Fabric Camel Costume sewing directions

Here's how we created "camel costumes" for our Christmas pageant:

We were making a two-hump camel costume worn by two children. Their legs provide the camels four legs and they each have their head in a hump. The hump has a rectangular section cut out and replaced by netting so they can see where they are going.

The child in front controled the camel's head by holding up a broom handle which was the "spine" up the camel's neck. It was kind of hard to control which resulted in the camel moving it's head and "looking around" at the congregation - really cool.

To sew the camel we started with a large rectangle - fold this in half and sew up the sides to create a big envelope which is the body of the camel. The open end is the bottom where the kids' legs will stick out.

For the humps cut out two semi-circles for each and sew each pair together around the rounded edge. Attach the humps by cutting slits in the top fold of the camel body piece and sewing the flat open edge of the hump around in the slit. (Sort of like sewing a pocket into a pair of pants.)

For the neck Just sew a long tube open on both ends.

For the head we just drew the basic shape of a camel head on paper and made a pattern peice. Cut out 2 of that shape and connect them with a long strip about 3 inches wide in between to give it some width. We ended up with two odd points in the front that we tacked together in the middle making somehting that looks like a nose.

Add ears and long black fringe trim for eyelashes/eyes.

Attach to the neck tube. To attach the neck to the body cut of one of the top points of the body rectangle and attach there.

Braid 3 strips of material for a tail and tack on the back end.

Stuff the head and neck with something lightweight. Insert a broom handle up the neck to hold up the head.

We also sewed fake fur to the tops of the humps.

Angie