From tallest to smallest, I thought my family was perfect for these iconic nesting dolls! I love making matching costumes for my family, and I am so excited with how these costumes came out this year! They are definitely a costume I know I am going to look back on with adoration when my girls have grown!
To non-Russians, the matryoshka, or nesting doll, is one of the most quintessential representations of traditional Russian peasant life. It appears to foreign eyes as a relic of quaint serf culture. Each wooden doll is imbued with the symbolism of fertility. The largest doll is considered the matriarch of the family, while the smallest is called the ‘seed’ and represents the soul. They’re seen as a representation of a chain of mothers carrying on the family legacy through the child in their womb.
When I was younger, a neighbor of ours went to Russia and brought home a couple of nesting dolls for my sister and I, and I always thought that was so fun! Not only are they fun to play with, they are gorgeous- painted with the most colorful and brilliant folk art designs. When Scarlett was a baby I bought a set of nesting dolls (not authentically from Russia unfortunately) for her since I cherished the dolls I had growing up. And now the girls have them proudly displayed in their room!
MATERIALS I USED: Felt, Fabric Glue, Rotary Blade and Scissors
The costumes were completely handmade by me! I unfortunately do not know how to sew on the sewing machine (I can sew by hand, but wasn’t about to make 4 full costumes that way!) so I had to use fabric glue instead! But hey, it really did the trick!! I could not believe how well it bonded to the felt and truly was impressed with the final look! People told me they had thought I sewed it!
I chose to use felt for the entirety of each doll costume because 1.) I thought it’s rough texture would bond well with the fabric glue (which it did!) and 2.) I knew it was a stiff material and I thought it would hold it’s shape better than any other fabric I could have used (which is also true!) I went to my local Joann Fabrics and bought 3 yards of yellow and red felt and 2 yards of white. I had plenty of red and white left over after making all my cuts, but I used up almost every single bit of the yellow! As far as the floral designs, I used some scrap felt pieces I had left over from other projects!
One thing that was a true game changer when making this costume was the rotary blade! I bought one specifically to make this costume and I am SO glad I did! When I tell you the shock I had when I made my first cut on the felt! This tool cut SO smoothly and could cut through multiple layers at a time in like 1/16 the time that scissors would have!! I am a huge fan now and will never want to use scissors again on fabric!
I really cut it close when making these costumes, so I am super proud how they came out in just a couple hours of creating! I had two days to complete them, and since I work full time and am a mother of 2, I only could work on them after my girls fell asleep! So for two nights in a row I was up until around 2am working on them *wipes sweat from forehead* Maybe they would look a little more clean if I allotted myself more time, maybe they wouldn’t… either way I am VERY impressed with how they turned out and proud that I was able to execute my idea!!
Here is a look at all the costumes assembled together!
This pic of Violett cracks me up! As you can see she wasn’t too happy haha She really wanted to eat a cookie during this “photoshoot” and when we wouldn’t let her she lost her cool! lol I just had to include it in this blog post so we can look back on it when the girls are older haha
Scarlett was very excited to get to wear a matching costume with us! She just kept giggling when we all first tried them on together!
I got down on my knees to capture pictures of the girls in their costume, and no one warned me that my knees were dirty from doing that haha oh well!
Ian wanted to wear the shortest shorts he owned so it looked like he was naked underneath of his costume lol Unfortunately for him, you can see them in some of the pics!
More fussing about getting a cookie haha oh to be a one year old! Don’t worry, we finally gave her one after we finished taking our pictures lol
We host a Halloween costume party for all our friends and family, and these were the costumes I made for that! I like to try to make a family costume for that party every year! Unfortunately, before the party started Scarlett (my eldest daughter) just had to be witch instead *rolls eyes* so her and Violett changed from the family costume. My husband and I decided to still go strong wearing these costumes by ourselves though! I mean I took all the time/effort/money/sleepless nights to make these babies, so of course we weren’t going to let them go to waste! lol
I think these Nesting Doll costumes turned out so cute and I am so proud that another idea that has been in my head for so long finally has come to fruition! It is a very satisfying feeling for sure!
Thank you for following along on my 2023 costume journey, don’t worry, I will be back next year with more DIY costumes to share! Happy Halloween!
Created and Photographed by Auburn Artisan
Auburn Artisan 