Rainbow Unicorn & Rainbow Butterfly Costumes

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I finally finished the girls Halloween costumes! Hooray! It’s been a tad stressful getting ready to exhibit at International Quilt Market this next week in Houston, TX and trying to make sure I have all my family stuff in order before I leave. And one of those items was making sure the Halloween costumes were ready to go since I get back only two days before the big day.

I know I’ve mentioned this before in previous Halloween posts, but I have the best memories of my mom making our Halloween costumes. They were so special. So even though the kids only wear them for one night, I try my best to make sure I keep of my mom’s tradition of a handmade costumes for Halloween. Plus, I love making my kids dream costume come true. It’s such a joy!

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

One thing I have learned during this years ‘Halloween consultation’ with my girls is that they are very opinionated and had big ideas for their special Halloween costumes. I was definitely schooled in the ways of Rainbow Unicorns and Butterflies. These costumes are entirely my girls’ vision……..I was simply their seamstress. They are the designers here.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

When Savannah said she wanted to be a rainbow unicorn, I thought she meant her whole body, but that was not the case. She said that her whole body was supposed to be white with a swirly rainbow horn and rainbow mane and tail. The only thing I added to this costume was the three stars on the backside because I can’t leave well-enough alone.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

For the body, I used a pair of footy pajamas that still fit Savannah and created a pattern with those as the base. I just left off the foot part. The front of the main body has a big, long 36″ zipper for easy on and off. Then I added a hood with wrap around that would velcro under her chin. For that I just drafted it and crossed my fingers that it would work and added it to the back of the main body.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I chose to use fleece for several reasons. One reason was that it is usually pretty cold in Chicago during Halloween and it’s always so disappointing to have the kids wear a coat over their costumes, so I wanted something warm and cozy. Plus it’s perfect for layering. And secondly, fleece doesn’t fray so I knew I wouldn’t have to finish all the edges of the mane and tail…….a definite bonus!

For the horn, I sewed strips of fleece together and then cut the horn shape out. I stuffed it with fiberfill and hand sewed it on top of the mane. For the mane, I fringed different colors of fleece and inserted them into the seam in the hood in rainbow order. The main goes down to the neckline; however, it looks longer because of the way it falls in the back.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

For the tail, I simply cut different colors of fleece and inserted them into the back seam of the one-piece outfit. I had some leftover striped fabric from the horn so I cut some stars out of it and sewed them to the back of the one-piece main body. Someone over on Facebook said it kind of looks like rainbow bright and it totally does!!

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

Matilda wanted to be a rainbow butterfly. For this one I had visions of a very girly, almost princess butterfly costume. Nope, that’s not what this little lady had in mind. She wanted her whole body to be black (because butterflies bodies are black) with rainbow wings and straight antennas. And since I wanted to make her vision come to life, this is what I came up with…..

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

Since I already had purchased all the rainbow fleece,  I decided to use that for the wings. I used two layers of white fleece with a layer of Peltex Ultra-Firm stabilizer in between. I free-hand drew the butterfly wing shape trying to make it the right size for Miss Matilda.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

For the shapes on the back of the wings, again, I just free-hand cut those making sure the two sides were symmetrical. I just kept cutting until the shapes fit together nicely.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I sewed the fleece shapes onto the wings and then added some blue circles in the middle of the wings. Then I sewed all the way around the wings to bring all three layers together. Again, the great thing about fleece is that it doesn’t fray! So easy!

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

The antennas are just a couple pipe cleaners twisted together and attached to a black headband. The black headband is on top of the hoodie and kind of holds the hood up. This hoodie was one I made for Savannah’s cat costume last year, but it worked perfectly for the butterfly costume. I sewed the wings to the back of the hoodie to make sure they stayed put.

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

The girls loved their costumes and had so much fun trying them on. They also loved Savannah’s tail and mane. Sometimes you just have to shake it when you have rainbow colored fleece all over your body, you know?

Rainbow Unicorn and Rainbow Butterfly Costumes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I love these sweet girls. Sometimes they have to put up with wearing what mommy designs for them when it might not be their first choice, but when it comes to Halloween, it’s all about them. I’m so happy that I can create exactly what is in their little minds. These girls dream big. I hope they stay that way forever.

So I’m not 100% sure about Caspian’s costume since he doesn’t really care what he is yet, but we’ll see what I come up with for the little man. I better get on that. I leave on Wednesday! Who knows…….maybe I’ll leave Daddy in charge of that costume.

What about you……..have you finished your kids’ costumes?

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17 Comments

  1. Those are so perfect! I am sure your girls loved seeing their visions turn into costumes!

    • Hi Crystal! I had so much fun making these costumes and it’s even more thrilling to see their happy little faces light up when they see their costumes are just what they were explaining to me. Kids are so much fun! Thanks for stopping by, Lindsay

  2. Your such a great Mom, the costumes turned out really well!

  3. Your girls and their costumes are just darling! You are so cool to let them be the designers while you take their “order”! I agree, living in Iowa myself, that I always feel sad to see kiddos wearing coats over their cute costumes. We have to bundle up here in the Midwest!

    • Thank you, Kathy!! Yes, we definitely do have to bundle up here and if things keep going like they are today, we are going to be in for a chilly Halloween. So great to hear from you! Have a wonderful day, Lindsay

  4. Janice Bremner says

    I made my daughter’s Halloween costume yesterday afternoon. She wanted to be a bat, so I cut out some pleather left over from Dracula’s cape from a couple of years ago in the shape of wings, added some boning leftover from Cinderella’s dress a few years before that, and carefully zig zagged each wing to the side seam and arm seams of a long sleeved black shirt that we already have. With black leggings, her black boots, and bat ears borrowed from her BFF, her costume is ready and I didn’t spend a dime!

    • That sounds amazing, Janice! And the fact that you didn’t spend any money is even more amazing!! So great……I bet she looks fantastic. Thanks for commenting, it’s great to hear from you! Lindsay

  5. You are so talented and such a great mom! Love these costumes!

  6. I love this, Linds! Halloween costumes were my favorite things to make for the girls. One year, Kara wanted to be a Care Bear, so I hunted every store until I found the exact shade of purple fleece to make that particular Care Bear. You are making sweet memories with your children that will mean so much for all of you. Can’t wait to see pix of them trick-or-treating! 🙂

    • Thanks Terri!! You are a good mama to hunt down that fleece for her…….I bet she LOVED her costume! Btw, you book order and pattern are shipping out today. I hope you enjoy them and I hope to see you in February. Miss you!

  7. Fabulous! They are going to have so much fun for halloween and for dressup after!!

  8. Lisa McGriff says

    These costumes are awesome! They just look so happy! Now Caspian needs to be a caterpillar or a spider with lots of legs!

  9. Linda Cole says

    Love the costumes! You are so talented & a good mother! Keep up the grest work. Love the idea of using fleece.

  10. These are so awesome! You don’t happen to sell them do you?

  11. Hello Lindsay~

    These costumes are amazing and you are obviously an amazing seamstress!!! My 5 year daughter has said she wants to be a unicorn for Halloween for the last 10 months. Just curious, do you ever sell any of your costumes? I would definitely be interested in buying this unicorn costume! I can sew and actually surprised myself with making her costume completely myself two years ago (she was a black kitty cat), but I do lack the patience and time.