Fall is my favorite time of the year, October is my favorite month, and Halloween is my favorite holiday.
Over the years I have
made my share of Halloween costumes and many of them have been pretty creative.
There are plenty of great costumes available at the stores this year, but if you really want to make some memories, try making your own or making costumes for your kids. It can be so much fun!
Animal costumes are always popular and you
can get a simple pattern that will enable you
to make many different animals.
Depending on the shape of the ears, type of
tail and choice of fabric, one pattern can go a
long way.
Years ago I created these costumes for my
children to be The Three Bears, using my
daughter's Cabbage Patch Kid as Baby Bear.
The same pattern was used to make Bo Peep's lamb costume.
I was so happy with this half girl/half boy costume I made my daughter, that I decided
to make an adult version: half bride/half groom. They weren't that hard to make, I cut the clothes in
half and sewed them together. I even made my mother and my aunt costumes... half bridesmaid/half groomsman and we had the whole wedding party.
Costumes for groups of people can be
really fun...
Creating the
Addicted to Love girls
was pretty easy...clothes, makeup, and hair had to be
the same and we made the guitars using foam board
and black electrical tape.
Other group costumes we have made included:
The hand costume was horrible to wear, we were enclosed from head to toe and had no use of our arms. It was not fun, but we won the contest we created the costume for. Not for the faint of heart!
The Easter basket was not confining, but we had to move as a unit. It was created by sewing fabric around a hoop made from pvc pipe. We also won a contest that year. You gotta really like someone to walk around in a basket with them all night long! Choose your basket mates wisely.
I'm a big fan of optical illusion costumes.
I created this Fairy costume by first sewing the mushroom
and stuffing the mushroom cap. The cap is like a donut
with a whole in the center. It was worn like a skirt.
The tutu type fairy skirt and fake legs are tied around my
waist after putting on the mushroom skirt. You can't see
them, but I'm wearing wings on my back.
It was a really cute costume. It looked even better and more
realistic on a child.
One of my favorite costumes
was this Rabbit in a Hat.
The hat was created by first making the rim
from cardboard and covering it with fabric. Then
I attached the fabric that formed the hat, using
a hula hoop sewed into the hem to weigh it down.
The hat is actually hanging from my shoulders using
fishing line for straps.
What was convenient about this costume was the fact that I could simply remove the straps from my shoulders and drop the hat to the ground and step out of it whenever I needed to. It transported really easily too.
One of my more dramatic costumes was this
skeleton in a coffin. It doesn't photograph well, and
was far more impressive in person. My uncle, Jim, hand
painted the skeleton onto my body suit with me wearing it.
That was a really one-of-a-kind experience.
I made the coffin using a foam board presentation display,
covering it with fabric, which went to the floor. The coffin
had wire hooks on the inside which slipped over my shoulders,
enabling me to walk around hands free, coffin and all.
My skeleton costume was recycled by my daughter.
Lose the coffin, add an orange vest and hard hat...voila:
you have Skeleton Crew.
Her boyfriend had the highway barrel...I can't tell you
why or how he got it...that information is classified...
but he cut holes for his head and arms and wore
a light on his head.
I hope you enjoyed my photos, but more importantly, I hope they have inspired you to get creative and have fun this year making costumes of your own.
If you create something special, or have made costumes in the past, please share a photo in the comment section. I would love to see them!
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these are so cute ,did you make them,
Those were some great ideas! When I was little my Mother made my brother and I some costumes. We were a pair of dice. She found square boxes, painted them white, and put the black dots in the respective areas. We wore black leggings and black t shirts. It was very fun to be wearing home-made costumes. I totally recommend it!
Thanks for sharing, Nicole Weidauer
The Egerer & Weidauer Team, Keller Williams Realty North Seattle
Sharaon, you did an amazing job with these costumes! I love the rabbit in the Hat! If i could only SEW!
Patt Yes I made all the costumes shown. Thanks.
Nicole Sounds like your mom is a lot like me. I loved making my kids costumes.
These are great! I love the hands/finger one! That is one of the most creative costumes I've ever seen.
Sharon - You are so creative! That is definitely one quality I do not have. No wonder you're so good at staging! :)
Marci Thank you. The funny part is, I don't really sew...not finish sewing, like clothing. I can throw together costumes, they are a bit rough but do the trick.
Ilyce It was my cousin, Kathi's, idea. I thought she was nuts when she suggested it. We made long dresses, with no sleeves and hoods for over our heads. The fingernail was red vinyl attached to the hood. There was a tiny mesh window to look out of, it was very hard to see and very hard to hear. Not having use of our arms was scary. Because she was the shortest, Kathi was our thumb. She was wonderful, she stayed bent over and kept laying on the floor. It certainly was original.
Debi Thank you! I bet you are more creative than you give yourself credit for. I appreciate the kind words.
Sharon - anyone looking at this post should choose you to be their stager - it so shows your creative talent - I love the costume ideas especially the hand.
Judy Thanks, although I'm not sure my ability to make costumes is necessary to be a good stager, I do agree that creativity is important. You wouldn't want to be wearing the hand costume, trust me!
We had a lot of fun with it...we positioned ourselves into the peace sign, we waved, we pointed, and we gestured with the middle finger...we got pretty good at working as a unit. But it really was uncomfortable in there.
Sharon, I love costumes and consider myself creative, but you are OVER THE TOP! Kudos to you and all those fabulous costumes! ~Pat
Pat: Yes, in most things I do, I am considered "over the top" for sure! Thanks for the great comment, but where are pictures of your costume creations?
I just love these cool costumes !
Jen: Thanks!