Sons of Anarchy Toddler Halloween Costume: Toddlers of Anarchy Cuteness!

My husband and I are big fans of the FX television show, Sons of Anarchy.  Sadly, this is the last season. [*tear*]  My husband is also a biker himself, albeit a sport biker (and a law-abiding one at that….as far as I know, at least….).  For Halloween this year, we thought it would be cute to dress up our little man as a biker from the show, almost as a mini Jax Teller (minus the long hair and pristine white sneakers).  I made a DIY-version of the Sons’ leather vests, and since my son is only 16-months-old, I changed his costume up a bit and made it Toddlers of Anarchy, just to make it a little more playful.  And I swear he makes the cutest little biker baby you’ve ever laid eyes on!

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My Inspiration

My inspiration for my little man’s Sons of Anarchy toddler Halloween costume was Jax of course: black vest with distinctive SOA patches, white t-shirt,  jeans, and tattoos.  Keep reading to find out how I was able to pull everything together….even the tattoos!

[Yes, I realize not everyone will find this Halloween costume appropriate for a toddler.  I don’t care.  I am his mom and I think it is adorable.  Not in your stereotypical pumpkin or Spiderman or lobster costume (we did that last year, and he was so stinkin’ cute then too!).  If you don’t think a toddler should be dressing up as a motorcyclist for Halloween, then I suggest you stop reading now…and develop a sense of humor.  Life’s too short to be grumpy about insignificant stuff.  Lighten up! :)]

 

The Black Vest

While going through my son’s closet earlier this year to purge all the clothes that no longer fit him, I spotted this black hoodie from last winter.  It’s a size 12-months and he still fits it in the torso since he’s a skinny minny.  However, he’s also always been over the 100th percentile for height, so the sleeves are waaay too short.  Therefore, this would make the perfect vest for this costume….just some chopping with my scissors would take care of it in no time!

 

The Toddlers of Anarchy Patch Designs

To design the patches for the vest (which are the main components of this costume), I first did a Google image search to see what the real vests in the show look like to base mine after.  I also downloaded both a high resolution image of their grim reaper logo as well as a free font called Carnevalee Freakshow that was the first result when searching for “Sons of Anarchy font”….and it’s perfect!

Using Photoshop Elements, I then designed all the different patches and positioned them so they would fit on one 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of printable vinyl (more on this in a bit).

I changed some of the patches to make them more fitting for us and a little more playful.  We’ll also be spending Halloween up in Kentucky at my parents’ house (it’s my dad’s birthday too!), so no reference to Alabama even though that’s where we currently live…the Bluegrass will always be my Old Kentucky Home….

• Sons of Anarchy –> Toddlers of Anarchy
• President, Men of Mayhem –> President, Tots of Terror
• California –> Kentucky
• Redwood Original –> Bluegrass Original
• MC (Motorcycle Club) –> TC (Tricycle Club)

 

Printing the Patches On Printable Vinyl

To make the patches, I bought a pack of printable vinyl that you can use on any inkjet printer and then simply iron on to fabric.  My plan was to print out the wording for all the patches on the vinyl, cut them out, iron them onto white fabric, cut those out, then hand-stitch everything onto the black hoodie/vest.

I first printed out my design on a plain white sheet of printer paper then cut out the individual patches just to make sure I had the sizes correct.  My first test run proved successful, so I then loaded up my printer with a sheet of my printable vinyl and did another print.  Then I cut out each of the patches.

 

Creating the Patches

To finish making the patches, I sacrificed a plain white undershirt from my husband’s stash….he’s got hundreds of them, so I figured he won’t miss this one.  I first ironed the shirt to make it nice and smooth, then ironed on the vinyl.

It was super easy too….I just used the cotton setting with NO steam (ink smearing = bad), and applied even pressure and heat for about 20 seconds over each patch.  They stuck very well, although I did have to do 2-3 passes over each to get a firm adhesion.

Once everything cooled down, I used my scissors and cut each one out, leaving about a 1/4″ edge of fabric along the outside of each.  This is where I would hand-stitch them onto the vest.

 

Creating the Vest

To turn Rowan’s hoodie into a biker vest, all I needed was a pair of scissors.  I simply used my scissors and cut just on the outside of the seams along both sleeves as well as the hood, and voila!  Instant biker vest.

 

Sewing on the Patches

Next came the most time-consuming part of this costume creation: hand-sewing all the patches on.  Now, I don’t sew.  At all.  It’s on my bucket list to eventually get a sewing machine and learn because I would absolutely LOVE to know how to create lots of cute and fun and functional goodies….hey, I love all things crafty.

I’ve probably only ever hand-sew a couple buttons on in my entire life, and maybe stitched up a ripped seam once or twice.  Maybe.  But I was not intimated by this (it’s just a toddler’s costume after all!), so I grabbed our travel sewing kit that normally has a happy home in our junk drawer and got ready to dive right it.

For the back of the vest, I used some painter’s tape to space the patches correctly and keep everything in position.  Once again, I don’t sew, so no straight pins here!

I then loaded up my needle with some white thread and started hand-stitching all the patches on.  Once the back was complete, I did the same to the four patches on the front.

Yes, I know my stitches are HUGE.  I give you permission to laugh.  Really, go ahead.  I laugh at them, too.  But you know what?…..they got the job done, baby!  That’s all that matters here.  I was aiming for completion, not perfection, and I figured a rough and tough biker gang wouldn’t worry about the size of their stitches, so why should my biker baby?

 

Painting the Vest Collar

The vest was almost complete now.  I just needed to take care of that neon lime green ring around the collar (I doubt the Sons are fans of neon).  Some trusty black craft paint took care of the job in no time!

 

The Final Outfit

Now that all the patches were sewn on the vest and there was no more neon in sight, my little boy’s Toddler of Anarchy Halloween costume was complete!  Here is his final outfit:

• Toddlers of Anarchy biker vest: The main component.  Totes adorbs, no?
• Tattooed t-shirt: This was an awesome steal I found one day on Zulily last month!  I was originally planning on using a bunch of temporary tattoos thanks to some tattoo paper and my Silhouette Cameo, but this shirt was just too cute to pass up.  Not only does it work perfectly with this costume (I mean, doesn’t it?!), but I got an ahhh-mazing deal on it, and he can wear it long after Halloween.  Perfect!
• Gray denim jeans: These were a Christmas gift from Grammy and Grampy B last year.  They were a little too big for him then, but they’re just the right size now….and they definitely complete the look!
• Hard-Core pumpkin bucket: I just had to give him a matching (and personalized) bucket for trick-or-treating.  Had to.  When I couldn’t find one that I liked, I made one!

 

My Little Toddler of Anarchy is Ready to Ride…errr, Trick or Treat!

How cute is this little biker baby?!  Nothing sinister about him at all!  I just love how everything came together, and it actually took a lot less time to create than I originally expected (even with my hideous hand-sewing).  I can’t wait to take him trick-or-treating!

 

Once I put him in this costume for a trial-run, he became super energized and didn’t want to waste any time having his picture taken.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get some more pics during trick-or-treating!

 

***UPDATE!  Please Read!***

I’m so happy to hear that there are lots of other SOA fans out there who want to dress their tots up as their favorite characters for Halloween!  Unfortunately I will no longer be able to email anyone my template and I AM NOT SELLING ANY CUSTOM COSTUMES….I just don’t have the time!  Sorry!

 

If You Enjoyed This….

Make sure you check out my Project Gallery for lots of other fun creations, including these Halloween goodies!

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!