DIY Hobbit Halloween Costumes

Last week, Katie wrote about all of the Halloween costumes we've made for our kids.  But my all time favorites were the Hobbit costumes I made.  Seriously, I don't know how I can ever top them!

The idea to dress my kids as Hobbits came to me as an epiphany moment.  Or maybe it was more of a Pinterest inspiration....  While surfing for Halloween costumes ideas, I came across this cute little girl dressed like a Hobbit on the blog Falafel and the Bee.

And oh my goodness!  My husband and I are huge Lord of the Rings fans, so I knew this would be perfect for our curly haired kiddos!

I used tutorials from 2 different blogs (links below), but I did change up a few parts.  This took me a total of two afternoon naps (but I made 2 sets of everything so it could easily be done in one afternoon!), and it truly was very easy to make.  No major sewing skills required!

Here is what I did for our DIY Hobbit Costumes:  (And I'm sorry for the lack of pictures - these were made before I began blogging.  The tutorials listed below have great step-by-step pictures.)

Cloak:

Materials:
Green felt (amount depends on the size of who will wear it)
Fabric scissors

Embroidery thread
Yarn sewing needle
Regular thread
Regular sewing needle
Small elastic hair tie


I used a combination of these 2 tutorials to make the Fellowship cloaks: tutorial #1 and tutorial #2.  I did not add the hood because I can't sew to make the project easier. 

Brooch:

Materials:
Computer paper and printer
Sewing pins
Dark green felt, 1 small sheet (mine had sparkles in it too)
Fabric scissors
Silver embroidery thread
Yarn sewing needle
Button (with loop on the back of the button)
Hot glue gun and stick
Hair clip (optional)


Instead of just using a button to fasten the cloak like what was used in the cloak tutorial (tutorial #1 listed above), I made the Fellowship brooch to cover the button.  You could just use a gold or silver vintage-looking button and completely skip these steps.  But I really wanted the cloaks to have the brooch because I'm only a little bit of an obsessed Tolkien fan!

First, I printed out a picture of the brooch and then cut out only the leaf part of it.  Then, I pinned the leaf pattern on the felt and cut it out.

Next, I took the embroidery thread and stitched in the main veins of the leaf, using the printed out brooch as a visual guide.  I also kept the stitches very tight together so it would look seamless.

Finally, I hot glued the brooch to the button that was already sewn on the completed cloak.  Perfection!

*I also made an extra leaf and hot glued it to a hair clip for my daughter to wear in her hair to go along with her costume.

Hairy Feet:

Materials:
Computer paper and printer
Skin colored felt (amount depends on the size of their feet)
1 small sheet of felt that is one shade lighter than the skin colored felt (for the toenails)
Fabric scissors
Brown curly doll hair
Hot glue gun and stick
Black sharpie or pen
Safety pins

Oh, the hairy Hobbit feet.  It wouldn't be a proper Hobbit costume without them!

I used this tutorial to make their hairy feet.  I did not make the feet into slippers, however, because sigh, I can't sew! we were going to be walking around outside in them.  I just made the top part of the foot as laid out in the tutorial, and we safety pinned them to the tops of their tennis shoes.

To finish off their Hobbit Halloween costumes, they wore nice dress pants, dressy vests, and white collared and button-down dress shirts.  These clothes are easy to find (I found them inexpensively at a children's re-sale shop), and the best part is that they can be worn again after Halloween.

Aren't they the cutest Hobbits you've ever seen? ;)

Edit (Halloween 2016): A couple years later and another child - of course he had to have his turn at being a Hobbit for Halloween too!

Have you made your kids Halloween costumes before?  What were their costumes?

Happy Halloween!

This project was featured on:

Think and Make Thursday at Petite Modern Life

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