How to Make an Easy, No-Sew Elephant Costume

This costume is so easy you can make a whole heard of Elephants!

Here is a really easy and fun way to make your own costume and you don't need to know how to sew or have any special talent. My family and I dressed up as a whole heard of elephants for our fall festival at church and got several compliments.

Things You'll Need

• Stiff gray felt sheets, about the size of a piece of paper
• Soft gray felt fabric
• Scissors
• Gray Mittens and socks
• Gray sweatpants and sweatshirt
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Tape measure
• White paper for patter
• Black marker

Instructions

1. 

   First you will want to make a pattern of the ears on the plain white paper. It is always better to make a pattern on paper so that you don't waste your stiff felt. You can see in the picture to the left what it looks like. You will want to make the top a little wider than the bottom and make the bottom of the ear look a little longer. I make little waves on the outside and make a "tab" on the inside. This way you have something to glue to the headband. If you need more pictures, you can look up pictures of real elephants online and get a better idea of what to draw.

2. 

   Next you will want to make a pattern of the trunk on plain white paper. Again there is a picture to the left that you can use as an example. We just made a big thick J with a lip on the curved part.

3. 

   Once your patterns are made you are ready to start on the actual costume. You will want to take a sheet of the stiff felt and trace the ear on the felt with the maker then, cut it out. Do the same with the other ear (you can use the same pattern, just flip it over) and the trunk.

4. 

   Take the tape measure and your child's head; or whoever the costume is for. Then take the soft felt fabric and mark the length of the head on the fabric. You will then want to cut a strip (about two or three inches wide) the length of the head measurement.

5. 

   Now it is time to take all of the pieces and glue them together. See the picture to the left for a view of the back of the head dress. You want to be sure to glue the tab parts of the ears going toward the back of the headband. The back is where you glued the strip together. Then you want to make sure you glue the trunk on the inside of the strip.

6. 

   Finally put on the sweat suit, the gray mittens and socks and put the elephant headdress on and you are ready to go in a costume that didn't cost much without skimping on fun!

Tips & Warnings

• If the trunk bothers you, turn it up through the head band so that it is not hanging down in your face.