How to Make a Kid's Costume
Making a costume for a kid, whether for Halloween or a school play, does require a little creativity, but the supplies for making it can be very inexpensive--or even free, if you manage to use items you already own. The time it takes to make the costume will depend completely on the costume and how you plan to create it. Generally speaking, making a kid's costume should be simple enough so that the child who will be wearing it can help.
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Instructions
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How to Make a Kid's Costume
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Decide how you want the finished costume to look. Get an image from a magazine, take a picture, or draw it. You need to know what you are trying to create. Ask your child what she wants the costume to look like. Get her involved from the start.
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Analyze the costume to see what you could use to make it. Once you know what you are trying to make, see how you can break it down into parts. For example, a cowboy costume would need a hat, a belt, a shirt, possibly a vest and chaps.
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Use pillow cases or poster board. These are two of the easiest and most readily available supplies to use for making costumes. You can decorate the pillow case with paint or markers, or sew things onto it to get the desired look. Then you just cut holes for the head and arms, and it is ready to go. Or, using the poster board, you can cut out the needed shape, decorate it, and hang it on the front of the child with some ribbon.
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Buy a solid colored sweat suit for the child to wear under the pillow case or poster board. It can also be used as a foundation for the costume if you decorate the sweat suit to create the look you want. The great thing about the sweat suit method is it will also keep your child warm if she is wearing it to go trick-or-treating on a chilly day.
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Create the costume out of clothes you already have. If the costume is meant to be a person of some kind -- cowboy, nurse, lion tamer -- there is a good chance you can use at least some clothes you already own. For a cowboy suit, you might already have a plaid shirt you can alter, and there is also a good chance the child already has a pair of jeans.
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Start from scratch. If the costume is for a specific character, and you just cannot figure out how to make it using items in your closet, then go to a craft and fabric store to look for a pattern. The pattern will tell you how much material you will need and give you step-by-step instructions on how to make it.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep the costume as simple as possible.
Be sure to make the costume weather appropriate if the child will be outside for any length of time.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit jp Williamson
