Monday, October 4, 2010

TUTORIAL: Goomba - Part 4

Welcome to the fourth and final part of my Goomba costume tutorial. It's like the never-ending journey, eh? Thanks for hanging in there! If you' d like to see the rest of the tutorial, please click the links for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

The good news is that you've already made all the pieces you'll need for this part of the tutorial. All we have to do is put the pieces together.

It may help to take a look at the structure of the costume so we know where we're headed.

Here's a picture of the finished costume. Starting with the back half (from left to right in the photo): Goomba body (plain) -> foam insert -> Goomba body (with strips of loop Velcro). The front half of the cosume: Goomba body (with straps sewn onto it) -> foam insert -> Goomba body (face).

1. Sew the back half of the costume.

Lay the Goomba body with strips of loop Velcro sewn onto it such that the Velcro strips face up. Lay the plain Goomba body on top, right side facing down. TIP: The Velcro strips should be in the middle of the felt "sandwich."


Pin the edges, leaving ample room to turn and insert the foam body shape. If you click on the photo, you can see where I used double pins to mark where I stopped and started sewing. TIP: Leave your opening at the bottom. It's easier to close a straight seam than a curved seam.


Sew the body pieces together. Remember to leave a hole for turning.

Turn your newly-sewn Goomba right side out. (Sorry about the lack of photos here. I was so anxious to be done that I forgot about taking pictures.) Insert foam shape. You can either hand-sew the opening closed using a slipstitch, or you can do things the lazy/impatient way like I did. Did I mention I was ready to be done? I sewed the hole closed using my sewing machine. I used my fingers to push the foam out of the way and stitched really close to the edge of the fabric. TIP: Regardless of whether you sew the hole closed by hand or using a machine, pin the hole closed before sewing. This way you're not fighting with the foam insert while you work.

The back half of your Goomba costume should be done!

2. Sew the front half of the costume.
Repeat the same steps as for the back half of the costume.
NOTE: Avoid stitching over the straps or the eyebrows. Fold the straps down onto the body of the Goomba before pinning your pieces together.


Also fold in the eyebrows. Again, I forgot to take a picture. So your Goomba's eyebrows should NOT be sticking out like mine are in the photo above. Bend the eyebrows inward so that they aren't hanging off the edge. You'll reshape them later.

When you pin your body pieces together, you should have a fabric "sandwich" with the Goomba's facial features and the straps in the middle (right sides facing each other).

Follow the same instructions for finishing the back half of the costume: pin, sew, leave hole for turning, turn, insert foam, close hole.

Bend the eyebrows back into position and you're done! Toss on a brown hat, tan pans, brown shoes, and voila! That's one good lookin' Goomba.

12 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for posting this. My son (3 years) has been BEGGING to be a Goomba for Halloween and I was so worried I wouldn't find a good pattern. This is perfect! You made a little boy and his mommy very happy. Thanks!!

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  2. Wow, you are good. And, thank you for posting this. I had a hard time to look for Goomba customes where no one sells them. My 9-year-old son with Autism requests Goomba custome for this Halloween. I was so happy because he never wanted to dress for Halloween. Now, the hardest part is to learn how to use the sewing machine. Thank you. Your son is very lucky to have you as mom.

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  3. Love it! Great tutorial and costume. :D

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  4. Wish I had found this sooner for this year, but will definitely use it for next year! Thank you!

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  5. Thanks for posting this. I ended up making two of these for my boys this halloween. A 6 year old and a 4 year old who are big Mario fans. Very easy to follow and a life saver. I did not know where to start, thanks again!

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  6. TY for this. My son is autistic, and has yet to dress for Halloween because he only wanted to be himself. this year was goomba and I thought "good, I can get that.... WRONG as you know. This will help me so much. thank you thank you thank you and my son gave me lots of kisses for this.

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  7. This pattern isn't just for little ones! My 25 year old wanted to be goomba for our local relay for life (fundraiser for cancer). This pattern was great to follow especially as I only had 24 hours notice and 4 hours to get it done. It is Done and on the parade at this moment

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  8. This tutorial is awesome. My son wants to be a pumpkin (he's 6) and I think I'm going to use your tutorial and adapt it to a pumpkin. Hopefully it works out!

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  9. Any chance you sell these? :)

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    1. I'm flattered that you'd ask. Labor alone would run $80-$100. By the time I add in materials and shipping, I'm not sure how many people would want to pay that much. But yes, if you're still interested, let's talk.

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  10. Hello from 2021! My 9 year old son is so thankful for this tutorial. He's been talking about being a Goomba for Halloween since at least August. Thanks to finding this tutorial he is now ready for Halloween!

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  11. I'm an adult woman thrilled to report I successfully scaled this up to fit me! I basically did a little under 1.5x scale on everything and just kinda eyeballed it. My 4yo cousin requested that I be a Goomba as part of a Mario-themed family costume ensemble so I was so relieved to find this tutorial and I'm delighted with how it turned out. Thank you thank you!!

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