Child’s Lion Costume

Sewing a Little Roar: Making a Lion Costume for My Two-Year-Old Granddaughter

There’s a special kind of joy that comes from creating something especially when it’s for someone you love. This Halloween, I made a lion costume for my two-year-old granddaughter. She’s just the right mix of sweet and plucky, and the thought of her toddling around as a tiny lion made my heart melt.

First though I had to consult her older sister for ideas, i.e., grand#1 (5 y.o.). Now she clearly was going to be a unicorn but she also had opinions on her sister’s costume and so the lion costume was selected for her.

Choosing the Design

I started by looking at patterns, but I quickly realised that a toddler costume doesn’t need to be complicated—it just needs to be comfortable and adjustable for cold weather. I found Ultimate Costume Creator from Peekaboo patterns fit my needs exactly. These are the greatest patterns with size ranges from NB all the way up to size 12. Fleece is warm (perfect for trick-or-treating in cooler weather), easy to sew, and most importantly, easy to wash.

Gathering Materials

Here’s what I used:

• golden-brown fleece for the body of the costume from mimifabrics
• dark brown ribbing for arm and leg cuffs also from mimifabrics
• bronze coloured yarn for mane (in my stash from knitting a man’s sweater)
• orange quilting cotton for the inner ears and hood lining
• zipper (16″) with circle zipper pull

I made sure to prewash the fabrics—toddlers and sticky fingers are a guaranteed combo, so easy washing later is essential.

Sewing the Costume

I started with the basic onesie-style pattern based on a size larger than measurements. Simple back and front with long sleeves. I used dark brown ribbing for the arm and leg cuffs. Very simple to sew.

The tail was was also a simple tube of fleece stuffed lightly with poly-fill and finished with a tuft of yarn on the end. I may have made it a bit longer than called for because I wanted her to be able to reach around and see it. It does drag a bit, but then everything is washable – right?

The Hood is the Main Event

The hood was my favourite part to work on and also too the longest. It included the sweet rounded ears for a lion and included little orange patches for the inside. I also added a bit of poly-fill for them. For the mane, I folded several lengths of yarn and cut them like a pompom. First, I strung them all together along another string of yarn then sewed it this along the edge of the hood to form the mane. I wanted the mane to look full so I moved it forward on the top between the ears and then tacked it behind the ears giving it a playful, fluffy look—just like a little lion cub. I also let some fall down on each side so she could have lots of movement when she roared. My one other addition was to add a casing around the edge of the hood for a cord so the hood could be cinched around her face. I put a little pom-pom at the end of each cord for additional fun and play.

The Finished Look

When my granddaughter tried it on for the first time, we asked her if she knew what animal it was and she gave us a big “ROAR!”—followed by lots of giggles from her and us! That made every stitch worthwhile!

Tips for Fellow Sewists

• Comfort first: Her parents appreciated how easy it was to slip on and, if necessary, to include extra layers for warmth. It was roomy enough but the cuffs made it fit safely.
• Think washable: Use machine-safe materials wherever possible. With 2 other siblings in her family it will be nice to re-purpose in future years.
• Skip small embellishments: Buttons or beads can be choking hazards so I kept that to a minimum. I used zipper tape and pulls I had on hand.
• The added cord around the hood and cuffs for arms and legs gave it a comfortable custom-look fit

I also made a matching “loot bag” made from the leftover fabric. I used the (free) ethel tote pattern by Swoon Patterns.