Lala Lucy and Lil Squirt

I know.
Halloween is so two weeks ago.
BUT….I must share the girls costumes with you!
Because they’re so much fun!
And if by chance you have a LalaLoopsy loving girl at your house, you can tuck this post away till Halloween rolls around again.

Okay.
Here’s part 2 of our holiday.
Unlike Owen, Lucy knew what she wanted to be for Halloween months ago….in fact, she told me in the summer that she and her friends were going to dress as Lalaloopsies.

They just love these little dolls.
They can’t get enough of them!   I keep a small bag of them in my purse and it keeps the kids occupied when we go out to eat—even Owen.  He likes to be Patch.
For her birthday, we got Lucy the collectors book and she looked at that thing for a month straight (now we’ve been giving copies to friends on their birthday!)

One thing I love about these little dolls is their story—it’s all about sewing and having your own unique personality.  Lalaloopsies are rag dolls that came to life when their last stitch was sewn.   And their outfits are repurposed from other items.  Fantastic!

Of course picking WHICH doll to be isn’t easy….there are so many cute ones.
But Lucy decided on Peanut—Peanut Big Top.
According to the collector’s guide (heh heh), Peanut has a special talent for making people laugh, and she’s never afraid to show her silly side.  And her costume is made from an old clown costume.
I love it!


When it came to sewing Lucy’s costume, Lucy had the whole thing figured out….
Mom you can just make me one of those circle skirts, and a little polka dot shirt like those jammies you made me, and then some tights! 

Great plan Luce!  Great plan.
And so the week before Halloween, it all came together.

And she totally loved it…which is always the best reward for your labors.
Happy, excited kids.

Here’s what we did….

I made a triple-layer circle skirt using 100% quilter’s cotton.  I wanted it to be a little stiffer—so the layers would stand out without needing a petticoat underneath—and the fabric worked great.  You could also make Peanut’s skirt from tulle (if you look online, there are various versions of her outfit and various ways you could make it)

For the shirt I used the First Day Dress pattern, adding some ruffled flutter sleeves and a lacy placket to the front.  I love it when I have patterns all ready to go for this stuff!


And I really love how the shirt and skirt turned out.  She might actually wear these again as normal clothes.  And…. I kinda want that shirt for myself!

Now the key to really looking like a Lalaloopsy is the yarn wig….which I’m going to have share more about in a separate tutorial.  It’s not hard to make, but there are some tips that will help.  To get you started: it’s a knit beanie hat underneath, with yarn sewn into a part on top.  It’s not perfect and every once in a while you could see her bits of her beanie.  But overall it worked great!


Then we threw it all together with some pink shoes, red laces, a pair of tights (I purchased these) with a heart on the right knee (we just taped a felt heart on because sewing it in place was too complicated.  Ding!)


And we added a pair of fingerless gloves.
I just cut two rectangles of fabric, folded the tops and bottom under and sewed them in a tube. Then I cut a small hole for the thumb.  No hemming or finishing.  And she actually lost this pair when she wore the outfit to dance class, so I whipped up another pair in red fabric and liked those even better.

And there you go!  Just as she had planned.

And to top it all off,
there’s this girl.


YES!  We finally dressed Clara in a real costume!
Cause did you know that Peanut has a little sister???
She’s Squirt Lil’ Top!  Too perfect.

And she wears this darling romper, also made from an old clown costume (according to legend).   So I came up with a make-shift romper using the KID shorts pattern and the circle skirt tutorial for the collar, and it worked out pretty well.
I made yarn pom-poms using my tutorial here, then measured felt circles the size of the poms and sewed them to the romper first, and then hot glued the pom-poms to the felt.

I wish I had added one extra inch in the length, cause it’s a bit snug on her bum and shoulders….but it only makes her more endearing.

Then I sewed up a quick pair of leggings, added the wig and shoes and shew was ready to go!

One Lala Lucy and one Lil’ Squirt.
Sounds about right.

Oh I lala LOVE you girls!
I hope you stay friends forever.

And that is officially a Halloween wrap.
On to the other holidays….

  1. 1) Juliana

    O. My. GAWSH. This is the best thing ever.

  2. Well done! Those are tremendously cute.

    Nice cursive, Lucy!

  3. Your girls are adorable in these costumes! Now that I know the back story of lalaloopsy I think the dolls might make good gifts for my nieces 🙂

  4. 6) Nicole

    ADORABLE!!!! Love everything about them. They are perfect. Well done!

  5. 7) Cheri

    WOW! Those costumes were AMAZING! That’s a lot of love. What an awesome mom.

  6. so so so so so cute!! the yarn wigs make the costumes. they had to be so adorable trick or treating together, too. great work!!

