Sea Lion Dog Costume

Pattern: self-drafted

Cost: $15

Fabric:1 yd sweatshirt fleece + quilt batting

Making a Halloween costume is something I look forward to every year. Since we got Beatrix last fall she has been the recipient of my Halloween sewing, and so this year she got dressed up as a sea lion. Arf arf!

Making this costume was an exercise in drafting. As with any costume, it must imitate the real thing while still being practical for moving, walking around, and in the case of a dog, going to the bathroom. The most challenging part for me was drafting a realistic looking flipper. I started out with a few sketches, followed by some paper pattern pieces. In the muslin phase (pictured below in plaid), I tried out at least five flipper variations until one started to look right. The flippers and tail were then interfaced and sewn together with quilt batting to give them extra body. B was a very patient model!

I am really pleased with the final look. The front flippers drape nicely on her bowling-ball shaped body, and the tail rests just above her own. It's especially cute when she's sitting down. While I originally intended to make her a seal, I was also tempted to add little ears. A study in marine biology will tell you that it's the sea lion that has external ear flaps, so a sea lion it was. 

Here's the costume sans dog. The pattern was based on the Milla Milla sweatshirt pattern, which has a raglan sleeve that I extended down into the fin. Her arms come out underneath the fin, and that bottom part of the armscye is left open like a tank top or a cape. The bottom extends just far enough to attach to the tail, which drapes on either side of her own.

 She is able to walk around more or less comfortably in it, and didn't seem to mind wearing it to a costume part the other night.

Happy Halloween everyone!