Don't look now there's a monkey on my back
August 12, 2023 12:19 PM Subscribe
I have a Halloween costume that includes a stuffed monkey on my shoulder.
How can I best keep a stuffed monkey upright on my shoulder for approximately 8 hours?
When I and my husband attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, we dress as Marion Ravenwood and her unreliable boyfriend Indiana Jones. My Marion costume is a good-enough representation but what really made it shine was the addition of the monkey. I love the monkey. Kids of all ages love the monkey. But I'm not a good enough costumer to come up with a way to keep the monkey securely upright. How can I do this?
Things I have tried:
Sewing the monkey to my shirt. The shirt is very lightweight (it's an Old Navy gauze top that I added embellishments to) and sewing the monkey to my shirt just causes Monkey to tip backward, taking my shirt with it.
Magnets: Same thing, really. A metal plate under my bra strap and some magnets sewn to the monkey keeps the monkey on my shirt, but the shirt isn't hefty enough to keep the monkey on top of my shoulder. Also, my shoulder isn't really wide front-to-back and the bra strap interferes so the metal plate slides out of plac. Monkey falls backward, shirt pulls up from my waist, awkward.
Elastic: This is my current solution. I sewed 1/4" elastic to Monkey's vest and loop the elastic under my arm before putting the shirt on. This mostly works, but it cuts into my underarm and rubs the rest of my arm raw. I don't care enough about this to bleed for it.
What I'm thinking of now is some sort of harness under my shirt. I have a sewing machine and can sew a long buttonhole into the shoulder of the shirt. Maybe wide enough to accommodate a wide webbed belt like thing? But it can't only go under my arm because I don't want to be uncomfortable. This is where my creativity gives up and leaves.
What say you, cosplayers, sewists, and Halloween fans of MetaFilter? Can you help out a lady and her monkey?
When I and my husband attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, we dress as Marion Ravenwood and her unreliable boyfriend Indiana Jones. My Marion costume is a good-enough representation but what really made it shine was the addition of the monkey. I love the monkey. Kids of all ages love the monkey. But I'm not a good enough costumer to come up with a way to keep the monkey securely upright. How can I do this?
Things I have tried:
Sewing the monkey to my shirt. The shirt is very lightweight (it's an Old Navy gauze top that I added embellishments to) and sewing the monkey to my shirt just causes Monkey to tip backward, taking my shirt with it.
Magnets: Same thing, really. A metal plate under my bra strap and some magnets sewn to the monkey keeps the monkey on my shirt, but the shirt isn't hefty enough to keep the monkey on top of my shoulder. Also, my shoulder isn't really wide front-to-back and the bra strap interferes so the metal plate slides out of plac. Monkey falls backward, shirt pulls up from my waist, awkward.
Elastic: This is my current solution. I sewed 1/4" elastic to Monkey's vest and loop the elastic under my arm before putting the shirt on. This mostly works, but it cuts into my underarm and rubs the rest of my arm raw. I don't care enough about this to bleed for it.
What I'm thinking of now is some sort of harness under my shirt. I have a sewing machine and can sew a long buttonhole into the shoulder of the shirt. Maybe wide enough to accommodate a wide webbed belt like thing? But it can't only go under my arm because I don't want to be uncomfortable. This is where my creativity gives up and leaves.
What say you, cosplayers, sewists, and Halloween fans of MetaFilter? Can you help out a lady and her monkey?
There is a very strange local phenomenon in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City where people buy stuffed monkeys that they wear on their heads while visiting the park. These monkeys (changuitos miones) have wire in their legs and bodies so that they can be molded around heads and other body parts for easy wearing.
They're not terribly comfortable because the wires can be pokey and they still move around a bit, but it would probably work a bit better than your current approach.
posted by A Blue Moon at 12:31 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
They're not terribly comfortable because the wires can be pokey and they still move around a bit, but it would probably work a bit better than your current approach.
posted by A Blue Moon at 12:31 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Take a wire coat hanger and straighten out the hook part.
The hook part gets shoved up inside the monkey - either directly inside the monkey, or inside a vest that you put on the monkey.
The rest of it gets shaped into a hook that perches on your shoulder - either it is just inside a vest or shirt you wear, poking up through a hole, or it is somehow colored similarly to the shirt or vest you wear and sits on top of it.
Voila.
(A friend of mine did something similar for an emergency "David Byrne Big Suit" costume one Halloween - he bought the biggest suit he could find at a Goodwill and rigged up a couple of stretched-out coathangers just inside the shoulders to prop it up.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:45 PM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
The hook part gets shoved up inside the monkey - either directly inside the monkey, or inside a vest that you put on the monkey.
The rest of it gets shaped into a hook that perches on your shoulder - either it is just inside a vest or shirt you wear, poking up through a hole, or it is somehow colored similarly to the shirt or vest you wear and sits on top of it.
Voila.
