I’m so excited for this costume post today! I am finally sharing some details about how to make our upcycled/DIY family Monsters University costume theme last year! And, be sure to keep scrolling through as there is a MEGA list of DIY Halloween costumes to follow! 🙂 SO much DIY costume fun! 
We LOVE doing family-themed Halloween costumes (we’ve already done pirates (twice), Star Wars, Nemo/Snorkeling, and a bug theme). It’s hard picking favorites, but our Monsters University theme last year was SO much fun! Living in Phoenix, these costumes would have been almost impossible (way too hot). But, we spent Halloween in Nebraska last year. And, the cooler weather was PERFECT for an entire group Monsters theme. And, really, doing the costumes was NOT tough at all – especially with the help of my super crafty mom! 😉
Now, right off the bat I need to say that we did NOT make the Mike & Sulley costumes (but we did embellish). The cost of the fur/fleece alone needed was almost the same price as the costume we bought and we decided that those two were just too labor intensive. So, we bought those costumes and then went from there. For both the boys, we made “MU” trick or treat bags (<— click for the bag directions tutorial).
Sulley:
If you look closely at the picture, you can see that the Sulley costume was actually too small. So, we found fleece that matched almost exactly & used that to lengthen the costume and then made some large Sulley-feet shoe covers. For Sulley’s hands, I found blue knit gloves. For all the claws on both the hands and feet, we cut black stiffened felt & cut in the shapes we wanted. For the hands, I just hot-glued on the claws by pinching them into the tips of the gloves. For the feet, we stitched the claws on. 
Mike Wazowski:
We also embellished Little Brother’s Mike costume by adding hands and feet. I couldn’t find green gloves. So we just went with cream and hot glued on some green felt (as close a match as I could find). Again, we used stiffened felt (just in gray this time) for Mike’s claws. The feet (as you can see) were considerably harder. We found that bright green fleece (which was great since the edges don’t fray). But, to get the long look of Mike’s toes, my mom sewed small tube casings that we stuffed. Then, we stitched those long toes on to the shoe covers that we made. 
Random Monsters U monsters:
For the rest of our Monsters U group, we just had a bunch of random fun! This is where you can let your creativity shine–really, you can do whatever you want here. If you’ve seen the movie, there are SOoooo many different kinds of monsters – all kinds of colors, spots, spikes, scaly, slimy, hairy, horns, claws, polka dots, big, small – you name it and it works. So, I decided to go the upcycle route here and hit up some local thrift stores for inspiration. The base for our adult costumes were some cheap matching sweat suits (less than $10 each). I didn’t care what color, I just was going for matching tops and bottoms. We had a Monsters University hat from a fun Disney event. So, that worked for Mr. Mom Endeavors. And, the sweatshirt I found had a hood – which was PERFECT for creating an awesome monster look!
Really, look for anything that could create a fun look. I bought a bright orange feather boa, a crazy furry scarf, a cheap green fuzzy blanket, a fuzzy black that already had horns, and part of a dragon costume (that was missing pieces). My costume also used some felt pieces (for the polka dots). And, just like with the Mike & Sulley, we used some cheap $1 knit gloves & added claws.
On the hood of my costume, we sewed in the horns (that we cut off the cheap hat I found. Then, I hot glued on a felt eyeball (just created with different sized felt circles) and hot glued on cut pieces of the feather boa around the horns. AWESOME! My outfit was a zip-up hoodie & I didn’t want the zipper to show. So, we created a simple Monsters University T-Shirt (using the same method as with the trick or treat bags). SUPER easy! 
I decided to coordinate Mr. Mom Endeavors’ and Baby Brother’s costumes, a bit. For Baby Brother, I used the pieces off the dragon costume I found and embellished. I cut the same fuzzy green blanket to add texture and fun to both costumes. On Mr. Mom Endeavors’, there were spots all over and on Baby Brother, I added it to the belly. Those were just hand-sewn on (basically just barely tacked) and then we put some hot glue on for extra hold. We also cut up pieces of a fuzzy scarf to add to the neck & feet for some added texture & color. We also added an eye ball to Baby Brother’s costume (again, just cut felt) and added some pieces off a black feather boa. They looked SO cute together!!! 
