How To Create Your Own Costume

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Some of the best costumes you will see on Halloween are made by the people wearing them. Making your own Halloween costume can seem like a lot of work, but if you select a costume idea that you really love, pick the right materials for the costume, and give yourself some time to make it, you can make a great costume, too.

1

Decide how much work you want to do. Before you decide what you're going to be for Halloween you have to decide how much work you're willing to do on your costume. Do you want something you can just throw together or are you planning on making something elaborate?
2

Evaluate how much time you have to complete the project. If you are attempting to make a costume the day before Halloween, you probably want to create a last-minute costume that can easily be thrown together using items, clothing, and supplies that you already have lying around your house.

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3

Brainstorm your favorite characters. Once you know you how much time you want to spend on a costume, you'll need an idea. A good place to start is to make a list of your favorite characters: from books, movies, or TV shows. Dressing up as your favorite character always make a great costume.^[1]
4

Think about current events. Another good place to find inspiration for your costume is in current events. Recent news stories, celebrity mishaps, or current pop culture references always make a great costume.^[2]
5
Start with your accessories. If you're still stumped for a costume idea, start by picking up some great costume accessories that you love – a hat or a cape or a tiara – and build a costume around the accessory.^[3]
- You might consider building your costume around a DIY latex mask if you are up to the challenge or want a unique look.
6
Decide on an individual or group costume. Costumes that require multiple people can be fun and impressive if they are executed well.^[4]
- A few examples of group costumes include: bands, superhero groups, celebrity couples, or a set of characters from a book, movie, etc.
- Make sure everyone in your group is committed to the group costume. If anyone backs out, it might ruin the costume.
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1

Brainstorm material choices. Arts and crafts stores are great places to look for costume materials, even if you don't know exactly what you want before visiting the store. As long as you go in with a costume idea, you should be able to find fabric to make it work.^[5]
2
Pick a fabric that's easy to work with. If your costume requires you to sew clothing, you will want to pick a material that is easy to sew or piece together, particularly if you are a beginning crafter.
- For example, felt is inexpensive and can be glued together using a hot glue gun or even stapled together to create clothing. Basic cotton fabric is easy to sew with a sewing machine or by hand.^[6]
3

Take your measurements. Before you visit a fabric store, you'll need to take exact measurements of your costume. If you're unsure how much you need for your costume, ask for assistance.^[7]
4

Visit a thrift or recycled clothing store. If you're not up for sewing your costume, secondhand clothing stores can be great places to find cheap, wacky clothes perfect for a costume. Sometimes these stores actually have homemade costumes for sale if you choose not to make your costume from scratch.
5
Think about possible embellishments or accessories. When you're choosing your materials, think about embellishments and accessories you can add to it. Many accessories can be purchased cheaply at arts and crafts stores.^[8]
- Look for accessories like crowns - from big tiaras to small flowers crowns - or capes or feather boas.
- Good examples of easy to add embellishments include fake flowers, buttons, and glitter glue.
6

Check out what you have at home. When you're searching for costume materials, look in the back corner of your closet or the drawer you never open in your dresser. You might have the stuff you need right at home!^[9]
7
Repurpose a cardboard box. If all else fails, a cardboard box can serve as a good base for a costume. The boxiness lends itself well to robots, washer or dryers, cars, or a TV.^[10]
- Box cutters work best for cutting through cardboard.
- Decorate your box after you've cut out the holes for your arms, head, and body.
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1

Gather your materials. Even if you're not sewing together your costume, you should still gather the materials you've decided to use. Lay everything out and start to make a plan for how you're going to put them together.^[11]
2
Double check your measurements. Once you have your materials together, make sure you have the correct measurements for the clothes you're creating. Double checking these measurements before you create a template and begin cutting out fabric can save you a lot of wasted time and money.^[12]
- For pants, you will need the following measurements: waist, hip, crotch depth and full leg length from waist to floor.
- For shirts, you will need the following measurements: neck, chest, shoulder width, arm length, armhole length and shirt length.
- For shorts, use the pant measurements you have, only shortening the pant length to the desired length.
- For skirts, you simply need waist and hip measurements. The length and fullness of the skirt will vary depending on what type of skirt you want to make.
- Make sure that the material you choose to use is not see-through or itchy if you are making clothing as part of your costume.
3

Create a template. Creating a template for your costume on paper first gives you a chance to double check measurements. This is a good technique regardless of whether you're gluing or sewing your costume Transfer the template to a piece of felt with a pen and use scissors to cut out the template before gluing it together.
4

