DIY Monsters Inc Family Costumes with Vinyl

These DIY Monsters Inc family costumes with vinyl are so easy to make with your Silhouette machine. They are fun and a cost effective costumes for the entire family!

My four year old is absolutely obsessed with Monsters Inc and it was the greatest day of his life when he got to meet them at Disney World a few months ago. 

The only time I’ve ever seen him smiler bigger for a picture is when he saw Donald. But Mike and Sully were a very close second.

So this year we’re going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party as Mike, Sully, and Boo. 

I’m probably more excited than the rest of my family but I think they’ll love it once they see our costumes! 

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I will never recommend a product I don’t use or trust.

I have three hard and fast rules when it comes to Disney costumes for the Halloween Party:

1. It has to be simple. I don’t want to spend more than 10 minutes “making” a costume.
2. It has to be lightweight. There is nothing worse than a heavy costume in that Florida heat (trust me).
3. It has to be cheap. I love doing a costume where I have most of what I need at home. I don’t want to go out and buy a ton of new stuff that I’ll never wear outside of Disney World. Each shirt and vinyl combo for all three of us cost less than $10 each. 

One year I wore a wig to Disney (I was Pepper Potts and Chris was Tony Stark) and I swore I would never do it again. It was so hot and uncomfortable and I was miserable.

So quick and easy Halloween costumes it is! 

And I’ll continue to do it until my child becomes embarrassed of me and wants a store-bought costume like everyone else! 

Commonly asked questions about these Monsters Inc Family Costumes!

1. Where do you buy blank shirts from?

Jiffy Shirts! I get all my shirts from there! I really love the Bella Canvas brand from there because they’re soft and they hold up well. I always get the unisex shirts though because they are a little more loose fitting and because they run more true to size than the women’s. Women’s tend to run a little small so I always size up.

I’ve also bought blank shirts at Hobby Lobby and if you’re in a pinch they work well! I used them for this deco foil Disney shirt and loved it! But Hobby Lobby shirts are made of a thicker material so they are not the shirts to wear at Disney in the summer. They’re way too hot.

2. Do you use Stretch or Easyweed heat transfer vinyl?

Anytime I do shirts I use stretch. I think it’s better because it can stretch with the fibers in your shirts.

I’ve found that if you use Easyweed and you have a bigger chest the design can peel up because the shirt fibers stretch and loosen the glue on the vinyl. It’s always best to use stretch heat transfer vinyl if you can!

If you have more questions about using heat transfer vinyl on shirts, there are so many tips and a free download placement and sizing guide in this post!

3. How do you make sure the layers line up correctly on Mike’s eye?

There is a really simple trick to getting your layers lined up correctly when using heat transfer vinyl. All you have to do is press each layer for 3 to 5 seconds before moving to the next layer. When you get to the last layer you press for the full amount of time (depending on this Cricut heat press guide).

4. What type of vinyl did you use for Roz’s shirt?

I need to start out by telling you that I did not plan this, it just sort of happened and worked out really well and is kind of funny. But anyway….

I used glow in the dark vinyl from Expressions Vinyl for the words Always Watching and glitter vinyl for the glasses. Chris sort of geeked out when I told him I used glow in the dark and said, “that’s so funny that when it gets dark outside during the Halloween party that you’ll still get to see the words on your shirt”. 

Because you know, Roz is always watching those two trouble makers. Even in the dark. 

Quick tip: you can shine your cell phones flashlight on the words to help them glow! Just a quick fix in case you need it.

More Halloween Craft Projects

• Nightmare Before Christmas Trick or Treat Bag
• Mickey and Minnie Treat Yo Self Trick or Treat Bag
• We Scare Because We Care Trick or Treat Bags
• Hocus Pocus Popcorn Bags
• Spooktacular Halloween Gift Tags (free download!)

Before you leave, check out these fun Disney Inspired Halloween Projects from my crafty friends!

• Tonight We Fly from Polka Dotted Blue Jay
• DIY PJ Mask Owlette and Cat Boy Masks from Sunshine and Munchkins
• Mike Wazowski Halloween Bucket from Polka Dotted Blue Jay
• Haunted Mansion Inspired Pumpkin from Persia Lou
• Jack Skellington Cookie Tin (and a free file!) from Polka Dotted Blue Jay