Want to make your or your children's costumes this Halloween, but not sure how to start? Below are some ideas to get you started. The first three start with used or bought items and are then gussied up with the addition of patches and other items; the second is made from scratch.
For Deanna Foster, costume-making is a family affair. She's the master costume maker, but has willing family who can help with any crocheting and sewing that's required. The photos on pages x and x are of Deanna and Dain's son, Oxley, at different ages. This year, she has a new member of the family to make costumes for: baby Wrenley
Peter Pan Costume
"I purchased a green shirt that was multiple sizes too big and cut it to look tattered. The green leggings were from Primary.com. Once again my husband's grandma came through with the hat so I don't have that pattern, but it was made out of felt," Deanna said. "I also made the belt and sword out of felt. I used hot glue on the sword around the edges. I also used hot glue to attach Velcro to the belt."
Race Car Driver
Deanna said all the clothing for this costume were purchased and the the patches were ironed on. "The hat was purchased from a children's boutique out of state and the jumpsuit was purchased on Amazon, along with some of the patches," Deanna noted. "The other patches were given to us by a local racer."
Bullfighter
"We used a Wrangler shirt (with added patches) and adult-size wrangler jeans (cut to basically be like a skirt)," Deanna said. "We were lucky to know a local bullfighter (Chuck Swisher) so he sent us some extra sponsor patches. We used suspenders to hold the bottom half up and added handkerchiefs to each side. We used face paint on his face." (The dog costume was purchased on Amazon.)
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Who doesn't love Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head? One year, Sally Wolf, who taught at a child care center in the metro area for several years, let her 2-year-old charges put he finishing touches on their own potato head costumes and also made one for herself.
Mr./Mrs. Potato Head
Adult: Sally said her costume was sewn out of pieces cut out of various colors of felt. She cut out a large brown body piece (using two pieces of felt, one for the front and one for the back) that roughly resembles the shape of a Mr. Potato Head toy, leaving arm holes and a spot for the head. "Cut out the accessories and body parts: two pink circles for the ears, a pink oval for the nose, red lip-shaped piece for the mouth, eyes that can be decorated with eyelashes and green glasses pieces," she directs. "And don’t forget the earrings for Mrs. Potato Head’s ears!"
Children's: "Let children paint two poster board pieces brown. Cut out two poster board pieces in the shape of Mr. Potato Head (one will be the front and one will be the back). Mouth pieces can be either lip shapes or smiling teeth shapes. Cut out mustaches, ears, eyes and noses as you’d like, drawing inspiration from the toys," Sally said, noting that children can help decorate the pieces. "Using double-sided tape or Velcro, help the child attach the facial features to the faces. Then take string and hole punch holes in the top near the shoulder area of each potato side to tie together to create sandwich board-style costume."