Make the clothes of your costume. Using your template, make clothing for your costume out of fabric. This might require either sewing or gluing material together. It's best to take this step slowly as you double check measurements and try things on as you make them.^[13]
5

Add embellishments. Using a glue gun, paste on objects or embellishments to the clothing you've made or the existing clothing you're using for your costume. For example, you and a partner could cover a green outfit in real or fake leaves, wrap a toy snake around your neck, and hold an apple in your hand for a quick and easy Adam and Eve costume.
6

Add accessories. Once you've got the base of your costume, add your accessories. This might mean gluing or sewing additional material, or simply draping a cape over your shoulders or adding a tiara.
7

Try it on. You'll want to check out how everything looks together at least once before you wear your costume on Halloween. Once you have everything put together, try it on with all of the accessories and make sure you're happy with the result. You should do this a few days before Halloween so you have time for changes if they're necessary.

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Add New Question

Question

How do I choose my costume?

Dress as a character you like, or look online for some ideas.
Question

If I am already a cyber-goth, could I still dress as one for Halloween?

Of course, you can. It's your costume, and you already have a grasp on what it should look like.
Question

How can I make fawn/satyr legs?

If you take some padding and put it on the front of your thigh, it'll make the bottom half of your leg look set back like an animal leg! (You see this technique a lot in fur suits.) Then just cover the whole thing in fake fur.
Question

What do I need to do to make a vampire costume?

You will need to get a cape and vampire teeth. Then just do your makeup really pale and put blood on your mouth. Make sure that your costume is black, if at all possible.
Question

How can I dress up like an M&M candy?

You could cut out 2 large circles of cardboard, put the logo on them, and attach with straps that will go over your shoulders. Wear white gloves and white shoes/boots, depending on which color you're going as. You could wear a brown top resembling the chocolate.
Question

My bff is going as Harley Quinn so I might go as Poison Ivy. Would a green vest/shirt and a green skirt fit for the body of the outfit?

SunPuppy

Community Answer

Yes, that would work. Don't forget to add the texture, as you need it to be Poison Ivy.
Question

Can I make a costume of a superhero who is not well-known?

Of course! Being original is always a great idea. Just keep in mind you'll probably have to explain who you are to people, and that can get a little tiresome after awhile.
Question

How do I find the materials for my Halloween costume?

Look at crafts stores, fabric stores, and best of all, thrift stores. Make a list of what you need, and then make an afternoon of the "treasure hunt" for fun, repurposed goodies!
Question

How do I start making my Halloween costume?

The best way to start is with head accessories or a mask, if you're making a mask. These tend to be the most work and will help inspire how the rest of the costume should look. You'll also need to consider whether you want to sew or staple/glue/cut your costume, as sewing is only useful if you're good at it.
Question

If I am making an elaborate costume from scratch how much time will I need?

If you're intermediate to advanced with your skills, you'll need about two weeks of working on it here and there every day, give or take a couple of days.

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If you are making clothing, be sure that it will not fall off of you or fall apart unexpectedly. You may want to wear clothing or spandex underneath your costume as a precaution.
Be sure to include seam allowances in your measurements when you make a fabric template if you are sewing your costume.
If you don't want to make a costume yourself but you want the homemade look, you can buy a homemade costume online from a website such as Etsy.com or check a recycled clothing store in your area for homemade costumes.
Think about making a pun costume. Those are fun and easy to make.
Take some fabrics from around your house that you're not using as clothes. Get some more fabrics, and when you think you're finished, sew it together. If your costume contains head accesories, or any other add ons, make sure you have the right stuff in your house. Like if you need to make a wig, take some yarn (if you have it) and cut it to the correct length and make sure it fits your head and your liking.

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Article SummaryX

You can easily make a Halloween costume with materials from your house! For example, to make a ghost costume, drape a white sheet over your head so it covers your body. Use a marker to draw an "X" where your eyes are. Then, remove the sheet and use scissors to carefully cut the eyes out. If you need to, ask a grown-up for help. You can also make a devil costume by wearing all-red and taping red cones to a headband to make devil horns. Alternatively, you can be an angel by wearing all white and cutting a golden circle to be a halo. To be an M&M, simply wear clothes that are all the same color, like all-blue or all-orange, and tape two white "M"s to the front of your shirt. For a slightly more complicated costume, you can dress in sparkly clothing and bright colors to be a rock star, or dress in all black with fangs to be a vampire. No matter what costume you choose, just remember: the most important part of Halloween is to have fun! To learn how to start designing and putting together your Halloween costume, scroll down!

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