More DIY costumes for kids

If your kids like to dress up all year round, costumes may not be just for Halloween in your house. If you read my previous costume post, you know that I believe DIY does not have to mean “difficult” or making an entire costume from scratch. Sometimes it just means looking at what you already have around the house and combining it in new ways with a little sewing, snipping, or glue. Please share your own costume ideas for girls and boys in the comments below.

When my boys turned five, they dressed as Batman and Robin.

DIY Batman Costume (pictured)
– Supplies Needed: Batman logo T-shirt, black leggings, yellow felt, Batman mask, black cape (or black fabric), scissors, Sharpie marker
– How-To: Batman T-shirts are generally easy to find at thrift shops or Target. (We already owned three hand-me-downs.) Black leggings are also easy to pick up at thrift shops or borrow from a friend. (They may be worth buying new if your child attends dance classes.) If you do not already have a black cape like we did, you can buy a remnant of black fabric from a fabric store (my favorite fabric place is Lorraine’s). Cut the fabric to cape-size and sew string on one end to attach cape or sew cape directly to T-shirt (see Robin costume below). Cut belt from yellow felt and draw on Batman logo with black Sharpie marker. (Use Velcro or a safety pin to secure belt.) Add mask.
– Total Price: $4.99 (We only bought the mask, we already had all the other parts. Price will vary depending on what you buy and where you buy it.)

DIY Robin Costume (pictured)
– Supplies Needed: Red T-shirt, green pants, green shirt, red underwear, yellow, green, and black felt, black mask, black cape or black fabric, scissors, Sharpie marker
– How-To: My son turned his red Spiderman shirt inside out because he was not a Spiderman fan and it was the only red shirt he owned. We already owned the green shirt and sweatpants and red underwear so that part was also easy. My son Dylan does not like things tied around his neck so I sewed a scrap of black fabric onto the shoulders of his T-shirt (Velcro and safety pins may also work). I cut a belt and the Robin logo from felt. I hand-sewed the Robin logo onto the T-shirt and safety-pinned the belt on. We added green felt armbands and a black mask.
– Total Price: $0.99 (This was another easy costume for us because we used what we already had in the house, except for some minor sewing and buying the black mask.)

When my boys turned six, they were so into the Three Musketeers that they chose it as the theme of their birthday party. We made these simple blue Musketeer tops for all the party guests — and gave them away as party favors.

DIY Three-Musketeer Costume (pictured)
– Supplies Needed: ½ yard of felt, silver duct tape, and scissors. Optional Extras: black felted hat and plume feather (available at thrift shops or iParty store) and sword.
– How-To: Fold felt in half and hold up to your child to measure. Mark felt (with chalk) so the width is about 6 inches wider than your child’s shoulders and the length falls between his waist and knees. Lay felt flat and cut to size. With felt still folded in half, cut an opening for head (cut slits to help make opening fit more easily over child’s head). Lay felt open flat and stick duct tape around edge of felt and in middle for pattern. (See photo for detail.)
– Total Price: $2.50 ($16.00 if you purchase new hat and plume feather from iParty store.)