How to Add Trim to Costumes

No matter the occasion, costumes make a party or get-together a lot more festive. Personalize a store-bought costume with your own ideas or add details to your homemade costume with various forms of trim and impress your fellow party-goers with your ingenuity and creative spirit. See the steps below for some hints.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Waterproof craft glue
• Trimming items like ribbon, fabric, yarn, sequins, glitter and beads
• Sewing machine or needle and thread

1. First, decide what parts of your costume need some livening up. Be careful not to overdo it; just select some parts of the costume that could use more eye-catching detail. For example, lining the cuffs of sleeves and the hems of a skirt or pair of slacks adds more subtle interest than full-on striping (unless, of course, the image you want to project is in fact overdone--then go for it!).
2. Determine how much time you really want to spend on this project. Is the costume something you will want to keep and use again? Or, is it a one-time deal and the costume will pretty much get trashed, if the event is as fun as you hope it to be? The level of importance corresponds directly with the amount of time that ought to be invested in this project; if the costume is likely to be ruined, don't bother to sew. Glue will surely do and save you time and headache.
3. Choose your work space and then measure the length of the area of the costume you would like to trim and cut a piece of fabric, ribbon or rick-rack to fit the length. Cut the trim a little longer than you need because it is easier to deal with excess than to deal with not enough.
4. If you are gluing the trim, place the area on the costume on a broad, flat surface (like a table or vinyl or hardwood floor) and spread the glue on the top half of the cuff or hem, if the part of the costume needs to fold and only one half of the area is exposed. If the area to be trimmed is wide open, spread the glue as you go along, in case you are interrupted. Glitter and sequins can be applied in the same way as well as some beads.
5. If you are sewing the trim on, simply make sure the trim is on straight and that your stitches are even. This will prevent any gaping or accidental tears later, when the trim gets caught on an edge somewhere. Once you are through, cut off the excess and your costume is ready to impress!