Halloween Costumes DIY
Gathering DIY Halloween costume photos to share with you, I came across a series of yearly photos that tell a story. At the time, I wanted my yearly shots to look like a pottery barn kids catalog, however looking back through the years I'm glad I captured the truth of the moment. It wouldn't be a Halloween photo shoot with out the tears.
This one I find the funniest now, and probably the worst at the time. I don't seem to have any photos of the little monkey actually wearing his costume. This photo pretty much captures the theme of my life that year.
This was the year we spent Halloween at Disneyland. I could tell you that the little one is not facing the camera Because he wanted you to admire the hand made owl wings, but you probably know better.
Not sure what possessed this determined pose from the little owl, but you can see his unique and enjoyable personality shining with the rest of them.
Crafting your own Costume:
Depending on the complexity of the design, creating your Halloween costume can take an hour or it can take an hour every night for a week.
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The bat costume probably took about an hour, not including the time to buy/gather supplies. It was really very simple and inexpensive, I transformed a giant sweatshirt and ski mask into a bat costume with the addition of some black felt. Bat Tutorial Here.
The owl costume used the same simple technique as the bat costume but I decided to detail the wings with individual felt feathers. Cutting out all the feathers and sewing them probably added about three hours to the total production time, however the end result is so cute and worth it in my opinion. My son wore it for the past two Halloweens (ages 3 & 4) and is asking to be an Owl again for this “Owloween.” It was also borrowed by a friend who's daughter was an owl in a school play. My children love dressing up all year and our costumes get a lot of love. Owl Tutorial Here.
The cost of a completely new costume purchased online or a Halloween store, is very pricey. With three kids, I don't have the heart or pocket book to fork over the dough for poor quality. The thin fabric and cheap plastic accessories you find in the prepackaged costumes at Halloween stores are the worst. Half of that stuff you could get for a few bucks at the thrift store.
One year when my daughter wanted to dress up as a witch, I went to the thrift store and grabbed a lady's three dollar black blouse. Turning it wrong side out, I sewed a new seam from the arm pit down the sides to the bottom. This up-cycled the blouse into an instant witch's dress. Some shirts may simply need a belt or a few safety pins. A hat, black and white striped tights, red sparkly Dorothy shoes and she was good to go as the wicked witch of the East (before being hit by the house).
Yoda ears and an attempt at turning a snuggly into a Jedi Robe Tutorial Here.
With three kids, it can be totally overwhelming to make each costume every year. I'm lucky that my kids will wear the same one for a few years, and many times we are gifted with hand me down costumes from friends and family. My favorite time to buy costumes is during the half off sale the week after Halloween. They're perfect for playing dress up all year or you could box it up for the next Halloween. If you plan on making your own costumes this year, Google images for inspiration and check Pinterest.com for diy tutorials, as well as peruse thrift stores, craft stores and even hardware stores for supplies.