How to Make Costumes Without Tools

Two snips in an old sheet are all you need to do to make a ghost costume.

Each year at Halloween, party crowds and trick-or-treaters are faced with a difficult decision: purchase an off-the-rack, cookie-cutter costume or make one from scratch. An original, one-of-a-kind costume is always the most impressive choice, but the trouble is, not everyone knows how to use a sewing machine, fabric cutter or other clothes-making tools. This year, take a semi-homemade approach to your costume design and create a one-of-a-kind outfit by combining your own wardrobe with pre-made pieces, clever makeup and accessories without ever picking up a tool of any kind.

Instructions

1. Look at your existing wardrobe for costume ideas. It is easier building a basic costume design from the clothes you already own, as opposed to thinking up a design, than trying to find something in your closet that matches your idea. Have a black bodysuit and tights on hand? Then you have the makings of a kitty or Catwoman costume. Have a basketball jersey hanging in your closet? Dress as your favorite athlete. Become a member of the clergy with a black T-shirt and black slacks -- simply attach a piece of white square paper or fabric to the center of your collar. Black dresses make for appropriate vampire costumes, while white dresses can function as nurse or bride costumes. Put on oversize blue jeans and a flannel shirt, stuff the clothing with newspaper or fabric, add a little straw to the collars and cuffs and you have a scarecrow costume. You can even use colors as a guide for planning your costume. If you have a purple sweatsuit, for example, stuff the shirt with fabric or newspaper to give yourself a rounded appearance. Attach inflated, purple balloons to the shoulders, chest, back and arms with safety pins at the tied ends of the balloons and go to your event as a bunch of grapes.

2. Use items in new and clever ways. A short, narrow box that fits snugly around the crown of your head can quickly become an emperor’s hat. Paint the box a solid color and add a tassel to the top with glue when dry. Wear a lace doily or curtain over your hair, tying it underneath in the back like a handkerchief, to create a veil for vampire or bridal costumes. Paint a red cross onto a plain white kitchen apron with fabric paint to transform it into a nurse’s apron.

3. Get creative with accessories because the little details will make your look complete and really sell your semi-homemade costume through the power of suggestion. A big, colorful lollipop in one hand with white crinoline underneath an ordinary party or cocktail dress will instantly transform your outfit into a baby doll costume. Roll a sheet of foil into a rod and bend it around your wrists to form a bracelet, which will help turn a white sheet wrapped around the body and over one shoulder into a Greek or Egyptian costume.

4. Concentrate on makeup to achieve your costume or character image. For a baby doll or scarecrow costume, for example, use a black eyeliner pencil to draw short dashes underneath the eyes and outward from the corners of the mouth to create a stitched effect. Use black eye shadow and an angle brush to sweep makeup across eyelids and outward from the outer corners of the eyes, and pair with red lipstick to complete a Catwoman costume. Dip a stipple sponge into black face makeup and dab onto chin and cheeks to create a beard effect.

Tips & Warnings

• Study images and pictures in movies, magazine ads and artwork to determine which accessories and makeup styles to use to transform your outfit into a costume.

References

• Makeup Geek; Halloween Look -- Catwoman; Marlena
• Robins FYI: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas