Grocery Bag of Muppet Fruit and Vegetables Costume

This year’s Halloween costume stemmed from a very obscure desire (Muppets are cool and I wanted one). 

About the time of last year’s New Years I had started watching shorts, both recent and very old, of Jim Henson’s Muppets. They are so funny. The ones I remember so fondly were the vegetable/fruit Muppets that were made to sing by getting hit with a mallet on the head.

Originally, I was going to do a movie-quality costume of Connor from Assassin’s Creed 3. There is nothing like a man in colonial garb. NOTHING. And a tomahawking BAMF on top of that? Please………the ultimate. I had everything needed but it boiled down to not having enough time to do all that I wanted, the way I wanted it.

So, PLAN B, a grocery bag containing Muppet vegetables and fruit because that made so much sense. I had so much damn fun making this and it was so damn cute. Going to make presents for friends out of the fruit and veggies. 

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"Muppet" grocery bag - steps #2-4

Logo - "Jim's Natural FOODS" - PDF attached to step #5

All “Muppet” vegetable and fruit list - PDF patterns for muppets attached to steps #7-13

1. 2 carrots
2. onion
3. dragon fruit
4. tomato
5. eggplant and 2 zucchini
6. banana
7. cantaloupe
8. lettuce

SIZING for bag: Mens L - M / Women L (14-1

General supply list (Will break it down further as I get into the individual components)

• ¼ yd. of fleece material for each fruit unless it is the size of something like lettuce which was ½ yd
• 1 sheet (8.5 in. X 11 in. standard) per color of felt needed
• ¼ yd. black fabric (do not suggest boardcloth. Get something sturdier to handle a little weight)
• 2 yds. Burlap or canvas
• 2 yds. Backing neutral color backing fabric
• 3 yds. Jute webbing 3 ½ in. (basically heavy cheap lining to keep it from bending too much)

Eyes

• 30 -> 7mm black fuzzy puffs
• 2 -> 3 in. white fuzzy puffs
• 3 in. x 8 in. bit of brown foam sheet (eyelashes)

MISC.

• acrylic paint (face, logo, effects, etc.)
• green, pink and a dark colored yarn
• hot glue
• permanent white-like glue (NOT super glue)
• sewing machine (I really suggest not sewing by hand)
• news paper
• masking/ painters/ packaging tape (something of the like)
• big butcher/ packaging paper (suggestion)
• chalk marker or something equivalent to mark off with 

Attire underneath (like a puppeteer making you focus on the bag and not the person wearing it):

• Black spandex hood/mask
• Black arm length gloves
• Black shirt/pants/socks/shoes

WARNING, sizing for bag (only): Mens L - M / Women L (14-10)

• All the sizing and measurements I am providing for the grocery bag is made for my size.
• However, if my size is too big or too small, the first 3 pictures are me using the packaging paper to mock-up how the, harness and the bag would sit on my person plus where and how big to make the arm holes.

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Pieces:
Main Front and Back

• cut 4 => 22 in. H X 19 in. W burlap (2 cuts) and backing fabric (2 cuts)
• cut 2 => 20 in. Jute webbing 
• cut 4 => 17 in. - 16 in. Jute webbing 

2 Sides

• cut  4 => 22 in. H X 15 in. W burlap fabric
• cut 2 => 1.5 in. long strips

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Construction:
Main Front and Back

1. Sew the top and bottom of the height leaving the width sides open.
2. Turn inside out and iron flat. (pict #5 - 6)
3. Insert 1 long cut of the Jute webbing at the top and insert 2 shorter Jute webbing on the sides. (pict #7)
4. Sew all into place. (pict #8)

2 Sides

1. Sew the top and bottom of the height leaving the width sides open.
2. Sew all into place.
3. Mark off and cut out arm hole at the top.
4. Take black strips and sew on the edge of the arm holes flip over on the other side and sew again. It keeps it from falling apart that burlap is likely to do. 

Whole Bag (last 2 picts)

1. Sew the sides together. Side to front to side to back to side.
2. Invert inside out. 
3. Sew the edges again. 

Black Harness (using my dimensions)

1. Cut 2 long strips of black fabric 5 in. in width.
2. Fold strips in half length wise making it now 2.5 in. in width
3. Sew the 2 length edges together (pict #2) ending up with 2 long tubes
4. Reverse out the tubes then I would sew the edge again to flatten it. 

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1. Cut black strips into the following:
   2 => 12 in. (cross section) (pict #3)
   2 => 32 in. (main strips) (pict #3)
   2 => 6 in. (sidearm cross section) (pict #8)
   Total of 6
2. Sew 2 (12 in.) cross sections to both main sections seen in (pict #5)
3. Put on the harness on you, friend, dressform or whichever, then put on the grocery bag on make sure the arm holes (pict #6) are at the top and adjust the bag height wise until it sits where you would like it to (pict #7). Mark off where you want to attach the harness to the bag. 
4. Sew the harness to bag.
5. Sew the sidearm cross section to the bag connecting both sides of the bag with the strip so that the arm can go through. (pict #8)

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1. May think about sewing on velcro for the muppet veggies and fruit. DO NOT USE stick on velcro. 20 minutes tops is all you get. OR make is permanent and hot glue the suckers.  

2 Pillow Inserts

1. Cut a 2 => 20 in. X 10 in. or 4 => 10 in. X 10 in. of burlap or sturdy fabric.
2. Sew pieces or sides together creating 2 separate squares with one side left open. (pict #9)
3. Invert inside out, stuff and sew remaining side closed. (pict #10)
4. Hot glue the pillows on each opposing side inside the bag. It will help the bag from bending from the weight and sizing of the muppet vegetables and fruit. (last pict #11)

Supplies:
Brown foam sheet
black felt
2 => 3 in. white puffy balls
Brown acrylic paint
Hot glue

Construction:
Hot glue 2 white puffy balls
Cut 2 black felt circles and hot glue to white puffs
Cut 2 half moons from burlap to fit over the white puff eyes. 
Cut eye lashes like pict #10 and hot glue to eye lids (pict #11)
Line the lid with brown acrylic. 

Logo on the Back:

1. chalk/mark in the logo (JimsNaturalFoods.pdf) on the back. 
2. Paint in logo with brown acrylic paint.
3. Finish up "FOODS" with white highlights from white acrylic paint. 

NOTE: I was so stoked about this logo. I used "Henson" from Jim Henson to deconstruct and make "Natural". "FOODS" came from the "Muppet Show" logo.
 

Finishing:

1. Make paper mock-ups of the fruits and vegetables.
2. Use finished bag for placement and sizing.
3. Finish off muppet veggies and fruit (following steps).
4. WHA LA

NOTE: You can tell by the last image that the bag and I had a long day at work. Sexy. 

Supplies

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¼ yd. Orange fleece
acrylic paint - dark orange (I mixed it dark)
light green yarn and needle to thread yarn through (metal needle best)
8 in. X 6 in. (roughly) leafy green fleece 
1.5-2 in. X 4 in. cut of burlap fabric (stem)
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of dark red felt (mouth)
Glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Made a mock-up of the body and leafy stem out of news paper and tape.
Wrapped the mock-up in orange fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern. See PDF pattern attached. 
Sewed it together leaving it open at the top
Inverted inside out the sewn carrot
Stuff it leaving it open at the top

Leafy Stem:
Take the swatch of burlap and wrap up inside if bottom part of leafy green fleece piece leaving the top to gather together at the top. Sew up the stem to the gather part.

Attach Stem: (pict #6 - 10)
Insert the stem bottom into the open top of the carrot. 
Take end of yarn just above the edge of the carrot top.
Start to wrap, pretty tight, the yarn around the carrot end and stem then wrap back up.
Thread the end the yarn end through the needle and needle through the wrapped yarn area.
When finished, cut the ends off. No need to tack with glue. 

Paint Effects:
Dab and swipe some dark orange paint  on the surface to make the typical  carrot "look".

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from dark red felt. 
Glue mouth and black puff eyes on.

Supplies

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¼ yd. white fleece
acrylic paint - yellow (I mixed it a little darker than just canary yellow)
light green yarn and needle to thread yarn through (metal needle best)
beige yarn
8 in. X 6 in. (roughly) leafy green fleece 
1.5-2 in. X 4 in. cut of burlap fabric (stem)
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of bright red felt (mouth)
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Made a mock-up  of the body and leafy stem out of news paper and tape.
Wrapped the mock-up in white fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern, a 4 part pattern. See PDF pattern attached. 
Sewed it together leaving it open at the top
Inverted inside out the sewn onion
Stuff it leaving it open at the top

Leafy Stem:
Take the swatch of burlap and wrap up inside if bottom part of leafy green fleece piece leaving the top to gather together at the top. Sew up the stem to the gather part. 

Attach Stem (see carrot for pictures):
Insert the stem bottom into the open top of the onion. 
Take end of yarn just above the edge of the onion top.
Start to wrap, pretty tight, the yarn around the onion end and stem then wrap back up.
Thread the end the yarn end through the needle and needle through the wrapped yarn area.
When finished, cut the ends off. No need to tack with glue. 

Paint Effects:
Long swipes of color from bottom of the onion and half way up.

Attach Root:
Wrap beige yarn around and around for about 10 times.
Tie it into a knot in the middle. 
Attach to the bottom of the onion with hot glue.

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from dark red felt. 
Glue mouth and black puff eyes on.

Supplies

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¼ yd. Pink fleece
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of white felt (eyes)
Green felt 
Glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Made a mock-up of the body out of news paper and tape.
Wrapped the mock-up in pink fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern. See PDF pattern attached. 
Sewed darts first.
Sew the 2 pieces together leaving the top open.
Invert outside out and stuff.

Leaves:
Cut multiple leaves. (pattern in PDF attached).
Glue by the bottom edge to fruit.

Eyes:
Cut and glue white eyes under 2 of the green felt leaves.
Glue black puffs on top of the white felt eyes.  
 

Supplies

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¼ yd. red fleece
green yarn and needle to thread yarn through (metal needle best)
8 in. X 2 in. (roughly) emerald green fleece 
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of bright black felt (mouth) to contrast strong enough from the main red.
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Made a mock-up of the body out of news paper and tape.
Wrapped the mock-up in fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern, a 4 part pattern. See PDF pattern attached. 
Sewed it together leaving it open at the top
Inverted inside out
Stuff it leaving it open at the top

Stem:
Cut out the leafy parts down the length of the green fleece swath. 
Scrunch it all together to where the leaves flare out and then take end of yarn just under the top.
Start to wrap, pretty tight, the yarn around the fleece stem down to just above the leaves then wrap back up.
Thread the end the yarn end through the needle and needle through the wrapped yarn area.
When finished, cut the ends off. No need to tack with glue. 
Attach to open top of tomato with hot glue.

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from dark red felt. 
Glue mouth and black puff eyes on.

Supplies

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¼ yd. purple fleece
¼ yd. emerald green fleece
8 in. X 2 in. (roughly) emerald green fleece 
green yarn and needle to thread yarn through (metal needle best)
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of red felt (mouth)
white acrylic paint
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Made a mock-up of the body out of news paper and tape.
Use mock-up against the fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern. See PDFs pattern attached. 
Sewed it together leaving it open at the top
Inverted inside out
Stuff it leaving it open at the top

Stem:
Cut out the leafy parts down the length of the green fleece swath.
Scrunch it all together to where the leaves flare out and then take end of yarn just under the top.
Start to wrap, pretty tight, the yarn around the fleece stem down to just above the leaves then wrap back up.
Thread the end the yarn end through the needle and needle through the wrapped yarn area.
When finished, cut the ends off. No need to tack with glue.
Attach to open top of tomato with hot glue.

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from dark red felt. 
Glue mouth.
(Zucchini) - Glue black puff eyes on.
(Eggplant) - Paint white dots for the eyes

Zucchini:
Paint small yellow streaks down the zucchini bodies to give a little definition. 

Supplies

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¼ yd. light yellow fleece
¼ yd. yellow fleece
dark colored yarn and needle to thread yarn through (metal needle best)
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of red felt (mouth)
light brown acrylic paint
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Make a mock-up of the body out of news paper and tape.
Use mock-up against the fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern. See PDFs pattern attached.
Sewed it together leaving it open at the bottom.
Inverted inside out
Stuff it leaving it open at the bottom.
Fold in the extra fleece at the bottom. (pict #5 on the right)

Banana Peel:
See pattern attached as PDF for 4 pieces.
Sew them together but only half way leave the “peel” look.
Paint light brown acrylic along the seams to the end/bottom of the peel to give the “banana” look. (pict #6)
Stuff
Hot glue insides of peels to outside of main banana body. (pict #7 – 8)

Bottom of the Banana Peel (see carrot step for picts):
Start to wrap, pretty tight, the yarn around to the bottom end and back up.
Thread the end the yarn end through the needle and needle through the wrapped yarn area.
When finished, cut the ends off. No need to tack with glue.

