3squeezes: DIY Skeleton-Tee

So you all know that I have procrastinated making Halloween costumes for my family for like 7 years now. And if you follow my blog you know that just last week, in a panic, I finally finished a quick and easy Halloween costume for my son. We have a church Halloween party coming up in less than a week and even though I don't have a legitimate costume for myself, I did want to show up with a bit of Halloween spirit. Having a 16 month old son would mean that my Halloween spirit would need to be sans costume make-up, any dangly jewelry or props and would need to be easy to chase a toddler in. Thanks to good ol' Martha I have found just the costume!! Her easy tutorial for a Skeleton-Tee can be found here, or just follow along.

Lets begin:

Materials you will need:

Front rib cage and back rib cage templates
small pair of scissors
exacto knife or rotary blade cutter
tape
white or black t-shirt

Print out the front and back rib cage templates.

Trim the first page on solid line and match to dotted line on second page; tape together.

Pinch the front of your white or black t-shirt at center and pull forward, lining up the sleeves and side hem to create a fold down the center front of shirt. Lay your t-shirt down flat with the fold to the right.

Place the front rib cage template on folded front side of your t-shirt, lining up the vertical line on the template with the fold on your t-shirt. Tape the template in place.

Cut horizontal rib lines with your exacto knife or rotary blade cutter. Now cut the curved areas with your scissors. Using the rotary cutter was just a faster way to start the process but you could definitely do all of the cuts with just a small pair of sharp scissors.

Repeat the steps to create the ribs on the back of the t-shirt, using the back rib template and lining up the vertical line with the back fold.

If you are anything like me you will be dying to try on your skeleton-tee the second you remove the taped on templates. It felt like Christmas and the finished product was even better than I had anticipated. I cant wait to wear this to the Halloween party (I'll be sure to post some pics of both E and myself in our costumes....now to find something for Ben to wear...eeek!)