It’s October! and time to start thinking about Halloween costumes (if you haven’t started already!). As I’ve mentioned a time or two, sewing clothing is not my forte. And surprised as you may be, Halloween costumes are not something I really look forward to making. But, I grew up with the kind of Mom who made my costume every year. I have memories of going to the fabric store together and picking out the pattern and the fabrics and watching Mom create something amazing from nothing. Rainbow Bright and Snow White are still my favorites she ever made me. So when this time comes around, I feel like it’s only right to make my little guy’s costume rather than buy it. But when I say “make,” I choose the “easy” road to a costume…in the forms of embellishments, capes, masks, etc. (I don’t think you’ll ever find me sewing a full peace fur costume, but isn’t this one amazing?!?)
We had a tough time coming up with a costume idea for our little guy this year. He’s 2.5, so the costume has to be “toddler-proof,” as in – nothing he can pull off or really fight me on. We are not yet to the age where he gets it and wants to wear a costume, so it has to as-closely-resemble “normal” clothes as possible! I think we’re on to something, and I’m kind of excited about it…
But while I work away on this year’s costume, I never got a chance to post last year’s costume here on the blog. So if you’re looking for ideas…I’ve got one for the whole family!
Simple yet eye-catching graphics combined with some basic notions make these a super fast, little-to-no sew costume option that you can easily pull together in one night (like the night before Halloween if necessary 😉 Our family costumes include t-shirts, masks, and cuffs in three different but coordinating sets.
To make this truly a quick project, I have all the design elements ready for you to download, print and use! If you need extra super heroes, simply use the basic design elements I provided but add other graphics that resonate with your little super hero. (Some other ideas are a heart, crown, diamond, exclamation point, etc). What’s fun about these costumes is that you can make them just like ours’ OR you can take the basic concept and customize them to fit your family just right (for example, use the same color scheme for each family member but different logos; or use the same logos for each family member but in different colors!)
Now that you have your templates downloaded, print out all the pages onto cardstock. Because there are a lot of colors and design elements to keep straight, I found it helpful to print out the pages on to matching colored cardstock. Once printed, cut out all the different pieces.
Using colored paper is especially helpful if you are designing your own logos. With your paper elements, you can fidget with your designs and colors to get the combinations just right before you start cutting everything out of fabric.
Okay, time to gather your supplies! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cotton solids in your desired colors
- Heat-n-Bond Ultrahold – this stronger stuff helps to keep things from fraying and ensures you don’t have to sew things into place!
- T-shirts
- Grommets (optional) and grommet tool
- Elastic
Okay…let’s get started with the No-Sew Super T-Shirts!
Follow these basic instructions for EVERY design element for all your different logos:
- Iron Heat-N-Bond to the wrong side of your fabric.
- Place your template face down onto the paper side of the Heat-n-Bond.
- Trace around your template with a pencil.
- Cut out the graphic with a scissors.
Set that element aside and repeat until you have all your pieces bonded and cut.
The t-shirts come together as easy as 1, 2, 3! Find the center of your t-shirt (to get the placement just right, have your Super Hero try on the t-shirt and mark the location with a fabric pen). First iron down the circle, then iron on the graphic, and finally, iron on the initial. That’s it! Repeat the process for all your Super Heroes.
Just a NOTE – our shirts are only meant for one night so I wasn’t too concerned about durability. If you want these to be a little more durable (and washing machine safe), sew around the entire image using a sewing machine.
Okay, now let’s make the masks.
These are really quick to make and don’t require any sewing!
- Iron the Heat-n-Bond to the wrong side of your fabric.
- Trace the mask template outline onto the paper side of the Heat-n-Bond.
- Cut out the outline of the mask with a scissors.
- Repeat the process for the graphic that will go on to the mask.
Quick tip!! If you’re like me and bought cheap fabric for this project, you might have some problems with the bottom color showing through the top color once they’re ironed together. To fix this problem, cut out your graphic (in the photo, the star) from your colored fabric with the Heat-n-Bond. Then bond the star to some white fabric (also already bonded with Heat-n-Bond), then cut out the star again. Now you can fuse the star, with the extra layer of white fabric, to your mask!
5. Now you should have a (bonded) mask cut out, a (bonded) shape cut out, and a third piece of scrap fabric (not bonded).
6. Iron the mask to the wrong side of the scrap fabric.
7. Iron the graphic to the top of the mask.
8. Now, cut out the entire mask+graphic bonded to the scrap fabric.
9. This is what the back will look like.
10. Using your mask template again, trace the eye holes onto the back of the mask.
11. Using a scissors, cut out the eye holes.
12. Â Using a heavy-duty hole punch, punch holes into each side of your mask.
13. Â (optional) Add grommets to each hole using a grommet tool. (If you don’t have one, no biggie…the holes should be fine on their own!)
14. The last step is to add elastic. Measure from ear-to-ear (around the back of the head) to determine elastic length.
15. Loop the elastic through the holes/grommets and pin in place.
16. Sew, safety pin, or knot the elastic in place.
Repeat with the different fabrics and designs to make a mask for each of your Super Heroes!
Okay, last part: the Super Cuffs!
These can be sew or no-sew, depending on how you do the final step. Either way, they are pretty simple!
- Fuse the Heat-n-Bond to the wrong side of your accent fabric (purple).
- Cut 2 strips of your base fabric (3″ wide) and 2 strips of your accent fabric (2″ wide).
- Fuse your accent strip (purple) to the center of your base strip (pink)
- Fold the strip in half (wrong sides facing) and place the strip around your wrist.
- To determine the appropriate measurement for the cuff seam, make sure you can easily pull your
hand out of the cuff and pinch the cuff in the right location. - Mark the seam location with a pin.
- Sew the cuff shut (wrong sides together). (This can also be done with a safety pin in a pinch!)
- Trim the cuff (after the seam) on a 45 degree angle.
- Repeat with the other strip to make the second cuff.
And there you have it! Super quick and super easy Super Costumes for your whole family!!!!
Next week, I’ll have some more Halloween ideas for you, as well as another furniture reveal a long time coming! See you then!
