Cheese grater + Cheese dress DIY Halloween Costumes

You’ve heard me say it 9000000 times, but every year Zeke follows in the tradition that my Mom and I set out during Halloween: think of anything and everything that you are dreaming about for a Halloween costume and MAKE IT HAPPEN! 🙂 Doodling, sewing, thinking, talking and shopping at the fabric store…..it ALL happens together so that his imagination can come to life! 🙂 

And this year is NO DIFFERENT, duh! He told me that this year he wanted a “funny costume” and I said OK! He then proceeded to tell me that he REALLLLLY wanted to be a cheese grater so that Esther can be the cheese. I said “that’s cute!” And practically rolling on the floor from laughing so hard, his response was: “MOM! Because Esther can’t have cheese, it’s so funny if she dressed up as cheese since she can’t eat it!!!!!!!!!” (Esther has a dairy allergy that we just learned about over the summer) OKKKKKK! What Mom can deny a sense of humor + Halloween put together!?! 🙂

So here we have it, our 2018 Halloween costumes are a little girl as a wedge of cheese and her trusty cheese grater brother! 🙂

Since Esther is SUPER DUPER two years old (yay toddlers) I decided to go with a “cheese dress” that she would actually keep it on. Initially we had big plans to make her this cute foam cheese block, but it’s hard enough to even get her to wear clothes on a daily basis, I wasn’t about to ruin Halloween over a clothing fight. 

And her dress was VERY simple to make! I basically took one of her dresses to fit the bodice (or top) of the dress. I cut out a lining and then an overlay slightly bigger than the lining. Cut in some holes, finished the edges of the holes, and then sewed up the sides. A SUPER simple costume. And you, truthfully, could make it even easier if you grabbed felt to use instead. I chose to do a darker yellow sweatshirt material (our Halloween’s are chilly at night up in the north) with a thicker cotton/canvas overlay. Just to add some bulk and warmth so that she wouldn’t complain of being chilly! 🙂

And Zeke’s grader was an easy Halloween DIY as well. (I am convinced that well thought out costumes shouldn’t take days upon days to make. It’s all a balance of ease and quality so that my kids can bring them out and play dress up for the years to come.)

Basically the 4 sides of the grater are Ultra Thick sewable interfacing with a layer of “heat’n bond” between the interfacing and the fabric. I then cut out holes for the front and sides (the front holes are larger and the sides are smaller, per my “research”). I hot glued 1/2 circles over top of the larger holes on the front and back to add the “grabbing part” of the grader. Add some shoulder straps and VIOLA, you’re done! 🙂

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all you DIYers, sewers, hot-gluers, and Halloween costume makers galore! I can’t wait to peruse Instagram later today to see all of your amazing creations! 🙂