Unique Homemade Costume Ideas
Different and Original Halloween Costumes
While costumes are traditionally associated with Halloween, costume parties can bring the game of dress up to children and adults year round. If the costumes found in stores are not providing the desired look, making costumes at home may be the answer. Here are four unique costumes to try.
Bag of Jelly Beans
This fun costume works well for Trick or Treating, as well as for parties in which the wearer will not be spending time sitting down. To make this costume, gather a large net bag, such as those sold in sporting goods stores to carry balls, and a bag of small, multi-colored balloons. Cut the openings in the bag slightly larger for leg and arm holes, and have the intended wearer climb in, with the top of the bag around the neck. Inflate the balloons, and fill up the bag around the wearer. Cinch the bag shut at the top and tuck the string inside. Tape an extra balloon or two onto a hat for the wearer’s head.
Cotton Candy
A cotton candy costumes requires a pair of white tights or leggings, a pale colored fleece pull over, and large amounts of “spider web” material, or fleecy gauze in pale colors. Once the wearer has put on the leggings and pull over, wind and pad the torso and arms of the wearer with gauze. Wrap more around the chest to give the appearance of fullness in the middle and have it gently taper toward the head and legs. Additional material can be wrapped around a hat to crown the wearer’s head, as well. If using white "spider web" material, try using colored hair spray in a pink or blue and spraying from a distance to lightly color the material.
Robot
This slightly complicated costume will require the use of several cardboard boxes, rubber cement, tinfoil, a hole punch and twine. Be sure to have one large box that can cover the torso, a smaller box for the head, through which eye holes will be cut, and multiple boxes of the same size that will be stacked together to form the arms and legs. The wearer should also have either black or gray colored clothing to wear underneath, as it will show through in places.
Remove the flaps from the boxes, with the exception of the box for the head, so that each one is merely a 4 sided shell. Cut holes for the arms in the largest box, and tape together the top of the box for the head, removing the bottom flaps.
Coat each box in the rubber cement, and press sheets of tin foil over each side, smoothing each sheet out as it’s applied to remove wrinkles.
To join the boxes together on the arms and legs, and to the torso, punch holes in the tops of and bottoms of each box on all four sides. Once the wearer has put on the largest of the boxes, each smaller box will be slid over the arms and legs until it comes in contact with the first box. Use twine to tie the boxes together where the holes were punched. Be sure to leave enough wiggle room with each piece of twine to allow for free movement of the arms and legs. The box for the head can be left free of twine for easy removal.
Tree in Autumn
This unique costume makes use of the abundance of fallen leaves in the fall. Alternatively, this costume could be made in the spring or summer, using green leaves.
Gather together large amounts of fallen leaves. Try to find leaves that give as much color range as possible to be pleasing to the eye. The wearer will need to have a brown shirt and pants, as well as a hat with a large enough weave to accommodate small twigs.
Taking each leaf, use a stapler to attach them by the stem to the wearer’s shirt. Try to cover as much surface area as possible, overlapping the leaves to help hide their application. With the stems fastened to the shirt, the leaves should be able to move freely in the wind, or when the wearer moves. A small amount of brown paint or a brown marker can be used to hide the silver of any staples that might show through. Place twigs with leaves still attached through the weave of the hat to crown the tree, and use face paint in oranges and yellows to help the wearer blend in with the foliage.
These costumes will need to be donned immediately before heading out to the wearer’s destination. Most will not last for more than one wearing at a time, but all will make a lasting impression on the viewers.
Halloween Costumes Don't Have to Come off a Shelf
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Autumn Leaves Make a Unique Costume
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