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Frugal Halloween Costumes:Ideas with Sweatsuits
by Kim Tilley
Muscle Man- Paint or quilt muscles onto the front of a flesh-colored sweatshirt. Stuff arms to make biceps look big. You can also paint or quilt leg muscles onto flesh-colored pants, and have the child wear a pair of shorts over it. For a barbell, attach two black ballons to a cardboard paper towel roll or gift wrap roll painted black.
Spider- stuff the legs of three pairs of black pantyhose and attach to a sweatshirt. Be sure to wear all black so your spider matches. Add a red spot on the back of the shirt for a black widow.
Cat-Wear a black sweatsuit with tail attached. Tail can be made of stuffed pantyhose or other fabric. Attack ears to a headband for girls, or make a hood (or use a hooded sweatshirt) and attach ears to that.
Cow- Add black spots to a white sweatsuit, add ears as for cat above-on a head band or hood. You can do almost any animal costume with a sweatsuit. Just adapt to whatever animal you like- brown suit with bushy tail for squirrel, large pink sweats stuffed with pillows and corkscrew tail for pig, etc.
Dragon-Add dragon scales to the back of a green or purple sweatsuit (best to use a hooded sweat shirt). You can make them from felt, shoulder pads (there is a use for those annoying things!), or paper plates, folded in half. Sew or glue onto sweatsuit, starting from the hood, and going down the back. Make a paper mache mask to complete the costume.
Skeleton- Add "bones" to an old black sweat suit by fabric painting them on or using white felt. You could also do this just to the shirt, and then alter a cardboard box to look like an x-ray machine.
Bug-Add extra arms (like the spider) and wings to create the bug of your choice. Use a hooded sweatshirt or add a hood. Attach antenae to hood or headband.
Butterfly-same as above, just add colorful cardboard wings
Flower-Use green sweatsuit for body, and make a flower hat/crown. You can make these out of posterboard and tissue paper, or craft one out of fabric. You can also Hot glue petals to a hat you already own. Remember to keep the scale big, so you child looks like a walking flower in bloom. Sunflowers and daisies work very well. Another approach: attach petals at the neck of the sweatshirt, so that your child's head is the center of the flower.
Carrot and other veggies-Wear an orange sweatsuit, paint face green, and spray hair with green hair spray. Looks even better if you tease hair to stand straight up. If you don't want to do the paint and hairspray, make an orange cap and attach pipecleaners and green yarn to the top. You can adapt any veggie to a sweatsuit costume-just be creative!
Pumpkin-large orange suit, stuffed with pillows. Add a jack-o-lantern face and a pumpkin top on hood, with some leaves for effect! For small kids, just make an orange big with a pumkin face and a bonnet with a pumpkin stump and leaves on it. Cute and easy.
Grapes-purple or green sweatsuit with matching balloons. Easy and fun.
by Kim Tilley
Muscle Man- Paint or quilt muscles onto the front of a flesh-colored sweatshirt. Stuff arms to make biceps look big. You can also paint or quilt leg muscles onto flesh-colored pants, and have the child wear a pair of shorts over it. For a barbell, attach two black ballons to a cardboard paper towel roll or gift wrap roll painted black.
Spider- stuff the legs of three pairs of black pantyhose and attach to a sweatshirt. Be sure to wear all black so your spider matches. Add a red spot on the back of the shirt for a black widow.
Cat-Wear a black sweatsuit with tail attached. Tail can be made of stuffed pantyhose or other fabric. Attack ears to a headband for girls, or make a hood (or use a hooded sweatshirt) and attach ears to that.
Cow- Add black spots to a white sweatsuit, add ears as for cat above-on a head band or hood. You can do almost any animal costume with a sweatsuit. Just adapt to whatever animal you like- brown suit with bushy tail for squirrel, large pink sweats stuffed with pillows and corkscrew tail for pig, etc.
Dragon-Add dragon scales to the back of a green or purple sweatsuit (best to use a hooded sweat shirt). You can make them from felt, shoulder pads (there is a use for those annoying things!), or paper plates, folded in half. Sew or glue onto sweatsuit, starting from the hood, and going down the back. Make a paper mache mask to complete the costume.
Skeleton- Add "bones" to an old black sweat suit by fabric painting them on or using white felt. You could also do this just to the shirt, and then alter a cardboard box to look like an x-ray machine.
Bug-Add extra arms (like the spider) and wings to create the bug of your choice. Use a hooded sweatshirt or add a hood. Attach antenae to hood or headband.
Butterfly-same as above, just add colorful cardboard wings
Flower-Use green sweatsuit for body, and make a flower hat/crown. You can make these out of posterboard and tissue paper, or craft one out of fabric. You can also Hot glue petals to a hat you already own. Remember to keep the scale big, so you child looks like a walking flower in bloom. Sunflowers and daisies work very well. Another approach: attach petals at the neck of the sweatshirt, so that your child's head is the center of the flower.
Carrot and other veggies-Wear an orange sweatsuit, paint face green, and spray hair with green hair spray. Looks even better if you tease hair to stand straight up. If you don't want to do the paint and hairspray, make an orange cap and attach pipecleaners and green yarn to the top. You can adapt any veggie to a sweatsuit costume-just be creative!
Pumpkin-large orange suit, stuffed with pillows. Add a jack-o-lantern face and a pumpkin top on hood, with some leaves for effect! For small kids, just make an orange big with a pumkin face and a bonnet with a pumpkin stump and leaves on it. Cute and easy.
Grapes-purple or green sweatsuit with matching balloons. Easy and fun.
