Teddy Bear Costume

I am a big fan of Halloween. Big Fan. However, university work inevitably starts to pile on and I have to scramble to come up with a costume. This usually results in a few trips to the thrift shop for inspiration. I have had a few really great costumes that were last minute, but simple and really inexpensive.

On one such thrift shop run I found this giant teddy bear for $15 and had to have it. I figured it would be a great teddy bear costume. This project only took me about an hour to put together and required very few tools.

Disclaimer: In the following steps there are several depictions of graphic teddy bear related violence. Some would call it a bear massacre. These scenes may not be suitable for young children, pregnant women or anyone with a pace maker. Viewer discretion is advised.

The first step is to (unfortunately) slit the bears throat. I found that the best way to do this was to puncture a whole with an Exacto knife at the base of the head, then use scissors to cut the hole to the appropriate size. You want a slit that is big enough to fit your head.

Next you need two hand holes. This gives you access to holding things like beverages and phones. The bear that I selected didn't have the same proportions as my body, so having hand holes meant I didn't have to cramp my arms inside of it.

Now you need an entrance. I slit the bottom of the bear open, using the same technique as before. This hole needs to be big enough for your torso to fit through.

Save as much stuffing as you can so that you can fill yourself out in the next step.

This is also a good time to take pictures of a teddy murder/suicide and send them to your friends and coworkers.

To don the costume, I essentially dove into the rear slit, head first. It seems easier than it actually is, but you should be able to figure it out. You may have noticed by now that there is no actual way to see when the head is on. This was a feature that I was aware of during design, but I thought it would be funnier to be blind.

The costume was a big hit at the party, because of the shear silliness of the whole getup alone. The only problem was that the costume was hot. I was only wearing shorts under there and after a bit of dancing I had a good sweat on. This isn't the worst in Canada because usually October weather is brisk.

Although I ran out of time to add the electronics I wanted to, I was planning on hooking up a large button to my stomach and some speakers to play "teddy bear" sounds when I was hugged.

I had the following items ready to order but they weren't going to be here in time.

Large Button:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11960

MP3 Trigger:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11029

Speaker:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12793

Although this would have made my $15 costume closer to $100, all of the electrical components would have been re-purposed later.

This Instructable may have inspired you to never to try this project, but if you do go for it, have fun. It's a simple, funny and original costume. It's unlikely you'll run into another person who destroyed a giant teddy bear and decided to wear it.