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Halloween Costumes 2011: Bert (from Mary Poppins)

If you’re looking for inspiration, you can find all sorts of DIY Halloween Costume Ideas HERE.

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UPDATE: The Mary Poppins Costume and the Penguin Costume are also finished.

Well, sorry for the delay……..but Bert is finally here.  And as handsome as ever.

(and just you wait……Baby Girl’s costume will tie into the theme tomorrow.)

I don’t know…..there’s something about my little guy dressed up like a little man that makes me want to squish his cheeks and munch on him.  Oh, sweet little Bert!

His favorite parts of the costume?  His hat and cane.

They make him feel grown up, I guess.

But they sure add to this ‘Jolly Holiday’ Bert costume. 

Can’t you just see him skipping and dancing around in the chalk painting?

I bet he and the ‘real’ Bert would get along swimmingly.

I just love that little Bert! 

I’m so glad he was just as excited about Bert as my little girl was about Mary Poppins.  Perfect.

We sorta can’t stop humming this little tune here at our house:

“It’s a Jolly Holiday with Maaaary! Mary makes your heart so light…..!”

Sweet little thing.

Would you like to make your own Bert costume?

First of all, I couldn’t find any red/orange/yellow/white striped fabric.  I really looked…..but no luck.  I was then going to just buy red/white striped but really wanted the right colors.  So I bought some thicker white suiting type fabric from Joann Fabric and then bought red/yellow/orange single fold bias tape in different widths.  I cut strips of the bias tape that were as wide as the piece of fabric I was using and then cut strips of double sided fusible web in the same size.

Then I attached the fusible web to the back of the strips of bias tape and then peeled off the backing…..

Then ironed each strip down to my white fabric and then sewed them each in place.  Yeah, this took a while.  But I was crazy about having the right color stripes.  So, I put on a movie and got to work after the kids were in bed.

Then, I created my own pattern (just like Prince Charming here) and cut out my suit coat pieces.  I created an identical lining piece in white, out of the same suiting fabric.  (The only difference from the main shape of the Prince Charming jacket is that the two bottom inner corners of the jacket are curved.  Because that’s how Bert’s is.

For the collar, I cut out a curved piece that was slightly shorter in length than the opening up at the length as was about 2 inches tall.  I added a bit of a curve to it so that it would curve around the neck better.  (Make sure to add enough for a seam allowance too.)  Cut two of these….one in the stripe and then one in white. (I know you can’t see it but there’s a white one right below that striped one.  Sorry, it was late at night and bad lighting.)

Then, sew the two collar pieces together (with right sides together) along the top curve and both sides.  Then turn right side out and press flat.

Then attach the open edge of the collar to the neck opening of the jacket.  Place the wrong side of the collar to the right side of the jacket.  The neck line of the jacket should extend out longer than the collar.

Here’s from this view with the collar folded down.

Now, place the lining on top of the jacket (with right sides together) and pin the two together all the way around the edges….making sure the collar is tucked to the inside.  At the very bottom of the jacket, leave about a 6-8 inch opening, where you’ll be turning it right side out.

Sew all the way around the edges (leaving the bottom open) and then turn the jacket right side out.  Press all the seams flat.

Then hand stitch the opening closed.  (Need help with hand-stitching?  Go here.)

Now, cut out your 2 sleeve pieces (just one layer each…..I didn’t add lining to the sleeves) and add pin them right to the jacket with right sides together, matching the side seam of the sleeve with the side seam of the jacket.  (I added them the same way as I did here.)  Sew in place and then serge or zig-zag the raw edges.  Turn right side out and iron the best you can from the outside to make those sleeve seams flat.

Then I hemmed the sleeves and added button holes, just like Prince Charming too.

To get the look of the collar, I folded the collar down…..but also folded part of the front of the jacket down, creating that suit jacket collar look.  Use steam and really flatten down in place.  (I folded it down until it was about mid-chest line.)

Next, some pocket squares. 

I just cut out some square pieces of white…..folded them in half and then folded corners down to make 2 triangles.  I also cut a rectangle of the striped fabric (from my scraps) for the little faux pocket.

I pinned my triangles in place….

Then sewed them right to the chest of the jacket.  (Then I trimmed off the extra edges along the bottom.)

Then I folded under all the edges of the striped piece of fabric and sewed that right on top.

For his pants……..I just made some plain white basic pants with an elastic waistband.

I cut out the pieces for the pants by using another pair of pants as a pattern.  (Need help with this concept?  Click here.)

His shirt………is a plain white button down shirt from Old Navy.

And his shoes were some $3 white shoes I found at Wal-Mart.  Perfect.

Now for Bert’s signature blue bow tie. 

Cut a strip of blue fabric…….sew it into a tube, fold the ends towards the center and sew along the center to keep the ends in.  Then sew a long strip of fabric for the neck strap and turn right side out and iron flat.

Then place the long strip on the back of the bow shape.  Then wrap a thin strip of fabric around the center, cinch it in, then hand stitch in place.  (Need help with hand-stitching?  Go here.)

Finally, hem under each strip end and then add velcro to the ends.

Bert’s hat.

I couldn’t find a straw hat that looked like Berts………so I found a very cheap foam hat at Hobby Lobby for a few dollars.  It was too tall for my liking so I cut the top off and cut it down just a bit.

Then I covered the top with burlap and folded the ends under and glued it with hot glue.  The I covered the main part of the hat with burlap and then added the top back on, tucking the edges towards the inside.  Then I added some hemp cording to the edge of the brim, to hide the rest of the black hat.

 
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Then I added some of my extra bias tape pieces (from the jacket) to the hat with hot glue.

Don’t forget Bert’s cane.

Okay, I wasn’t sure what to use for the cane.  I tried finding an old wooden cane at a thrift store that I could just saw down……but I couldn’t find one.  So I bought a plastic candy cane ( you know, that ones with lights in them that people put in their yards for Christmas??) from Wal-Mart.  Thank goodness Christmas stuff is already out.   Then my husband got the curved end hot (he held it over the toaster……but use this method at your own risk.  Haha!) and made the curve smaller and then sawed the end off while it was still warm.

Then I spray painted it brown.  Not bad…….and it works for the whole ‘cane look’.

And that’s it.

The ‘Jolly Holiday’ Bert is complete.

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This post is sponsored by:

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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