DIY: Baby Starbucks Frappuccino Costume

One of the most exciting things about being a parent is getting to experience all of the “firsts” with your child; first words, first crawl, even first Halloween. I’ve scoured Pinterest for months, pinning different ideas of what I thought would make perfect first costumes. My love for “all-things DIY” birthed the idea of creating Nori’s first Halloween costume. There’s something so special about a handmade costume, the uniqueness of it, and the memories it will hold years later once she’s able to look back at old photos and appreciate the effort that went into them. My hope is to make this a yearly tradition.. or at least until she’s “too cool” for momma’s hand-made costumes.

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With this being Nori’s first Halloween, I decided to make (3) different costumes. Given that I’ve never used a sewing machine a day in my life, I think it’s safe to say that I’m pretty ambitious. On a positive note – if I can create these costumes with zero sewing knowledge, then so can you!

First up is this adorable Starbucks Baby Frappuccino Costume which was inspired by this video on Youtube.

Be sure to also check out my other two DIY costumes: DIY Baby Frida and DIY Baby Lion.

Happy Halloween!

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What You’ll Need:

For the materials listed below, clicking the name of the item will redirect you to Amazon if you wish to purchase any of them.

• White or Tan long-sleeve onesie
• Fabric Paint (Black or Brown)
• Sheet(s) of Brown Felt (I used two sheets for a 6M old. You may need more or less depending on size)
• Scissors 
• Sewing Machine
• Elastic
• Velcro
• Ruler
• Hot Glue Gun/Glue Sticks
• 1/2 Yard White Fleece Fabric (More or less depending on size)
• Needle and white thread
• Green glitter card stock paper
• Pen or Fabric Chalk
• Printer/Paper
• Ribbon (Optional)
• Coffee (Optional)
• Stock Pot (Optional)

Step 1: Coffee-Dye the Onesie

This first step is completely optional. If you have a tan onesie, feel free to jump ahead to step #2. If you’re like myself and only have a white one, this is a budget friendly way to achieve a beautiful natural tan colored onesie. This step requires “coffee-dying”, which couldn’t be more appropriate seeing how this is a coffee inspired costume!

• Wash the onesie prior to beginning in order to remove any dirt and oil that could prevent the coffee from dying evenly
• Brew a pot of coffee. Alternatively, you can purchase a single cup of coffee. I used a Venti cup of Medium Roast coffee from Starbucks.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
• Once the water is boiling, add the brewed coffee into the pot and remove from heat.

Tip: If you are looking to create a darker tint, use more coffee with a darker/strong roast and less water. If you would like a lighter tint, use less coffee with a lighter or medium roast and more water.

• Allow the boil to come to a simmer. Add the onesie to the pot and submerge completely. Stir the onesie around to ensure the coffee is being equally distributed.
• Allow the onesie to steep for at least 30 minutes. The longer the fabric steeps, the darker it will be dyed.
• Remove onesie from the pot and thoroughly rinse under cold water. If you wish to achieve a darker tint, add onesie back to the pot to steep once more.
• Wash and dry the onesie on a delicate cycle using cold water and mild detergent. Air dry or add to dryer on low heat.

Step 2: Create the Starbucks Cup Check Boxes

• Flip the onesie over. Using the fabric paint, write your little one’s name at the top. Next, recreate the check boxes that are seen on the back of Starbucks cups. Include all of the normal boxes, include only a few, or simply create your own – this part is totally up to you. For the purpose of this costume, I drew three boxes and labeled them: “Drink”, “Whip” and “Custom”. 
  • Inside the Drink box, I wrote the word Frap.
  • Inside the Whip box, I wrote the letter X.
  • Inside the Custom box, I wrote the words CR (which is the abbreviation Starbucks uses for Caramel).

Tip: If you accidentally make a mistake with the fabric paint, first allow it to dry. One dry, dampen the corner of a washcloth with hot water and soap and gently rub the area that you’d like to fix. The paint should begin to lift from the fabric.

Step 3: Create the Starbucks Cardboard Sleeve

• Lay the sheets of felt on top of one another. Using a ruler, measure out the width needed to fit around your child’s stomach and cut into strips. I needed 3 strips to fit around my 6 month old’s tummy. Keep in mind that you will need to include a little extra felt as this step involves “pleating”, which will impact the final length.
• Lay out the strips of felt and slightly overlap the top of each one. Using a sewing machine, stitch the strips together so that one long strip is achieved.

• Measure 3.5 inches from each end of the felt and faintly mark the location using a pen or fabric chalk. This section will be used for velcro.
• In the center of the felt strip, measure a section that is about 5 inches in width and faintly mark this location. This section will be used for the Starbucks logo.
• Begin forming your first pleat following the 3.5 mark. To achieve a pleat, pinch the felt until it’s slightly raised (see image below). Create a pleat by using a straight stitch on your sewing machine – sewing from the top of the felt towards the raw edge. 

Tip: For accuracy, you can measure out the distance between each pleat. In an effort to save time (and out of sheer laziness) I just eyeballed each one.

• Repeat the above step until you’ve reached the middle where the Starbucks logo will go. Begin pleating the other side of the sleeve until you’ve reached the middle again.

• Adhere the velcro to the outside of the right sleeve and inside of the left sleeve.
• Print a Starbucks logo to fit the 5 inch section in the middle of the sleeve. In Microsoft Word, you can copy/paste a Starbucks image and then adjust the image size. I got my Starbucks logo from here.
• Cut out the image and hot glue it onto the front of the sleeve.

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Step 4: Create the Frappuccino Whip Cream Hat and Collar

• Cut out strips that are 5 1/2 – 6 inches in width and as long as possible.
• Using a needle and thread (or sewing machine), create a wide gathering stitch on one end of the strip. Remove the needle and gather the fabric. If you’re not familiar with sewing, don’t be intimidated by this step. I learned in a matter of minutes. I recommend checking out Youtube if you need additional visuals.

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• Fold the strip in half and glue down the opposite end onto the gathered end to create a thick/fluffy strip of fabric.
• Gently use the strip to measure the width of your child’s head. Form the strip into a crown that is the width of your child’s head and glue to the ends together.
• Repeat the above steps to make smaller fluffy crowns. 
• Stack each crown inside one another, from largest to smallest to create the “whipped cream”. Use a hot glue gun to secure everything in place. 
• Sew on a piece of knit elastic to the ends of the crown so the the hat stay’s in place on your little one’s head.
• For the whip cream collar, repeat the first three bullets above. Gently use the strip to measure the width of your child’s neck. Form the strip into a collar that is the width of your child’s neck and add velcro to the opposite ends.

Step 5: Create the Starbucks Straw

• Cut a strip of the card stock paper. Roll the paper to create a straw and hot glue the inside to hold its shape. When creating the straw, adjust the width and length to your personal preference.
• Hot glue the straw to the inside of the smallest fluffy crown.

Step 6: Create the Caramel Drizzle (Optional)

• Swirl the ribbon around the whipped cream crown and hot glue in place.

Momma and Dad can join in on the fun and dress up as Starbucks baristas! A Starbucks apron can be purchased from Amazon (here) or DIY’d (Pinterest, Youtube).

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If you decide to try out this tutorial, be sure to tag me on Instagram or use the hashtag: #BrookeADIYs!