Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. And why wouldn’t it be: there’s no obligation to see family, I get to dress up, people give me candy, AND I get to get CRAFTY. I refuse to buy costumes - only DIY! Where’s the fun or creativity in buying a costume from a big box store?

This year was extra special because my daughter, Pepper, was old enough to help with the costumes. 

Her first idea was Elsa (of course), but my husband said no, so she settled on a purple butterfly. Violet was a rainbow because, well, Pepper picked a rainbow for her and she seemed okay with it.

I wanted to be an ice cream cone because it’s my favorite food ( I didn’t anticipate hordes of children trying to lick me at my daughters’ halloween party, though.).

So, if you are looking for a costume idea and you’re ready to put your sewing (or hot glue) fingers on, keep reading.

Rainbow

This rainbow costume was super simple - I sewed it, but you could just as easily have used glue. And it’s sooo cute!

Supplies

6 Colors of Felt (1/2 Yard)

White Felt (1/2 Yard)

Stuffing for the Clouds

Needle and Thread 

Headband

Directions

First cut out two large half circles of red felt (you can find yards of felt in the rolled fabric section), connect the two half circles with red felt straps to go over the shoulders.

Lay the base out and begin cutting half circles (of the other colors) in descending sizes to create the rainbow effect for both the front and the back.

Sew in place from largest to smallest.

Cut out 4 cloud shapes from white felt, and sew half way around. Stuff and sew the other half. 

Ice Cream Cone

This was by far the easiest no sew costume EVER! AND super cute if I don’t say so myself. 

Supplies

2 Rolls of Tulle

1 Yard of Knit Elastic

Felt 

Glue Gun

Brown Paper

Headband

Directions

It’s really easy to make a tutu and it adds a little something extra to every costume! For the sprinkles, I used different color felt, but I’ve also seen people use popsicle sticks.

Butterfly

Supplies

Dried flowers

Wire

Felt

Sheer Fabric (We used gold.)

Needle and Thread 

Glue

Headband

Lots of Glitter

This costume got a lot more complicated than it needed to be - because my daughter Pepper really wanted dry pressed flowers in between the wings.

Directions

Cut out two sets of butterfly wings out of felt.

Cut out 4 pieces of the sheer fabric the same size as the wings.

Make a sandwich - felt, sheer, flowers, sheer, felt.

Pin and sew.

We added a piece of cardboard in the center covered with felt for the thorax part of the butterfly. (I would advise to add the wire before sewing* and not after.)

To add some glam to the wings, we made felt flowers and finished with a headband and lots of glitter. 

*Update: Definitely do the wire first! Mine are now really floppy wings, but Pepper loves them and that’s all that really matters.

Join Elizabeth and family this Sunday (November 3rd) from 11am to 1pm at Fat Face on Wayland Square in Providence, where they will be signing copies of their new Montessori-inspired children’s cook book, Pepper And Parsley In The Kitchen, which btw makes a marvelous holiday gift for the kiddos in your life.

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Stone, MBA is an entrepreneur and business strategist. Her latest project is a Montessori-inspired cook book Pepper and Parsley in the Kitchen. Through her work as the co-founder of BioSci Labs and other start-ups, she has commercialized technology originating from Universities within RI and raised multiple rounds of funding.