Children's Fashion Family How To

DIY Halloween kids costume guide

DIY
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Written by Tim Barnes-Clay

Stuck for Halloween costume ideas for your kids? Then read our ghoulish DIY guide to making your own outfits.

It’s more fun (and cheaper) making DIY halloween costumes with your children. Not only that, it sparks their creative streak. Just make sure they don’t glue themselves together!

Sea monster
  1. Glue cupcake liners along the sleeves of a hooded sweatshirt and then attach orange felt circles to the front of the it.
  2. Add green streamers to the cuffs and on the knees of a pair of pants.
  3. Create razor-sharp teeth with white felt glued to the sweatshirt hood.
  4. Add a couple of eyes to the top of the hood by drawing black dots on table tennis balls.
  5. Top it off with Snuggly Rascals Monster headphones for that extra monstrous look.
Emoji face
  1. Cut a piece of yellow tagboard and cardboard in the shape of a circle.
  2. Glue the tagboard to the cardboard with strong (hot if possible) glue.
    Using the relevant felt colour, cut out the shapes for the emoji face of choice.
  3. Glue the felt patches in the correct position.
  4. Glue or tape straps on the back with some sturdy string or elastic.
Creepy wizard
  1. Put your child in a black top and trousers.
  2. Cover the eyes and spray on some white or grey temporary hair colour.
  3. Using a sponge, apply white face paint, avoiding the eyes.
  4. Put black face paint around the eyes.
  5. Using a brush, add creative details like tracing black lines on the lower face or making the lips blood red. Blood trails running from the mouth and eyes are always a nice touch.
  6. Put on wear a black robe (a dressing gown works well)
  7. Buy a wand to complete the ghastly outfit.
Devilish devil
  1. With a sponge and some bright red paint, entirely cover the face.
  2. Using a brush and black paint, fill in some thick circles around the eyes. Taper them up at the eyebrows and feather two points underneath.
  3. Add some more points at the side of each eye.
  4. Take a sponge and gently dab some black paint around the edge of the face to contour the cheeks.
  5. Use some white and a brush to draw two horns on the forehead.
  6. Use a brush and black paint to add wrinkles to the face and outline the horns.
Freaky Frankenstein
  1. Cut a piece of green felt long enough to wrap around your child’s head and 12 to 16 inches wide.
  2. Fold in half lengthwise so the hat is 6 to 8 inches tall and glue the sides together to make a cylinder.
  3. Cut two more pieces of green felt about 6 inches wide and 8 inches long to create the neckpiece.
  4. Glue one strip to each side of the hat on the inside
  5. Glue silver spools in the middle of each piece for neck bolts (you’ll tuck the ends inside his shirt or jacket).
  6. Cut a scar shape out of red felt, and glue to the hat.
  7. Place faux fur across the top and glue in place around edges and trim to desired style.
  8. Dress your child in sweatpants, and cut jagged edges at the bottom.
  9. Top with a brown t-shirt and jacket.
 Cute rabbit
  1. Cut the sleeves off a white sweatshirt and turn it inside out.
  2. Line the inside with Poly-Fil batting and glue at neck and armholes. Fold in and glue raw edges.
  3. Bunch up a piece of white marabou boa and glue to the back bottom center of body for the tail.
  4. Glue another piece of boa at the neck for tuft of fur on the chest.
  5. For the hat, turn one cut-off sleeve fleece-side out and glue closed at one end.
  6. For the ears, cut two 7-inch-long triangles from the other sleeve, fleece side out.
  7. Glue two teardrop pieces of pink felt on the inside, allowing a 1/4-inch perimeter. Pinch wide ends together and glue to hat.