Guide to Quick Kid Costume DIY

Halloween is coming! I love dressing the kids up in fun costumes. (I may also enjoy dressing us all up as a family.) This year I admittedly wasn’t into it. We recently moved and My sewing supplies are completely disorganized. SO we are going with a re-wear for my youngest with an alligator we had and a hand-me-down lion costume for my oldest from my in-laws.

My 3 year old son on the other hand is determined to be a ghost. Everything I could purchase is too scary, so I knew I was going to break down and use the sewing machine. I thought I had a white fleece blanket somewhere in my giant pile of fabrics to be recycled and it was NOWHERE to be found. I moved to Plan B and found the bride of Frankenstein I had made on the fly for myself two years ago. It was an old long sleeve white t shirt with a long strip of fabric attached at the shoulders and two long pieces attached at the back. I basically trimmed it to fit my son, hand stitched a felt face on, and made a VERY fast white hat. DONE. It was seriously a total of 45 minutes to accomplish this and he loves it. Here are my tips for easy ways to throw your own costume together!

1. Re-use old costumes in a different way (Like I did, cutting up an old costume and adding different elements.)
2. Think about what everyday items you have on hand that could be used. I’m thinking cotton balls (steam, animal fluff), aluminum foil (candy, robot), plastic bags/newspaper (to stuff and reshape clothing)
3. Search the house for old clothing that no one is wearing. What can you do with that old pair of pink corduroy pants? (I turned mine into a piglet costume a few years ago for my then 6 month old.)  
4. What fun costume only requires regular clothing and a headpiece that you could make with hot glue, some felt, and a cheap headband or hat from the dollar store? I’m thinking animals and TV characters.
5. Hot glue and felt are your friends. I made Tigger and a honey pot one year solely by hot gluing felt onto old clothing. (We had a Winnie the Pooh theme, clearly.)
6. Hats are unbelievably simple to sew. Cut two pieces from the pattern and run through the sewing machine four times. That’s it! Here is the link for an easy, free, downloadable pattern from Fleece Fun. I made fleece ones last year for my kids Pokémon costumes and yesterday whipped up a white one with scrap pieces of knit and that worked, also! 

Comment with some of your ideas for easy costume DIY!