Two It Yourself: DIY M&M Halloween Costume with Matching Hair Bows

A few Halloweens back my then-two year old daughter wanted to be an orange M&M. (This was a definite nod to her potty training incentive.) I whipped up a little costume for her - complete with M&M hair bows and it was adorable and very easy to make. I'll try to explain as best as I can without my usual step-by-step photos to go along with what I'm talking about.

Supply list:

2 Yards of fabric in your choice of M&M colors
A quarter yard of white felt or two felt pieces
Spray adhesive (If your felt is not self-adhesive. I recommend not using the self-adhesive felt.)
Sewing machine
Coordinating thread
Fiber Stuffing

Start by cutting out four circles. They should all be the same size. I made mine 20" in diameter...but feel free to adjust smaller or large depending on the age and size of your child (or yourself...hehe).

Once you have all four circles cut out, cut two strips about 9" long and 2.5" wide. These will be the shoulder straps. Fold each strip in half longways so it's now about 1.25" wide. Sew together the two edges and flip the strap right side out so the seam is on the inside. Repeat on the other strap. Leave the straps to the side for now.

Take two of the circles and sew them together along the circumference. Do not sew all the way around. Only sew about 90% of the way around - you want to leave enough room that your hand can fit inside to add the stuffing. Once you're done sewing, flip the circles so the seam is on the inside. Repeat with the other two circles.

Now start stuffing your M&Ms.

Once they are stuffed to your liking, grab your straps and one of your M&Ms. Place each strap - with about 1 inch inside the stuffed M&M - right next to where you stopped sewing. Pin it in place. Now take your other strap, and on the same M&M, place it on the other side of the opening. Pin it in place. Pin the remaining part of the opening together. If you can flatten it enough to use the sewing machine to that's great! If not, you'll have to hand sew. You want to do two things here - you want to catch the straps to keep them in place AND you want to sew the opening closed.

Now repeat with the other M&M. This side will be a little trickier since you've already got your other M&M in place.

Using a word processing program, like Word or Powerpoint, print out the outline of a letter "m." Fonts that closely resemble the M&M's logo are Times New Roman, Aachen Medium Plain, and Rockwell Condensed. Cut out the letter and trace it twice (one for the front, one for the back) onto the felt. I used self adhesive felt, but I would not recommend it as the letters did not stay in place. Instead, I would suggest using spray adhesive to mount the m's onto the fabric. That's it - now your M&M Halloween costume is ready!

For me, what really made the costume was the adorable coordinating hair clips. I made them out of mini M&M wrappers. Of course, the best part was emptying them :). I used some gift wrap ribbon and curled it with scissors and tied it around the center of the bags to create bows. Then I simply used a hot glue gun to attach them onto some clips (plastic barrettes would work too) so I could easily put them in my daughter's hair.