  7. 10) Via

    OMG! One of my faves post of yours!!! Full cuteness and so perfect for Lucy and Clara! I always thought Lalaloopsies are cute whenever I see them at the store. Now that I know about the story behind it, I love them even more. I know what to buy little girls for birthdays!!! Awesome job on the costumes, Dana!!!

  8. 11) Elisabeth M.

    Absolutely adorable! My 8-yr-old daughter loves Lalaloopsy. Great inspiration for next year!

  9. 12) Elisabeth M.

    I would love to see a tutorial for the yarn wig at some point!

  10. if that isn’t the cutest thing EVER I don’t know what is.

  11. 14) Amy

    Absolutely adorable. Fantastic work. They look exactly like the real thing. I enjoy challenging projects, and know how much fun you had making these. DARLING!!! 🙂 Owens fish was also so cool. Great inspiration for next year. 🙂

  12. Holy cute!!! I am so in love with the lalaloopsies and have bought a couple of the tiny ones for my daughter. This is the best costume! 🙂

  13. 16) Linda

    Ladies, you are fantastic 🙂 Very well done.

  14. 17) Connie

    wow, Wow, and WOW!!! You outdid yourself Dana! So adorable…..

  15. 18) Nancy

    They are adorable!! You did an amazing job!

  16. 19) aprilshowers

    So adorable!!! I’ve never heard of these dolls before but I bet my 5yo (currently obsessed with My Little Ponies) would love them!

  17. Ah!!! they’re both so amazing and cute!!! you guys go all out for costumes, seriously good stuff.

  18. 21) Lauralee

    I am over the top in love, love, love with the costumes and complete cuteness!!!

  19. These are too too too cute! So awesome. Seriously great job. And how fun! You can tell they were thrilled. My favorite costume yet!

  20. 23) lisa

    I don’t even like those dolls (the button eyes cream me out) but that is stinking adorable! !!

  21. 24) Penny

    What a super cute and happy post!!! WOW! I really mean SUPER CUTE!!!
    The girls and the awesome costumes!!!
    I am so chicken to try to make leggings for my granddaughter, hoping someday you will do a video of it! I read your blog (2010) of how you do it, but, still chicken!
    Worried they would be too baggy or not fit right – but as you always (well, often, anyway) say, something like, “all you are out is a little bit of fabric or recycled tshirt or something” if it doesn’t work out! Have a great day. Thanks for writing your blog.

  22. so adorable kids you have – and you made their costumes very pretty

    Greetings from Denmark

    June

  23. 26) Mark Suman

    Rad

  24. 27) Jackie Sorich

    Darling, adorable, gorgeous. Do you have time to make me a circle skirt????

    Great work you two!

  25. 28) Nanci Fitschen

    The emails I’m getting from you are going into my spam folder. Do you have an address to put in contacts so they don’t do that anymore?

  26. 29) Mary Kay

    Dana – they looked FABULOUS!!! I am so impressed!!

  27. Oh my goodness, are they cute or what??? I’ve got to file this post away in my mental storage to pull out when my daughter is a little older. Such fun costumes!

  28. 31) Judy

    These are just TOO cute! Great job! I can’t get over the cuteness!

  29. Worth the wait. The outfits are ADORABLE!!!

  30. oh that is adorable!! Love little clara dress up!! The wigs are amazing, you will have to post the tutorial!!

  31. This whole thing is adorable! I love costumes that can be used as normal clothes! I love the flutter sleeves and lace. I may have to do that. Thanks for sharing Dana!

  32. A-DOR-able! They both came out great! And seeing happy kids in homemade costume is just the best! 🙂 Lisa

  33. 37) Tami Brown

    I’ve seen lalaoopsy dolls but never knew the story behind them – invented by a sewist I presume! Your costumes are just adorable! You never cease to amaze me with your mad skills!!!

  34. 38) Hillarey

    I love this, my daughter was a Lalaloopsy girl for Halloween too! We used Curl Formers for her hair, everything else came out of her closet and then she wanted a vest too so I used the leftover fur from my sons fox costume to make her a tiny little vest!

  35. 39) Crystal

    That is freaking adorable! What a magnificent idea and fabulous execution.

  36. Seriously ! Could they be ANY cuter! That costume is so stinking cute!

  37. I can’t get over this. SOOOOOO creative and well executed!! Adorable.

  38. 42) Patti

    I just love this post! The girls are adorable! I’m a big fan of Lalaloopsie, I need to get a collectors book for myself! Thanks for the smile!

    • 43) Courtney Allyn Ferriell

      Do you have a tutorial posted for the wig?

  39. 44) Veronica Medina

    Aren’t those customes incredible beautiful, creative, original!! You are a m a z i n g!!
    I love the tutorial also. Congrats.

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