How to Sew a Fun Care Bears Dress-up Costume | SEWING DIY

Sometimes the best costume ideas pop in your head when you least expect it, this Funshine Care bear Dress-up Costume was one of them.

At my workplace, a few different times throughout the year the staff can dress up in costumes. Halloween, Christmas, Easter and when some huge sales are on. The year I made this Carebears dress-up costume was one of the times I wasn't going to dress-up but like always, last minute I got into creative mode and sewn this.

Back to how this cute costume came about. The day before the workplace dress-up day a coworker was nagging me to dress up, I agreed on a maybe (my response every time, even though I always end up dressing up 😁) I was walking past some new plush textured throw blankets at work (retail) and thought how bright, cheap and soft they were but I didn't need any for home. 

Within 5 minutes an idea popped into my head, I could make a costume out of a throw blanket, but what to do? 

• I checked what colours were available and decided that Carebears would be 1| Cute 
• 2|Cheap 
• 3|Easy 
• 4| Fun and something
• 5| I could make it in a few hours before work the next day. 

The yellow chenille furry blanket was then purchased. Funshine Bear it is!

HOW TO MAKE A CARE BEARS COSTUME OUT OF A FURRY SUPER SOFT THROW BLANKET

DRESS-UP COSPLAY SEWING PROJECT

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I like to make costumes that are not true to form and are a twist on what the character is. I could have easily made a onesie but where's the fun in that. I decided with the amount of fabric in this blanket I would sew a classic Skater style dress.

These are the products that I used, but you can adapt them to suit your Carebears Character and Belly Badge. 

Sewing Tutorial Details

• 2-3 Hour Project
• Medium Level Sewing Skills

DIY Supplies

• Fluffy Cheap super soft chenille throw blanket
• White Fabric 25cm x 25cm
• Red Glitter Foam or Felt 10cm x 10cm
• Pipe Cleaners
• Fabric Glue
• Hair Combs or a Headband
• Sewing Machine
• Scissors, Pins, thread & needle
• Zipper
• Filling or Plastic bag

Step by Step Guide to Sewing a Cute Carebears Dress Cosplay Costume

INSTRUCTIONS

• Decide Which Care Bear you would like to make

This will come down to mostly one factor, which colour throw blanket or soft fabric you can find. Each season there are different colours available when I purchased my textured throw blanket from Big W Australia for $8, there were red, yellow, blue, grey and green.

In these colours you could make Grumpy Bear, Tender Heart Bear, True Heart Bear, Funshine Bear or Goodluck Bear. I chose the yellow Funshine Bear as I wanted a costume that was bright and cheerful for work.

View what colours are available before you decide on which Carebear to choose. Search online for all the Carebears that you could make, below are only a small amount of characters you could pick.

TIP - Carebears come in different colours with different Belly Badges, choose a Carebears personality that suits your persona or that you could have fun with

• Cut out your Pattern 

First of all, you need a top and bottom piece of clothing to get your size. This is a quick Sewing Pattern Hack and is good for beginners to get a custom size. 

Bottom Dress Panel - With your bottom piece (shirt/pants) you will be using the waist measurements. Fold your Blanket in half longways and place your pants on top. Cut your fabric the size of your waist leaving a hem allowance. From that point, measure the skirt length from the waist on each side and the centre. 

The skirt length can only be as long as the fabric you have, so if you wanted a long pin-up style length, you would need 2 blankets. The fabric is not wide enough for a full circle style, cut an a-line shape as you much as your fabric allows.

There is no stretch with this chenille blanket fabric so make sure you are using a top and bottom template piece that fits well that also has no stretch.

With your leftover fabric, you need to cut out the top part of your dress (front panel and back panels) plus your ears and Carebears belly badge panel.

Top front & back Pattern Piece - trace around your own top, you can do any neckline you like (I did a basic round neck) You only need a hem allowance for the sides and bottom waist section which will attach to the skirt half

Check that your chest, body length and waist measurements are correct.

