How to make an ostrich jockey

Since several people have asked, I thought I would explain how the ostrick jockey was made...it was really pretty simple. I wasn't confident that Sloane would actually wear it (becuase, you know, 1 year olds kinda do what THEY want to do), but I wanted to make it anyway, so I kept telling myself I would start making it but then quit when it got too difficult or when it was taking too much time. Afterall, I didn't want to spend all my time making a costume that she would never wear. But it never got very hard so I just kept on going! She fought me everytime I tried to get her IN the costume, to which I replied by sticking candy in her face to keep her happy--yep, great parenting skills here--but once it was on, she didn't fight it at all.

Anyway, it's made by taking a round donut-shaped pillow and wrapping it with feather boas (3 of them). (Actually, I used one of those neck pillows that people use when they travel...you know the ones that are shaped like a small boppy. And then filled in the open part of the "mini boppy" with a another small rectangular pillow. Just pinned it all together.)

Then take a pair of shorts overalls and pin the donut pillow to the outside of the overalls, about butt high. The idea is that she won't have to have any shoulder straps holding up the pillow because it'll be pinned directly to what she's wearing.

To make the fake legs, cut the legs off a pair of old jeans and pin those to the overalls, and drape them over the pillow/ostrich body. (I shortened the fake legs and pinned a pair of shoes to the bottom of the fake legs for Halloween night. I'll post those pictures later.)

For the head and neck, take a wrapping paper roll, a wadded up plastic sack, and a cardboard cone and tape them all together to form the shape of an ostrich's head and neck. Cover it with a pair of pantyhose (I used trouser socks), and glue on some eyes. Find a way to stick the neck inside the donut pillow. (I happened to have a little hole in mine where the mini boppy met the rectangular pillow where the neck could just slide right in.) The neck kept wanting to fall over so I put a ribbon around it and pinned it to the overalls so that it looked like reigns. After adding a couple white feather puffs around the neck and at the butt, the body of the ostrich is complete.

I dressed Sloane in another pair of trouser socks on her legs (they ended up being more like thigh-highs on her) so that it looked like ostrich legs. Tights would work well too, but I had trouser socks on hand. I cut out 2 claw shapes out of felt and taped them to the tops of her shoes, and put a safari style hat around her neck, and there you have it...an ostrich jockey straight from the outback, mate!

Actually, probably one of the easier and quicker (maybe 5 hours?) costumes I've made, no sewing involved really, just lots and lots of safety pins. And all I had to buy were the boas, the white feather puffs, and extra safety pinns--about $13 in all! (Oh, and to clarify something on my previous post, I did not make all of the other costumes--I updated that post with the details.)