"The Flintstones 2007 Costume"

Costume Instructions

Costume Materials
No patterns were used, so fabric needed was estimated. I used 72" wide felt. For Fred, I used 1 1/4 yard orange and 1/4 yard of light blue; for Wilma, 1 yard white; For Betty, 1 yard royal blue; for Barney, 1 yard brown; for Pebbles, 1/2 yard hot pink, and 1/2 yard black. The extra black was used to make triangles for Fred and Pebbles extra design. Other accessories used: 10 styrofoam balls that I strung on white yarn for Wilma's necklace; approx. 21 inches of black ribbon and one styrofoam ball attached to betty's neck. Temporary Hair color was used as follows: Black for Fred and Betty; Blonde for Barney; Red for Wilma; and Hot Pink for Pebbles (to match her costume better - more comperable to the more grown-up pebbles costumes I've seen). A bone was taken off some halloween jewelry for Pebbles' hair, and a hair loop to hold a ponytail. Coordinating thread needed. Bobby pin is attached to Betty's hairbow. Betty's costume was held on by safety pins. No footwear needed. Hot Glue.

Costume Instructions
I freehanded the costume sizes and patterns, based on the animated cartoon character drawings. All the costume bottoms were zig-zagged randomly to create the look shown. Also, on sleeves of Fred, Barney, and Pebbles, and Fred's tie, I cut a few random wedges out of edges to create the "imperfect" look. The costumes fit my children, whose standard sizes are: Betty- Women's 10, or juniors XL top and juniors 11 pant; Barney- boys 12-14 slim; Fred- boys 16 slim; Wilma- juniors 3; Pebbles-size 2T. For estimated cutting guides, one could chose a t-shirt that fit loosely, and when cutting, cut to desired length, making sure to leave a 1/2 inch seam allowance at all seams. For Wilma, I used a form fitting dress, which she is actually wearing as a "slip" underneath the otherwise somewhat see-through white felt dress. One important note when using felt: it stretches, so when cutting neck opennings, cut small -- you can always go back and cut a little more out as you fit it! To begin neck, fold outfit in half leghthwise, matching sleeves together, and then snip a small slot to indicate center of neck. Remember that the back of a neck openning doesn't dip down very far, while the neck front will dip just a bit further, so cut front and back separately. (No need to finish off edges, as felt does not frey like most fabrics.) Other than Betty's costume and attaching Pebble's skirt to her top, the only sewing required is the side seams of each costume, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. For Fred and Pebbles, hot glue was used to attach the black triangles. For Fred's tie, I cut a strip of light blue felt about 5 inches wide, and then cut out shape of a tie. I tied a knot above the widest part (near the neck)and wrapped the shorter part around neck, re-inserting the small end into the back of the knot (could be done the more tradtional way, too). For Pebbles, I made a small black skirt, and the hot pink top, both pieces zig-zagged at the bottom. I did have Pebbles wear black capri stretch pants, too. I attached the skirt to the top with stitching at the side seam of the top and tacked it in both the center front and back (this eliminated the need for a waistband on the skirt). For Barney, felt was cut in the shape of an X to represent stitching, and glued to the front chest of his costume. For Betty, I made the costume more fitted (it wasn't until after the picture was taken, that I noticed that Betty's costume twisted slightly off center during our busy moments of preparation for the picture... it was fitted properly), using darts in the front stomach and mid-back to form a shapely costume. I then simply safety pinned the costume on. I hot glued the center of the black ribbon to center front top edge of dress, and hot glued the styrofoam ball on top of the ribbon, forming Betty's neckline, and pinned the ribbon in the back around the neck. A rectangle of blue felt, about 3x4 was used for the main part of the bow, and accordian folded, and wrapped in the center with a much smaller rectangle of blue felt and hot glued. A bobby pin was then added. For Wilma, I simply cut out a from where the neck would start at the right shoulder, down to the top of the left underarm, forming the angled Wilma dress. I then took a long needle, with an eye wide enough for yarn, and one by one threaded the yarn through the center of each styrofoam ball, forming Wilma's necklace. After the costumes were on each child, each child styled their hair accordingly, a towel was then wrapped around each one's shoulers and neck, and hairspray was used to color their hair accordingly, and eventually dries well. At the end of the evening, the kids could take off the costumes over their heads, without the haircolor rubbing off on the costumes. Easy - moderate.