Fast and Frugal Homemade Costumes for Kids

Halloween is a much anticipated special occasion in our house. I realize not all parents have the time or inclination to make their own costumes, but for me, I really enjoy making costumes for my kids. I enjoy breaking out my sewing machine and glue gun, and finding things to repurpose around the house. If you’re like me, here are some tips for making quick costumes that don’t cost an arm and a leg. (And if crafting isn’t your thing, you can get great low cost costumes by trading with friends, making a trip to a thrift shop, or even hunting on Craigslist).

While my kids start thinking about the costumes they’ll wear next year even before the trick-or-treating sugar high fades away, they are bound to have a dozen new ideas before the fall. I try to get them to commit to one by September, but more often than not, they have a brilliant new plan by mid-October (and I have probably put off buying costume-making supplies anyway), so every year we end up improvising something at the last minute.

Here are my secrets to great fast and frugal costumes:

Simplify your ideas

For most costumes you don’t really have to spend a lot of time perfecting head-to-toe details as long as you have enough accessories to evoke the idea you’re aiming for. When my daughter said she wanted to go as a strawberry for Halloween, I started out thinking I’d have to find a way to create a large rounded berry body, and I didn’t know how I’d do it. Then I had the idea to make a poncho out of red fleece and just cut it so that it had a point at the front and back. I sewed “leaves” out of green felt around the neckline and made a strawberry flower headband out of a bit of elastic and my stash of felt. Presto! A much cheaper, easier, and more comfortable strawberry costume.

Make the most of your ‘tickle trunk’

If you haven’t got a costume box like Mr. Dressup’s Tickle Trunk, there’s no time like the present to start one. It is the perfect place to stash interesting discards from closet cleanouts, quirky dollar-store finds, and old costumes that you and your kids can repurpose for new fun. We start all costume-making with a deep dive through our Tickle Trunk, and more than once we have discovered that everything we needed was already here. For example, my son went as a “19^th-Century Billionaire” to school, dressed up in a golden cape left over from his sister’s birthday party, a dollar store top-hat found at the bottom of the tickle trunk, and a debonair mustache drawn on with my eyeliner pencil.

Felt is your friend

Felt is easy to cut into shapes and can be easily glued or sewn together. It’s always available to buy cheaply in small quantities at the dollar store too. A lot of great costumes can be made quickly and frugally by cutting and sewing or gluing felt shapes onto pre-made clothing. For example, Julie Rule created this amazing owl costume by gluing rows of felt “feathers” on to a zip-up hoodie. She glued felt shapes to make the owl’s eyes and beak on the hood for an easy and inexpensive costume that was also warm and easy to get on and off.

Julie says, “The owl costume was made out of felt. I cut too many to count little feather shaped pieces and hot glued them all to a zip up hoody. So the costume puts on like a jacket. It’s even scotch guarded in case it rained.”

Learn to love your sewing machine

You don’t have to be a skilled seamstress to make a great costume. If you have access to a sewing machine and the ability to sew a straight(ish) line, there are loads of interesting costumes you can make. I made an easy penguin costume for my toddler out of fleece following these instructions. I made the pattern for the tunic body by tracing another dress that fit well, and sewed wings at the shoulders. Making the hat with the penguin face on it was easy too. Fleece is a great material for costumes, as it’s warm enough to wear without a jacket on a chilly October night, and it doesn’t fray so you don’t have to hem or finish any seams.

When all else fails, break out the facepaint

A $15 kit from Michael’s will give you everything you need to make your kids a believable pirate, monster, fairy, kitty, princess, Celtic warrior, or whatever else your kids can dream up. One year my son wore Spider-Man pyjamas and I painted a red and black Spider-Man mask on his face. Facepaint + black clothing + long black sock = a kitty with a long tail. Facepaint + striped tee shirt and ripped shorts = zombie, or pirate, or….

Need more ideas? Here are some examples of fast & frugal DIY costumes shared by members of the New Westminster Moms Group on Facebook:

“My son was a pickle his first Halloween. I crocheted the hat and Auntie used felt to sew a sac with arm holes and an elastic bottom. Then just glued the lighter green belt bits on. Super easy, cheap and frickin’ adorable!” – Toni Spizziri

For a garden gnome costume: “I found a blue dress at Value Village, sewed on a few buttons and a strip of black elastic and a buckle as a belt (sewed right onto the dress). Cut a chunk out of the toque & sewed it back together to make a floppy hat that fit his head. All supplies cost <$4. (Except the beard, which he hated anyway).” – Jamie Beaumar

Pumpkin t-shirt: “I was pregnant, working and my husband was away when I made this. Orange t-shirt from Value Village, craft foam for the face and craft felt for the collar hot glued on. She put the bucket on her head because it was her doctors hat (??). Sure.” – Autumn Sweet

Briana Tomkinson is a New Westminster mom, freelance writer, and Editor in Chief of www.TenthtotheFraser.ca