Halloween is coming, mamas! Are you considering making your kids’ costumes this year? If so, here are some expert tips for crafting easy and adorable DIY Halloween costumes.
Start early
First have your kids settle on a costume to give you time to make it. Once the crafting process starts there is very little room to change your mind. I recommend your costume decision deadline be sometime in September. This gives you time to plan and order supplies. Calculate how long you think it will take, then build in an extra week or two depending on how much free time you have to give yourself wiggle room for mistakes, things going wrong, and potential delays. I usually start mid-September or the beginning of October to give myself a lot of time.
Begin with a Base
Our DIY Halloween costumes are usually based around sweatpants and a hoodie. But depending on what you are making, you might use cardboard, felt, a dress, etc. Start with the base of the item that you can build upon, which is easier than creating something from scratch. Primary is a great place to order base colors of almost any clothing item for babies through teens, and Amazon of course has many options to choose from. I’ve made a penguin costume out of a black hoodie, a Minnie Mouse dress out of a red dress, an Olaf costume from a white hoodie, and a Mickey costume out of a black sleeper and some red shorts.
Unless It’s Within your Skill Set, Avoid Sewing
There are so many alternatives to sewing DIY Halloween costumes. Hot glue, fabric glue, fabric paint, and even felt that is already sticky so you just have to cut, peel, and stick. I can do some hand sewing but have never mastered a sewing machine so I find other ways to make do. Remember, this is an item being worn once or twice. It doesn’t have to last for long. Just make it through a school dress up day and a night of trick-or-treating tops. And if something falls off, just slap it back on.
Do Your Research
When deciding on a costume, the first thing I do is search “costume name DIY” and see what comes up. Sometimes I can find a step-by-step tutorial. More often I find several photos of other DIY costumes and then cobble together what I have in mind from them. I make a list of the supplies I will need, and then order online or buy at a craft store.
Be Ok With Messy
Kind of like my homemade cakes will never look bakery-level professional, my DIY Halloween costumes won’t either. As long as my kid likes it and they look reasonably like the character or item they’ve chosen, I consider it a success. This also applies to the costume-making process. If you can choose a place in your home to turn into your costume workshop, it helps to be able to spread out, leave things to dry, and not have to clean up every time you are in the middle of building a piece.
Have a Backup Plan
Especially if it is your first time, having a backup costume can lower the pressure. You can always return if you need to. In our house we have a plethora of dress-up clothes that can become costumes at a moment’s notice, so we pull from those if needed.
Have Fun! And Skip It if You Aren’t Having Fun
I make costumes for my kids because I enjoy them. I like crafts, problem-solving, and being creative. If making a costume for your kid sounds like your worst Halloween nightmare, don’t do it. If it sounds like a fun adventure, go for it!
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