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from red felt.
Glue mouth and black puff eyes on.

Supplies

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¼ yd. dark/ muted yellow fleece
orange felt sheet
Letter size cut of really thick interface where one side has an adhesive on it
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of red felt (mouth)
light brown, dark orange and white acrylic paint
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Make a mock-up of the body out of news paper and tape for general sizing.
I used the sectioning you see in a basket ball to base the 5 piece pattern on. See PDF attached.
Sew it together leaving a small opening in the middle of one of the sides.
Invert inside out.
Stuff and hot glue the opening together.
Paint dab texture to surface with light brown acrylic, heavy on the sides and lighter in the middle. (pict #4)

Mouth Construction:
Cut thick interfacing/board like thing into two pieces.
Place side by side and iron onto orange felt sheet. The separation allows for the felt to bend easily.
Fold in half and cut half moons shape. (pict #5)

Mouth Effect:
Don’t do what I did which is the opposite of what I am about to write.
Paint circle in the middle with dark orange acrylic.
Outline circle and dab dots in the middle with white acrylic.

Finish Face:
Cut out an opening in the main body and also cut into stuffing. (pict #8 - 9)
Place mouth inside the opening you just made. (pict #10)
Slowly and carefully hot glue fleece edge of opening to edge of mouth. Allow the glue to cool in sections as you go.
Glue black puff eyes on.

Supplies

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¼ yd. dark red fleece
acrylic paint - white and pink
light green  and pink yarn and needle to thread yarn through (metal needle best)
8 in. X 6 in. (roughly) leafy green fleece 
1.5-2 in. X 4 in. cut of burlap fabric (stem)
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of bright pink felt (mouth)
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Made a mock-up  of the body and leafy stem out of news paper and tape.
Wrapped the mock-up in dark red fleece to get an idea of how to cut the pattern, a 3 part pattern. See PDF pattern attached. 
Sewed it the sides together leaving it open at the top and bottom open.
Inverted inside out.
Stuff.

Leafy Stem:
Take the swatch of burlap and wrap up inside if bottom part of leafy green fleece piece leaving the top to gather together at the top. Sew up the stem to the gather part. 

Attach Stem (see carrot for pictures):
Insert the stem bottom into the open top of the radish. 
Take end of yarn just above the edge of the radish top.
Start to wrap, pretty tight, the yarn around the radish end and stem then wrap back up.
Thread the end the yarn end through the needle and needle through the wrapped yarn area.
When finished, cut the ends off. No need to tack with glue. 

Main Effects:
Paint huge areas of the top and bottom in pink.
Paint big swipes of white close to the top.
Use needle to sew in and out around the main body with pink yarn. (pict #4) Tack with glue where the yarn comes out of the fleece. Once glue dries, cut extra yarn off.

Finish Root:
wrap with pink yarn like you did for the stem. (pict #6)

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from bright pink felt. 
Glue mouth and balck puff eyes on.

Supplies

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½ yd. leafy green fleece
green yarn
2 -> 7 mm "pom pom" black fuzzy balls (eyes)
1.5 in. X 1 in. cut of pink felt (mouth)
medium/ dark green acrylic paint
Glue
Hot glue

Construction

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Main Body:
Make a mock-up of the body out of news paper and tape for general sizing.
Cut a huge square of fleece.
Place a fist size amount of stuffing in the middle. 
Gather fairly tight and tie off with yarn. (pict #3)
Cut 2 => 6 in. X 6 in. fleece pieces and tie off again around the middle. (pict #4)
Hot glue to sides of middle. (pict #6)
Gather main fleece left underneath up and around the middle into pleats.
Hot glue pleats to middle.
Flip over and tie off with a few rounds of yarn. (pict #7)

Effects:
Cut extra from main leafy part until satisfied.
Paint mid to dark green on the leafy edges. (pict #8 - 9)

Finish Face:
Cut out a mouth from red felt.
Glue mouth and black puff eyes on.