Oscar the Grouch Costume

My son, Jonathan, is a 5 year old who inspired me to turn him into the most famous and beloved grouch of all times.
I ordered green olive Mongolian faux fur on Amazon for $19.99 a yard. I bought a yard which my mother used her sewing machine to sew the fabric onto a zippered sweater and a pair of pants my son already owned. Fabric was also sewn onto a pair of stretchy $1.00 gloves. The mask was a little bit trickier since Oscar the Grouch has a wide sort of football shaped head. We used a double layer ski mask and opened up the top layer to stuff the sides of his head to give it the wide egg shape. Once it was to our liking the fabric was sewn onto it. The filling was polyester filler that I took out of a pillow I had stuffed for my son a while ago.
The large spherical eyes were made out of two plastic ball that came directly from my son’s ball pit. White felt was glued onto half of the spheres. After which, holes were made and stretched out black sheer tights were glued on the inside of the balls such as to create Oscar’s pupils. This material allowed for him to see while still giving the illusion of black pupils to those around him. The eyes were brought together via the bushy brown unibrow and this was then glued to the front of the mask. The eyebrows were made of a strip of left over faux fur that was painted brown with a $1.00 acrylic paint.
The can was made out of a cardboard cylinder canister. Nylon rope was used to create the raised ridge pattern. The rope was routed and taped into place around the entire can. After the pattern was completed, duct tape was used to cover the can. Duct tape turned out to be a perfect choice because it gave the can an older rustic look. A cardboard cylinder found on clothes hangers was used as the hinge for the handles. Using cardboard, more duct tape, and clothes hanger wire, we were able to create rather sturdy and functional trash can handles. My son was able to grab these handles to carry the can around him as he walked. The can cover was made in similar fashion. Velcro was glued to the inside of the can cover and mated to sewed on Velcro at the top of the Grouch mask. This allowed for him to remove the heavier can top when it wasn’t needed to relieve stress from his child sized neck.
Slimey the worm was made from a yellow tube sock. It was stuffed from the same material as the mask. Orange felt were cut into 1 inch wide strip and using a glue gun were glued on to the sock. The mouth and tongue were also made from felt. His eyes were two black buttons that were sewn onto the sock. Slimey remained intact on the trash can by using wire that went through the trash can. The word “Scram” was written on a piece of paper that was laminated. A piece of black string was glued to the paper and can to hold the sign still.
The costume didn’t cost much to make. Imagination and creativity go along way when it comes to costume making. You don’t have to invest a lot of money to end up with a great costume. This costume cost under $40 to make and that includes a $10 shipping fee that was necessary to purchase the fur.