Patrick Costume

A long time friend of ours was counting on getting a Patrick Starfish costume from a vendor online, only to find it was discontinued. I had made a Fireball Mario costume for him in the past, so now he asked me if I would tackle Patrick.


Patrick's proportions are pretty ridiculous...

But I figured I could tweak it to work on a 6'3" guy, without also being 5' wide!
The version that had been available online has Patrick's outline, but was basically flat (no belly shape in side view) and the wearer's entire face was exposed.

After talking about design options, he wanted to go with something in between the basic one he'd seen, and the full-on formed mascot version. A soft shape meant his ability to host a party would not be too compromised.  Also, the hood needed to leave the mouth exposed, but provide visibility through concealed eye holes.


I started with a footie pajama pattern I drafted for my 6'4" husband, and about 6 yards of pink fleece. After changing the arm and belly shape, and making a hood and foot-coverings, I was pretty close. The hood and main body had added shape with fusible interfacing, and the waistline was supported with a double hoop of plastic boning. I measured the proportions of the facial features, and enlarged them, cutting them out of black and white felt. I copied the flower design from the shorts onto purple cotton, and fused it to the lime green shorts fabric.


I added a feature for convenience; the wrist has an overlapped slit opening, in case you need to pop your hands out for eating and drinking. Zigzagging elastic along the edges keeps the fabric from stretching out of shape from taking your hands in and out.

My helpful husband tried on the costume (several times!) for fit...


Since my friend lives in Florida, I didn't have pictures of the costume in action, until he sent me these after the party :)

This is from the email I got after the package arrived:

"THANK YOU for all the work you did on Patrick!!!  He just got here and I immediately had to try it on.  It's hilarious and perfect!!  I love it!!  Haha!  I can't wait to get pictures to send you."

 It's kind of nerve-wracking doing custom costumes long distance, but I love it when people are happy with the final result :)