Why DIY Your Halloween Costume?

It’s October!!!

How and why October slowly became one of my favorite months, I will never know.  But I think it has something to do with the little person in my house, the promise of lots of goodies to steal (when she’s not looking), and the opportunity to hone my crafting and sewing skills in a pressure-free costume-making frenzy!

Why in the world would I worry about making my child’s costume when I have a new baby on the way and there are perfectly good costumes out there for purchase?  Because I just LOVE making things!

And here’s the real catch…

I love making things that don’t matter.

Halloween is one of the few times of the year when I can make something fun, creative, and elaborate that doesn’t have to be perfect at all!  It just has to work for one night, or if you read Kara’s post on local Halloween activities and want to make sure you are stocked up on candy for the rest of your life, perhaps half a dozen nights.

But seriously, making a Halloween costume is a chance to practice new skills.  A chance to branch out in your creativity.  And a chance to make something truly one-of-a-kind.

I’ve also found it incredibly cost-effective.  I told my kiddo that she couldn’t be Elsa because everybody and their neighbor’s dog is going to be Elsa for Halloween. (Raise your hand!)  What she doesn’t know is that I saved SO much money on her Tinkerbell costume materials, that I was ALSO able to buy materials to make her an Elsa dress… someday.

That’s the other fun thing about making your own costume.  When your kids are little, it doesn’t take very much material and therefore doesn’t need to cost hardly anything!  Last year my Pickle was Strawberry Shortcake for maybe $5… and she wore it three times.  You can read our full Strawberry Shortcake adventure here.  Let’s just say, one of us is going to remember these Halloween outfits forever.

If you decide to tackle a DIY costume this year (and if you’re not 37 weeks pregnant, you DO still have time!) here are some tips.

1. MAKE IT UNIQUE

There are lots of great patterns out there, but isn’t it more fun to burn a hole in your eyes on Pinterest and then put together all of your favorite features?  There are tutorials online for everything from zippers to tutus to shoe covers!  Challenge yourself.  Try something new.  And be assured that as long as it’s CLOSE, the little person in your life will never know it’s not perfect.

2. USE WHAT YOU HAVE

Dig through your closets or through a thrift store for base materials.  P is going to be Tinkerbell, but I am NOT making wings.  We’re using her Tinkerbell wings from her dress-up box.  Old formal dresses would be nice all chopped up and turned into a princess dress.  One of our former contributors created a Buzz Lightyear outfit using a gray hooded sweatshirt and some fleece.

3. KEEP IT CHEAP

There are awesome coupons out there (I just got an ecoupon for 25% off my entire purchase at JoAnn’s this weekend – includes regular and sale-priced items).  Think of ways to use cheaper materials that will be just as cute.  For Tinkerbell I bought an inexpensive plain green cotton then layered an equally inexpensive sparkly material over the top.  The result?  Looks a lot more expensive than it really was!

4. SIMPLE WORKS TOO

Moms of little girls… seriously.  If you add a tutu to ANYTHING it will become a perfect little girl costume.  Need a tutu-tutorial?  HERE are about a million.  Not into tutus?  Repurpose!  Two years ago the Pickle was a lion (with a tutu) and her tail was a $2 curtain tieback with a tassle.  Look at what you need, then look around and see what fun materials will work perfectly!

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I know there will come a day when my Sweet P will insist on one of the fancy costumes hanging in the store and I will have to project my creative needs onto her baby brother, but until then, I am loving every October, every photograph, and every bite of candy!

Later this month we’ll be having a Cute & Creative Halloween contest… the perfect way to show off your creative DIY costumes!!!  Until then, please share your favorite DIY costume tips with our readers.