| | | |

Yip Yip Costume Tutorial

Create your own DIY Yip Yip costume with our step-by-step tutorial! Transform into these iconic Sesame Street aliens for a fun and nostalgic Halloween look.

Yip Yip costume tutorial with free pattern.

This Yip Yip Costume Tutorial has detailed step-by-step instructions and even includes a free downloadable pattern to follow.

Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this post to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!

Are you possibly as excited for Halloween as I am??!?!? The boys’ Birthday is October 26th which totally adds to the fun factor! Check out these Yip Yip costumes that I made for the whole family this year.

Awesome hey!? We’re all going to be Yip Yips – from old school Sesame Street!

My original inspiration was from Disney’s Family Fun site. I had intended to make costumes for just the man and I but had enough fabric left over for the kiddos too!

Fleece, pipe cleaners, quilt batting, and large styrofoam balls are some of the supplies needed to build Yip Yip costumes.

First off, I have tried to make these instructions as clear as possible with free patterns that you can download at the bottom of this post. Please keep in mind that this tutorial was originally written in 2010 with a few updates over the years for clarity.

This post contains affiliate links.

Supplies for this costume:

** cut into 70″ x 35″ for the top of the costume and for the bottom, three pieces 70″ x 12″, 70″ x 16″ and 70″ x 20″.

How to make a Yip Yip Costume:

Fleece pinned and ready to be cut into the Yip Yip pattern.

1. Cut your fabric as shown in the pattern. Start with the body and pin the right sides together.

Yip Yip costume on sewing machine.

2. Sew along the dashed lines shown on the pattern, creating the head of the Yip Yip.

Yip Yip costume body being sewn.

The mouth is left open at this point.

Showing where the parts of the finished Yip Yip will be.

Here’s what the costume will look like turned right side out.

Cutting fleece to create Yip Yip tentacles.

3. Cut the tentacles into the three pieces of extra fleece. The tentacles should be left about 4″ from the top of the fabric and 2″ in width.

The finished Yip Yip tentacles.

They’ll look like this.

Now let’s work on the mouth.

Black fabric is pinned to the fleece to create the mouth of the Yip Yip.
Sewing the black fabric to the fleece for the Yip Yip mouth.

4. Pin the black fabric to the opening of the mouth, right sides together.

It’ll look like this.

The mouth of the Yip Yip costume.

5. Sew the black mesh mouth to the opening of the mouth in the fleece. Turn right side out.

Yip Yip Costume Process

6. Now roll up your batting and pin it on the inside of the mouth, wrapping the fleece around the batting.

The batting is stitched into the edge of the Yip Yip mouth to create a tube shape bottom lip

7. Whip stitch this into place.

It will look like this.

The Yip Yip costume with the tentacles attached to the bottom.

8. Sew the tentacles onto the bottom, layering the longest at the back.

Using hot glue to attach styrofoam balls to create eyes on the Yip Yip Costume.


9. Hot glue gun the eyes into place.

Small styrofoam balls are attached to pipe cleaners to create antennas for the Yip Yip alien costume.


10. Twist two pipe cleaners together and hot glue gun a 1/2″ Styrofoam ball to the end. Repeat.

The antenna are attached to the top of the eyes to create an alien look for the Yip Yip.

11. Twist the two antennas together and hot glue gun them to the eyes.

12. Paint black pupils onto the styrofoam eyes.

Black paint is used on the large styrofoam balls to create pupils on the eyes of the alien.

The finished Yip Yip Costume should look something like this.

Finished Yip Yip costume.

Thank you for taking the time to scroll through my plethora of pictures. I am so glad that you stopped by. Please let me know if you’ve used this Yip Yip Costume Tutorial.  I would love to see your finished project!

A group of seven Yip Yip Sesame Street Alien Costumes.

Enter your name and email below to get an instant download of the files! You are then registered for my weekly email Newsletter that is full of fun recipes, easy crafts and free printables.

File usage

  • All digital files on Homemade Heather are for personal use only.
  • Please direct others to the original website link when sharing.
  • Digital reselling, resharing or distribution is prohibited and NOT allowed.
Nine Sesame Street alien costumes.

If you love this Yip Yip costume tutorial please give it a five star review and help me share it on Facebook or Pinterest so that others can enjoy it too!

