How to Make A No-Sew Knight Costume For a Child

Create a child's version of a knight's armor at home without sewing.

Knights of yore may have had servants and squires to tend to their armor, but those days are long gone. Nowadays aspiring knights have to get by with a little help from Mom or Dad when it comes to tunics and shields. Thankfully, creating knight gear is much easier today than it was back in Lancelot's heyday. Gather a few supplies and follow these instructions to create an easy, no-sew knight costume for a child.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Paper grocery bag
• Scissors
• Silver paint
• Paint in another color
• Paintbrush
• Wrapping paper roll
• Margarine tub lid
• Cardboard
• Glue
• Small metal colander
• Large feathers

Suit of Armor

1. Cut a slit with the scissors so that the grocery bag opens on the side printed with the logos.

2. Cut a 7-inch neck opening in the bottom of the bag.

3. Cut a 4 ½-inch hole on both sides of the bag, close to the bottom.

4. Paint the front of the bag with a checkerboard pattern, alternating silver paint with another color of paint. Or paint it with a pattern of your own design.

5. Paint the sides and back of the bag silver.

Sword

1. Paint the wrapping paper roll silver.

2. Paint the lid of a margarine tub silver. Cut a circle just big enough for the wrapping paper roll to fit through.

3. Push the wrapping paper roll through the hole.

Shield and Helmet

1. Cut a large, diamond shape from the cardboard and paint it silver.

2. Paint a checkerboard design on the shield or otherwise match the design on the shield to the design on the armor.

3. Cut a thin strip of cardboard a little shorter than the center of the shield. Fold the ends of the thin strips to create flaps.

4. Glue the flaps to the center of the backside of the shield to create a handle for the shield.

5. Glue feathers to the colander to create a helmet.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the cape isn't too long!

• Set up some guidelines about playing with the swords!

References

• "Parents"; Make a Knight Costume; Catherine Ryan; October 2009
• "Parenting"; Knight Costume; 2010