Easy DIY Polar Fleece Halloween Costume
Tired of scouring the stores for the perfect costume? Don’t want to spend big money on a costume that only gets worn once? Got a trick-or-treater who wants to be someone or something you can find a costume for? Or are you just feeling creative this year and want to try your hand at making a costume? Here is a guide to making your own costume, inexpensively on your sewing machine. This costume is made to size and can handle endless adaptations depending upon your color and pattern choice. This costume is a breeze, fun to make and can be very warm.
Choose a color or pattern which suits the character or look of the costume. For example, bright green fabric can become a dinosaur, frog, snake, turtle, caterpillar, elf, flower stem (with head peeking out of flower made from another color) costume, etc. Red material can become a ladybug, a heart, a strawberry, M & M, etc. Brown can be made into all sorts of animals: dog, hamster, horse, cow, bear, wolf. Gray can be a donkey, elephant or spider, Brown or gray can be a simple bible costume or peasant if you don’t make legs. Blue can be a butterfly, fish, wizard and more. Use striped or spotted for cows, leopards, tigers, zebra, cats, etc.
Purchase supplies: Check the bargain bins at Field’s Fabrics, Jo-Anne’s, Wal–Mart, Hobby Lobby or any local fabric store. The most versatile fabric is polar fleece. It is warm, easy to work with, does not snag, is inexpensive and comes in endless colors and patterns. You don’t have to hem polar fleece either. You will make a basic single color or pattern pajama like outfit that will shroud the body and legs. I will explain how to make an optional hood. The details are added and removed with Velcro. You will need
one yard for a child under size 4 and 1& 1/2 yards for sizes up to about 10. You’ll need two yards for small adult costumes. Fabric will be doubled.
one yard of self-stick Velcro
one yard or elastic
scrap fleece fabric pieces for costume accessories
Lay out the doubled fabric on a table or floor.
Fold the fabric in half along the fold so the fabric is in fourths.
Cut a quarter circle at the folded corner through all layers where the fabric meets. This will be the head hole. Be positive not to cut it too large. You can increase the hole size but you can’t decrease it.
Slip it over the child’s head for size.
Refold fabric back to fourths.
Estimate child’s arm length. If you plan to add some stuffing or padding, make arms wider.
Cut through all layers of fabric from edges (not folded, cut edges) toward fold about the length from the wrist to the chest.
Cut from armpit perpendicularly but rounded down to the end of the fabric. At the arm pit, don’t cut a right angle, but round the cut to allow the child comfort and movement when wearing the costume. The armpits will be less likely to high-tail out this way also. When fabric is opened to a single fold, this will from a basic T-shape with the top part forming arms. If the costume will be a dress or open at the bottom you are done cutting. If you are making legs, continue.
Cut up the fold to what will be the approximate crotch of the garment. Don’t cut the legs too close to the neckline or the costume will be too short from neck to crotch. Leave enough room for movement.
Sew along the lower arm edges and down the outside of the legs. Use a medium zigzag stitch or locking stitch to develop heavy-duty seams.
Sew up both inner leg seams. Round the crotch for comfort and movement.
Make elastic or tied arm and leg openings.
Sew a casing at the end of each arm and leg.
Fold up the edge about one inch or so.
Sew along the upper edge as though you are hemming it.
Leave an inch opening unsewn.
Measure elastic to child’s wrist so that it will be snug but not tight.
Attach a safety pin to the elastic
Insert into casing opening and pull through until both ends of elastic meet at opening.
Knot elastic.
Sew up the opening to enclose elastic.
Optional: insert a fragment of ribbon into opening. Leave ends out and tie each time costume is passe.
(optional) Make a Mask or hood: If you want a hood or head allotment, Using a rectangle of fleece about the size of a dishtowel, fold it in half width-wise. Sew it closed along the top of the folded piece. Sew the bottom edge to the neck opening so that the fold is in the back, the sewn edge is on the top and the two edges meet in the middle of the front of the costume; gather if considerable. Sew part draw down the front to make face opening smaller if desired.
Turn entire costume right-side out. All stitching is now on the inside.
Make a cut down from the neckline down the front. Only make it as long as child will need to get into garment. Try costume on and adjust to child’s needs. )
Attach adhesive Velcro to both sides of the opening. Use these to fasten costume shut. Cover opening with pom-poms or parts of costume that you can Velcro on.
Make accessories : Using other fabric scraps, slash shapes and attach to costume with Velcro.
For stand up pieces (dinosaur spikes, long tail, butterfly wings, fish fins, spider or insect legs, rhino horn, elephant tusk or ears)
Cut two matching fabric pieces.
Sew together, leaving an opening.
Stuff with cotton baton and sew opening shut.
Attach with Velcro.
For any animal: Attach ears, tail, wings, antennae, scales, mane, etc.
Put a fragment of wire in tails, wings, antennae or insect legs and then stuff them. You can bend to shape this way.
Add wings with two pieces of elastic that children put arms into like straps.
You will have an easy, warm and cute costume for most any age child when you are done.
