I'm a procrastinator when it comes to dressing up for Halloween. So, I always opt for an easy way out by deciding what to wear from the wardrobes in my closet. But this year, my office is making Halloween more festive than ever. There're prizes for best costumes. So, it looks like there's a need to put in extra thought to my costume compared to my last-minute ones.

I dressed up as a piece of sushi and DIY-ed the costume using a few simple supplies. Everyone loves sushi's and so do I! It just seems fitting for a self-proclaimed foodie like me. It not only matches my style but is also more fun than dressing up as monstrous-looking characters. Those aren't really my style.

{A headpiece with sushi condiments, wasabi, ginger, seaweed and a pair of chopsticks}

I was lucky to find a piece of orange fabric from Fabricland and it was on sale. It has a nice sheen to it and only cost me $3 for a metre. What a score! This was perfect for the body of my shrimp sashimi. And all thanks to Family Studies class I took in high school, I finally could put those sewing skills to good use! 

The details are important to complete the look. I made all the sushi condiments into a headpiece that I can wear along with my costume. This headpiece is a basically a platter of wasabi, ginger and seaweed that you often see served with the sushi. 

Here is what you'll need to make your own sushi costume:

{What you need}  - Shrimp sashimi

• An orange fabric for salmon or shrimp (unless you want to go as a Tuna sushi, then you'll need a burgundy or deep red colour)
• White felt - 1 pc
• Cotton stuffings
• Thread and needle (or a sewing machine)

{Instructions}

1. Download this shrimp template
2. Trace and cut out 2 pieces of the orange fabric using the template with an inch extra border
3. Cut out strips of white felt approximately 0.75" wide to form a V-shape pattern
4. Secure strips with pins onto one of the cut-out orange fabrics (the sheen side) and stitch them in place with a sewing machine
5. With the right (sheen) sides facing each other, stitch the pattern following the traced line with the sewing machine, leaving a small opening for stuffings (approximately 4 inches)
6. Reverse the fabric from the opening and stuff cotton stuffings evenly inside
7. Hand stitch the opening with thread
8. Done!

I wish my shrimp sashimi is larger, it looks so much smaller after I tie it to my back. Ideally, it should be almost the same width as my shoulders and same length as my torso. So don't make the same mistakes as me!

Headpiece (wasabi, ginger and seaweed)

• Green felt - 2 pc
• Dark green felt - 1 pc
• Pink felt - 1 pc
• Wooden chopsticks
• Glue gun
• Hair clip

To make a nice whipped wasabi, I followed the tutorial from here. I cut 8 circles (approximately 3" in diameter) from the green felt and folded each circle 2 times and secured onto the base.

As for the ginger, I cut out long strips of pink felt and folded them two times like the picture shown above, then I formed these folded pieces into a fan shape and secured them with glue gun. I cut out a long zig zag pattern using the green felt, this will be the seaweed. I glued wasabi onto the hair clip, and ginger at an angle beside the wasabi. Then I glued the seaweed at the back so it looks like a crown. I tied my hair in a bun and clipped the headpiece in front of my bun then inserted a pair of chopsticks at the back to finish the look.

For the rice part, it's fairly simple. All you need to do is dress in a white dress or put on a white shirt and pair with black leggings. Secure the shrimp cushion with a black belt (which will act as the seaweed). Now, you're a walking sushi!

I actually ended up winning Best Costume as a piece of sushi in the office! There were a lot of great costumes in the office that day but I believe creativity is what won people's heart :) But like I said, everyone loves sushi  ;) Hope you enjoy this tutorial!

Happy Halloween!

Check out my other Halloween DIY Costume Ideas!

How to Dress up as Spice Girls for Halloween (Group Costume DIY)

How to be a Bullet Bill for Halloween

White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland Costume DIY

Miss Seuss (Cat in the Hat Costume)