Collegiate Times

DIYHoodie_center

When it comes to holidays, I've always been the type to forgo heaps of Christmas presents, homemade birthday cakes and any number of Valentine's Day cards for the costumes, candy and chaos of Halloween.

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I spare no expense for the sugar-fueled evening of trickery, annually spending dozens of hours and dollars on constructing the perfect costume. Yet, as I giddily prance around in my carefully planned ensemble each year, I dependably draw several scathing looks from my unimpressed peers.

The Scrooges of Halloween are the steady group of detractors evolved from the condescending kids wearing the same monster mask every year to the students who dress up like "Virginia Tech fans." Of course, there's the worst of all: not dressing up at all.

"I only do it for the candy" has become "I only do it for the parties" for this apathetic demographic, which is comprised of people who put more effort into not dressing up than sucking it up and embracing the holiday for what it is.

In the past, I've had near brushes with death after openly insulting under-dressed partygoers and have settled on a more peaceful approach this year. And that is to create a costume based on the most universally comfortable article of clothing: the hoodie.

Rocked by homebodies and homeboys alike, hoodies transcend any subculture, social class or stereotype and provide hope for even those suffering from the most severe cases of costumephobia.

STEP ONE:

Cut triangular teeth and spikes, which will run along the spine on the back, out of felt. The size and number are up to you - just be sure to cut doubles of the spikes so that you can stuff them.

STEP TWO:

Fold the hoodie in half so that the zipper and the middle of the back are on either side. Lay the spikes in place along the back and up the hood. The triangles should be layered so that they are directly on top of one another with one on either side of the back fold.

STEP THREE:

Pin the teeth along the hood of the sweatshirt.

STEP FOUR:

Sew the spikes in place, stuffing them with scrap felt as you go. This provides stiffness and bulk that will allow them to stand up and stand out.

STEP FIVE:

Use fabric glue to attach the teeth and googly eyes to the hood. Let dry for 12 hours.

STEP SIX:

The half-hearted can pair their new hoodie with jeans or their normal pants, while the newly converted Halloween-lovers can pair it with matching sweatpants - tail optional!

OTHER HOODIE COSTUME IDEAS

Hoodies can be used to create almost any animal or cloaked figure. Here are a few other ideas.

-Unicorn: On a white, pink or purple sweatshirt, attach rhinestones as eyes and use felt to create a horn on the top of your head. Add multicolored ribbons and fabric strips to create a mane.

-Bunny: On a white, light pink, brown or black sweatshirt, use felt to add ears to the hood and use face paint to give yourself whiskers.

-Little Red Riding Hood: On a red sweatshirt, attach two yarn braids to either underside of the hood.

-The Big Bad Wolf: On a brown sweatshirt, create ears with felt on the top of the hood and fangs surrounding the face of the hood as exemplified in the dinosaur costume. Attach googly eyes or cut eyes out of felt.

-Shark: On a gray or light blue sweatshirt, attach googly eyes and felt teeth to the hood as illustrated in the dinosaur costume. In addition, be sure to add a fin to the back.

-Octopus: On a dark blue, black or purple hoodie, add six more arms with felt or another fabric, googly eyes and suction cups (available at a hardware store) as suckers.

-Spider: On a brown or black hoodie, attach eight googly eyes to the hood, fangs and six more arms.

-Monsters: Make your own monster combining any of the previously mentioned costume ideas. Fangs, tentacles and eight eyes perhaps?

Unique twist on a classic: Vegan pumpkin cornbread

INGREDIENTS:

1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix (or 1 cup of flour + 1/2 cup cornmeal)

3/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup sugar

A few pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pumpkin pie spice or all spice

YIELDS:

12 small muffins or 8 large muffins

PREPARATION TIME:

10 minutes

COOK TIME:

15-20 minutes

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