(A friend of mine did something similar for an emergency "David Byrne Big Suit" costume one Halloween - he bought the biggest suit he could find at a Goodwill and rigged up a couple of stretched-out coathangers just inside the shoulders to prop it up.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:45 PM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: If you can find a nude compression top or similar, you could sew the monkey to the shoulder of the compression top. Then open up the shoulder of the shirt, and reassemble it with snaps, such that you can put the shirt on over the monkey and fasten it up.
posted by quacks like a duck at 12:49 PM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by quacks like a duck at 12:49 PM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
oh, this is fun.
many Halloweens ago I tried to do something similar -- I wore two extra "heads," one on each shoulder. They were styrofoam mannequin-type heads. I ripped part of the top seams (the ones from collar to top of arm) of a very snug T-shirt, inserted the base of the heads, and stapled the seams back together. (college-age guy who knew nothing about sewing, sorry!)
it sort of worked? the heads stayed on my shoulders, but kept lolling to sides or back. But here's a thought:
Go with the solutions from Empress or quacks, and then ..presumably the monkey has arms, right? maybe take one of the arms and bring it to the back of the shirt, or far shoulder if it reaches, and pin or clip the "hand" to the shirt. Or (this might be problematic, just a guy spitballing here...) maybe use a hair clip and clip his hand to your ponytail or bun or whatever if you have one. That might give you the extra stability you need.
posted by martin q blank at 3:34 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
many Halloweens ago I tried to do something similar -- I wore two extra "heads," one on each shoulder. They were styrofoam mannequin-type heads. I ripped part of the top seams (the ones from collar to top of arm) of a very snug T-shirt, inserted the base of the heads, and stapled the seams back together. (college-age guy who knew nothing about sewing, sorry!)
it sort of worked? the heads stayed on my shoulders, but kept lolling to sides or back. But here's a thought:
Go with the solutions from Empress or quacks, and then ..presumably the monkey has arms, right? maybe take one of the arms and bring it to the back of the shirt, or far shoulder if it reaches, and pin or clip the "hand" to the shirt. Or (this might be problematic, just a guy spitballing here...) maybe use a hair clip and clip his hand to your ponytail or bun or whatever if you have one. That might give you the extra stability you need.
posted by martin q blank at 3:34 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Can you pick a bra to be your dedicated monkey harness? Racerback sports bra would probably be best, with wide shoulder straps and a lot of structure in back to keep it from slipping to the side. You may need to make the slit in your costume shirt wide enough to fit the whole monkey through, but could add buttons/snaps/ Velcro to close it up again. Lacing it closed would also work, and could be mimicked on the opposite shoulder to make it look like intentional decoration.
posted by itesser at 4:09 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by itesser at 4:09 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
A possibility for providing an additional layer of uprightness: glue a magnet to a bobby pin and another to the monkey’s paw on the side closer to your head. Put the bobby pin in your hair and arrange the monkey so that it looks like it’s hanging on for balance. It might take some fussing, but it can be rearranged easily enough.
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:04 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:04 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I used to have a knit parrot I wore on my shoulder and I tried pinning and elastic bands in various ways but the best solution I found was to attach it to a weighted base where the base had weighted sections that fell to the front and back of my shoulder. Imagine a little fabric saddle bag - flat as it fits over your shoulder but filled with something heavy on both front and back. I used dried lentils, I think, but that was mostly because I had dried lentils that I bought before I remembered that I don't like lentils.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:41 PM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 5:41 PM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I was thinking something like this "shoulder strap mount chest harness holder" designed to hold GoPro cameras and such. You may have to sacrifice a shirt, and wear the harness under it, and get the monkey mounted on there. Velcro the shirt back together around the hole you poke that through. It only had to last a couple hours, right?
posted by kschang at 1:04 AM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 1:04 AM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If that's going to be too constricting for the... uh, chest area, here's one that may be a bit more accomodating, but may not be comfortable for 8 hours?
posted by kschang at 1:15 AM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 1:15 AM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here's a stuffed monkey toy with velcro hands and feet you could fasten around your neck or shoulder. (This is the modern version of this; they were super-popular in the 1980s, with limbs long enough to fasten around oneself.)
posted by jocelmeow at 12:13 PM on August 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by jocelmeow at 12:13 PM on August 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you all for the suggestions. They are all fantastic and I think my solution is going to combine a lot of them. Since Florida is hot, instead of kschang's GoPro harness I ordered a white school safety patrol belt which I'm going to wear under the shirt.
Monkey is going to have minor surgery to insert a beanbag for heftiness and a magnetic base. I'll attach some lightweight metal to the top of the shoulder strap. This will make it easier for me to pop him off when I go on rides.
If this is still open at the end of October, I'll update. Thank you again!
posted by kimberussell at 10:25 AM on September 2, 2023
Monkey is going to have minor surgery to insert a beanbag for heftiness and a magnetic base. I'll attach some lightweight metal to the top of the shoulder strap. This will make it easier for me to pop him off when I go on rides.
If this is still open at the end of October, I'll update. Thank you again!
posted by kimberussell at 10:25 AM on September 2, 2023
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(I review these over and over and always manage to post typos.)
posted by kimberussell at 12:26 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]