Yip Yip Costume Tutorial
Print
5 from 7 votes

Yip Yip Costume Tutorial

Prep Time1 hour
Additional Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours
Yield: 1
Author: Heather Painchaud
Cost: 30

Equipment

  • 1. Cut your fabric as shown in the pattern. Start with the body and pin the right sides together.
  • 2. Sew along the dashed lines shown on the pattern, creating the head of the Yip Yip and leaving the mouth open.
  • 3. Cut the tentacles into the three pieces of extra fleece. The tentacles should be left about 4″ from the top of the fabric and be 2″ in width.
  • 4. Pin the black fabric to the opening of the mouth, right sides together.
  • 5. Sew the black mesh mouth to the opening of the mouth in the fleece. Turn right side out.
  • 6. Now roll up your batting and pin it on the inside of the mouth, wrapping the fleece around the batting.
  • 7. Whip stitch this into place.
  • 8. Sew the tentacles onto the bottom, layering the longest at the back.
  • 9. Hot glue gun the eyes into place.
  • 10. Twist two pipe cleaners together and hot glue gun a 1/2″ Styrofoam ball to the end. Repeat.
  • 11. Twist the two antennas together and hot glue gun them to the eyes.
  • 12. Paint black pupils onto the styrofoam eyes.

Materials

  • Queen size fleece blanket
  • 20 ” x 30″ roll of cotton batting
  • 13 ” x 13″ of black sheer material
  • 2 – 4 ” Styrofoam balls
  • 2 – 1/2 ” Styrofoam balls
  • 4 pipe cleaners
  • black paint
  • paint brush
  • pins
  • coordinating thread
  • hot glue gun
  • sewing machine and accessories

More costume ideas:

about heather

Hello, I’m Heather!

I'm an active mom of twin boys who is always looking for opportunities to inspire creativity through fun crafts, do-it-yourself projects and delicious recipes. This blog has been an integral part of supporting my little family and I am so grateful to have you become a part of our journey! Let's create together... Read more...

Subscribe
Notify of

75 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

I love these! I already follow, but I’ve bookmarked this post specifically…

My computer flaked on me so if I post 2 comments I didn’t mean to. But these are adorable and you did a fabulous job! I had said you should post pics of all of y’all together for us to see. =0)

That is so very cool. You did awesome.

Neato! Thanks for linking up to Mad Skills Monday!

I’ve been wondering what I could wear this year to our Oncology Floor Halloween party. We have lots of little kids, so I don’t want to scare anyone. Perhaps a YipYip would be the answer?! Now I only need to convince my geeky husband to hook me up with a video of them for my candy bag – in case the little ones aren’t as Old School.

Be proud! You did a wonderful job on the costumes.

I love that you brought those Yip Yips back in style! Nostalgia at its best. :) You did a great job!

Amie @ https://www.kittycatsandairplanes.blogspot.com/

I LOVED those guys when I was a kid! Amazing costumes!!!

These are so cute! Hilarious! I used to love those YIP YIP guys when I was a kid.

Those are so cute! If we had any kind of chill in the air I’d be all over them.

These were my favorite characters when I was little, but it seems very few people actually remember them lol! I’m so glad to have found this, it’s definitely going in my halloween costume ideas folder. Thanks so much for sharing!

Uh-huh, Uh-huh, yip-yip-yip-yip (lol)

Amanda
sleepytimeproductions.blogspot.com

these look great! I swear these things used to scare me when I was little! I don’t know why – wierd huh? Anyhoo – you made some adorable, creative costumes!

oh my gosh. this is too funny!! I love them!!

Love your costumes!

Thanks for linking @Creative Itch’s “Sew Cute Tuesday”!

So fun and so adorable! Visiting from Weekend Wrap-Up.

Ummmmm…..that is THE CUTEST, MOST AWESOMEST costume in all the land!! I adore Sesame Street, and this was just soo much coolness, I had to stop by and say a HUGE cyber high-five to you! Really. I’m kind of getting emotional about how much I love this. You rule!

You’ve been featured today! Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase Party- I greatly appreciate it. Stop by and grab a featured button if you like. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. – Stephanie Lynn

This is awesome! Love the Yip Yips.

that’s completely adorable! How awesome!

awesome. i’ve only found the adult size on instructables and couldn’t figure out how to make a child sized one for my 7 year old. i showed them to her on youtube 3 years ago and she asked this year. hold old is the child size costume for?? my daughter is about 46″ tall. thanks.

This is hilarious! Love love it :)

1 2 3