Autumn is one of my favourite times of year, the colours are amazing and there is so much to look forward to – cozy nights in front of the fire, conker hunting, woolly jumpers and of course Halloween and Bonfire Night!
Halloween has a special place in my heart (after many years designing fancy dress!) and although there are many, many wonderful ready made costumes out there available to buy I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at what you can do with what is in your closet already or what you could do with some basics that can then be reused, (if you are buying a ready made costume, my top tip is buy big so that it will last a few years!)
Read on for some easy to make DIY Halloween costumes for your kids…
A great outfit basic is the trusty tutu, easily available in lots of colours this wardrobe staple can easily be transformed into a great pretty Halloween outfit for your little girl. Pick a theme or colour ( ie. white / ghost, purple / witch, orange / Pumpkin etc.) then see if you have an old t-shirt or leotard that you can use for the top part, grap a pair of tights and add on the appropriate accessories – cat ears & tail, Witch hat from a previous year or pick one up (you seem to be able to buy most basic accessories at any local supermarket or shop these days!) If you are feeling really creative, get some felt to make a face on the t-shirt part for a ghost or pumpkin and hey presto!
Cat outfits have been a favourite of my youngest for a couple of Halloween’s now and they are a good one as pretty easy to make yourself! Look for anything black (or pink for that matter!) and team with a tail and ears and of course draw on some whiskers and you’re pretty much there! I l love the idea of using a onsie as a base for an outfit too and they are nice and cosy for trick or treating, there are a lot of animal ones about that can be adapted such as the one pictured (bottom right.) A Werewolf is also a great take on a cat / animal outfit and the one pictured (bottom left) would be really easy to replicate with some brown polar fleece or felt which can be easily cut into a ragged shape and doesn’t require any stitching, add some brown or black ears and some make up and there you go! If you really don’t fancy the DIY bit why not buy the beautiful cat pinafore dress (pictured top right from www.wildthingsdresses.com) great for Halloween and also to wear after!
Ok so I know this won’t be everyones cup of tea, but my kids do love a bit of gore and I think most of us with girls have a fair few old princess dresses which can easily transform into Zombie Princesses! Some of the dresses I have are already half way there, they are so tatty and well loved – so just add a bit of blood and maybe some strips of grey muslin or net and some ghoulish make up!
Pictured above are some easy boys outfits which again I imagine most people will have things like a check shirt in the wardrobe or you could pick one up that can be worn again. For the Hulk, if it’s an old shirt it can be shredded along with some old trousers and green face paint added and for the Werewolf, adding some brown fur to the shirt cuffs and then buying some werewolf ears and facepaint to get the effect for the face. The Mummy I think most kids would love to have a go at, you could buy some bandages or rip up an old sheet and wind over the top of a t-shirt and shorts or leggings – they don’t have to be white – grey, green, black or yellow would look good underneath, then just add some fake blood over the top!
Zombies for the boys are again a pretty good option as an old fancy dress outfit or old clothes can be transformed with some paint and fake blood and then make up done, Youtube is a great place to find tutorials for this, I like this one http://youtu.be/mVBLJ2XpHFQ its for a woman but could easily be done on a child and uses make up that most of us would have already.
For more inspiration and ideas check out the Junior Style Pinterest board:
www.pinterest.com/juniorstyle/halloween/
And also mine:
www.pinterest.com/laylamayuk/halloween/
So thats it, I hope it’s been useful and I would love to hear comments or see any of your homemade costumes and if all else fails there are plenty of options available to buy at your local supermarket 😉
Images courtesy of:
www.ebay.com
www.family-vacation-getaways-at-los-angeles-theme-parks.com