Centre Pattern Piece - Using a dinner plate the size of the stomach panel, cut a white fabric circle. With a side plate, cut a small furry circle. Use the plates as templates for a perfect circle (mark and cut)

Ear Pattern Piece - Cut 2 ear panels out of furry fabric and 2 inner ear pieces out of white

Tail Pattern Piece - Cut an approx 12cm diameter circle with your fluffy fabric

Butt Heart Pattern Piece - Cut a heart out of red felt, non-fraying fabric or foam. I used glitter craft foam

• Sew together your Care Bears Dress pattern pieces

1. Pin your top and skirt piece together, front and back. 
2. Sew together in a straight large stitch.
3. Measure your zipper & cut a straight line down the back panel
4. Pin your zipper in and sew it in

Do not fold over the fabric when pinning in your zipper, just place the fabric flush. This Zipper method is not a traditional way to sew in a zipper but the fabric is very flurry and thick, you do not need to fold over and have a hem allowance. You could do this if you wish but it will be harder to sew in if you have a basic machine. 

I used a black zipper I already had in my supplies but if you need to buy a zipper, purchase a matching colour to your fabric so it will blend in well. The zipper should be the length of the top plus the distance from your waist to mid-butt. Is that sewing terminology? haha, definitely not but I can't think how else to describe it. Look at the pattern drawing at the top of the post for reference. You need the zip to be this long to fit over your hips when you put the dress on.

• Make your stomach Carebears Character stomach panel

Pin your furry circle into the middle of the white fabric and sew. I have sewn a circle for the base of a sun, if you had a clover on your design, you would cut the green clover out and sew that onto the white.

Find the centre of your dress on the front panel and where you would like the Belly Badge panel to go. Pin and sew around the edge with a tight zigzag pattern.

Once your Panel is sewn on your Carebears Dress, you can glue your pipe cleaners on to make your Belly Badge. If your Care Bears Personality requires more detail, you could use cut-up felt or embroidery.

• Finish sewing the Carebears Dress

Place the front panel and back panel together facing each other. Pin together and sew both side seams together. If you need to place darts in the chest area, now is the time to do darts before you pin and sew. You do not need darts for kid's costumes.

There is no need to sew around the neckline or armholes, this fabric will not fray and you can not see the cut lines because of the furriness of the blanket. You can leave the bottom dress edge raw or sew a hemline, I chose to sew a hem.

• Make your Heart & Tail

Place your pre-cut red heart on the back of the dress and glue it down where you would like it to be. I glued it in the centre of one bottom cheek. You can stitch this on for a more professional finish.

With your tail pattern piece, Hand tack a huge hand stitch around the edge and when you come to the end, pull the thread through tight, leaving a fabric cup shape. Place some white stuffing inside or if you have no stuffing then use a scrunched-up plastic bag. Finish by pulling the thread tight & closing the fabric cup making a ball shape. Hand sew or glue to the back of the dress where the tail should be.

• Make your Care Bear Ears

Fold the furry fabric over some stuffing to make a 3d ear shape. Stitch around the edge. Glue or hand-stitch your inner white ear fabric on the front side of the ears.

Glue the ears to hair combs or a headband. Hand-stitch for extra hold so they do not flop. No one needs floppy Care Bears Ears 😄

• Do your Carebears Make-up

With your make-up, you could go all out and create the ultimate cartoon make-up like the Minnie Mouse Cartoon Make-up I have shared before. Because I was working a long shift, I chose to keep it simple with a heart nose drawn on with a lipstick pencil and cat eyeliner.

I think a Glitter Eyeliner in the colour of your Carebears Dress would look super adorable and add some sparkle to your look.

• Become a Furry Carebear 

Okay, I do not know how you can become a Carebear, but everyone knows they are sweet and cuddly. Each Carebear has a duty and Personality which you can mimic. Get into character and have fun with this Dress-up Costume. 

This Costume is perfect for groups to wear for Halloween, university events, cosplay conventions, festivals and themed birthday parties. Adorable for all ages and recognisable by everyone.

This Funshine Care Bears Costume has ended up being one of my favourite costumes I have made, I hope it has inspired you to make your own and upcycle materials like cheap throw blankets to use for unconventional sewing materials.

KEEP CREATING & SMILING 💗

What Character Care bears would you like to be? 

Let me know below in the comments 

I would love to see your creations,

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