Again, the beauty of this theme is that for the extra monsters you can do anything you want! Just get a variety of colors & textures and go to town. Adding a few recognizable logos (like on the bags and the shirt) then really helps tie the whole thing together! We had SO much fun with this theme…and can’t wait for another Disney character family costume theme again this year so stay tuned for that! 
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Now…are you ready for even more DIY Halloween costume fun?! A big ol’ group of creative bloggers teamed up with Jamie Dorobek and her handmade Halloween costume site, Really Awesome Costumes to bring y’all tons of easy ideas to craft up DIY Halloween costumes for everyone! This list of 85+ DIY costumes has something for just about everyone – from kids and pets to family costumes…and even a trunk or treat idea!
Have so much fun browsing through all the adorable ideas! Just click on the links below each collage to get the detailed instructions about how to make the costume pictured, just like mine above. Don’t forget to follow the Handamde Halloween Costumes Pinterest Board or my Favorite Characters Halloween Costumes Board (with LOTS of Disney-themed costume ideas) for even more DIY costume greatness!
1. Handmade Baby Hamburger Costume
3. DIY Minecraft Steve Costume
4. Football Brothers Halloween Costumes with DIY Pads and Onesie
5. Star Trek Halloween Costume for Kids
9. Pinocchio
10. Marty McFly
11. Princess Wedding Dress Costume
12. Handmade Lalaloopsy Doll Costume
13. Homemade Toothless Costume
14. DIY Mermaid For Less Than $20 (No-Sew Option)
16. Mario and Luigi Go Kart Costumes
17. Dog The Bounty Hunter and Beth
18. Family Monsters University Costumes
19. Scooby Doo family costumes
21. Cheap and Easy DIY Spider Costume
27. Elsa crown
29. DIY Pineapple Baby Costume
32. Disney Planes Costume: Dipper
34. Easy Costume Idea – Renaissance Girl
35. 10 Minute Homemade Jellyfish Costume
36. DIY Cat Costume
39. Easy Greek Goddess Costume
40. DIY Family Willy Wonka Costumes
41. DIY No Sew Maleficent Costume
42. No Sew Pineapple Halloween Costume
43. Graveyard Bean Bag Toss: Trunk or Treat Car Costume
44. DIY Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Costumes
45. DIY Raccoon Costume with Printable Mask
46. Easy WildStyle Lego Movie Costume
47. Simple Hello Kitty Costume
48. No Sew Minnie Mouse Costume
49. DIY Inspector Gadget and Penny Costumes
50. DIY Frozen Elsa Dress Baby Edition
51. Fairy Princess Dog Costume
52. DIY Hashtag Halloween Costume
53. Toddler or Baby Egg Costume
57. Baby Short Stack Pancake Costume
58. Elephant and Piggie Halloween Costumes
59. Instagram Halloween Costume
60. Peter Pan & Mr. Smee Halloween Costume
61. Wildstyle Costume from the Lego Movie
62. Fred and Wilma Couples Costume
64. DIY Cruella de Vil Costume for a child
65. Disney Frozen Olaf Halloween Treat Bucket
66. How to Make a Minecraft Steve Head
69. No Sew Cupcake Baker Halloween Costume
70. DIY Skunk Mask
71. Ghostbusters Proton Pack DIY
72. Frozen Anna Costume Tutorial
74. Paw Patrol Halloween Costume
75. No Sew Toothless Dragon Costume
78. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Costume
79. Thrifted Gentleman Spy DIY Halloween Costume
80. DIY Boy Garden Gnome Costume
81. Group Costume: Bob Ross, Happy Tree, & Squirrel
82. DIY Blues Brothers Costumes
86. Easy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Costume
87. Handmade Teddy Bear Costume
88. Princess Elsa and the Spy Kid
Aren’t they all SO fun!!! Hope you enjoyed!
What handmade costume idea(s) do you love the most?!
3 Responses
Such a wonderfully creative (and easy) set of costumes! Stopping by from the hop (#14 mermaid). Pinned this to share!
How much fun !!!! Your family is beautiful (or should I say HANDSOME?) Everyone looks like they are having fun. 🙂 No Way would my DH ever dress up! Lucky you, lucky boys. So many fun memories in the making . Hugs….
Just saw your child’s Mike Wazowski costume. I know you say you embellished it…but where did you get it from? I can’t find anything I like quite as much online for my 3 year old.