onto the black felt. tip: if you fold the felt in half, trace your shape, then cut, you can make two pieces of the exact same shape!

then, i cut little triangles out of them like the picture of ms. p above. i made white eyelids by cutting smaller half-circles and fitting them to the eyes. then i made two eye-lash shape things and cut those from the black felt. i pinned everything in place then sewed it all together.

randy actually helped me with the lips. those were more touch-and-go since i don't have anything lip-shaped around the house.. i folded the felt in half and made half of a lip shape (think of when you make paper snowflakes..). then i cut them in half to make two separate lips. i placed a piece of black felt behind the two pieces so her mouth was open (because she's such a cheery lady) and pinned and sewed everything together. yes, this method was all randy's idea.

once i had her necessary facial features, i sewed them onto the dress. i was going to use fabric glue, but thought sewing would hold up better. also, i pinned each item in place while i was wearing the dress, so i'd know exactly where everything would hit on me.

at the craft store i found small red christmas bows that were on sale (3 for like $1.50). i removed the top two 'loops' so that it looked like a regular girl's hair bow and cut the tail parts shorter. it already had a twisty-tie on the back, so i just attached it to one of the straps of my shirt.

then for fun, i cut some letters out of felt (using a stencil i made on the computer) and put 'ms. pac man' along the back.

and there you have it! it was ridiculously easy, cost less than $5, and i have a feeling it will be a pretty unique costume.

and i must say, it certainly has more character than the one you pay $30 for..

alaina

ps. don't forget to come visit me at the haunted house on halloween!