How to Make Nativity Animal Costumes

Creating costumes for a Nativity pageant can be an easy task with a little ingenuity and planning. Ideally, these costumes would be made to fit a range of sizes. You can have the children make the masks or do them yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Sheep:
• 1 yard of synthetic lamb's wool
• White thread
• Needle
• Cotton balls
• Black marker
• White felt
• Headband
• Donkey:
• 1 yard of brown or gray broad cloth
• Brown or gray felt
• Brown or gray thread
• Brown or gray marker
• Camel:
• 2 yards of tan broadcloth
• pillow forms or batt
• Tan thread
• Tan felt
• Tan marker
• For all:
• Tape measure
• Fabric scissors
• Package of 1/2-inch elastic
• Paper plates for masks
• Thin elastic or string
• Hole punch
• Glue

Instructions

Sheep

1. Cut a 2-foot wide strip of the lamb's wool. Fold it in half.

2. Cut a half circle at the fold, which will accommodate the head of the biggest child. Generally this means a diameter of approximately 8 inches.

3. Use the needle and thread to sew a 6-inch piece of the half-inch elastic to backside of the left front of the piece of lamb's wool. Attach it to the back on the same side. Repeat the process on the right side. Generally, you want to place them about 5 inches from the bottom to give room for the arms to slip in easily.

4. Cut a large crescent shape out of the paper plate to make the mask. This gives room for the child's mouth and nose. Cut out eye holes.

5. Decorate the mask with cotton balls. Ring the eye holes with the black marker to make them easier to see from the audience. Punch holes on either side of the plate and attach the string to fit the child's head. Write the child's name on the mask.

6. Cut ear shapes out of the felt (sheep's ears are slightly round at the top and narrow at the bottom). Glue them to the headband.

Donkey

1. Cut a 2-foot strip out of the broadcloth. Fold it in half.

2. Cut a half circle hole out of the fold that will fit comfortably over the head of the biggest child. Typically the diameter of the hole ends up being 8 inches. Stitch around the edge of the hole to keep it from fraying.

3. Use a needle and gray or brown thread to sew a hem on the bottom of the front and back sides of the material.

4. Sew a 7-inch piece of elastic to the inside of the back right part of the costume, using your thread and needle. Sew this piece to right front inside. Repeat the process on the left side to form the sides of the donkey costume.

5. Cut a half moon shape out of the paper plate to accommodate the nose and mouth of the child in the mask. Color the plate to match the broadcloth (gray or brown). Punch holes on the left and right side of the plate and attach the string or thin elastic to fit the child's head. Write the child's name on the mask.

6. Cut ear shapes (long, slender and floppy) out of the gray felt. Attach them to the headband with glue.

Camel

1. Cut a 4-foot strip out of your broadcloth. Fold the strip up by 1 foot.

2. Cut the neck hole at the fold to fit the biggest child. Typically the diameter of the hole will be 8 or 9 inches.

3. Stitch the neck hole edges with tan thread and a needle to prevent fraying. Hem the front part of the costume.

4. For the back side, take the batt or pillow form and place it on the remaining part of the cloth about 5 inches away from the neck hole. Fold up the rest of the material to cover the fill. You may want to stitch the pillow form in place at the corners to ensure it stays near the shoulders rather than at the bottom. Sew around the edges with your needle and thread so that the raw (cut) edges are inside.

5. Sew a 6-inch piece of the half inch elastic to inside of the left front part of the costume five inches or so from the hem using your needle and thread. Attach it to the back on the same side, also 5 inches up from the hem. Repeat the process on the right side.

6. Cut a crescent out of the paper plate to allow the child to breath and speak clearly. Color the plate tan. Punch holes in the plate at either side of the head and fit to the child using thin elastic or string. Write the child's name on the mask.

7. Cut small tulip shapes out of felt for the ears. Attach the felt to the headband with glue.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask older children to be the camels because of the weight of the fill. You can make the elastic adjustable on the sides by tying a knot in it for small children.