October 2009

Old bridesmaid’s dresses are great to re-style into a child’s princess or fairy costume.  Sheer fabrics over wire hangers make a lovely pair of wings, just add some glitter glue and sequins, some ribbons and flowers for your little fairy or angel.

Sweat shirts and fleece jogging suits are perfect for animal costumes.  Buy inexpensive masks from the discount store and decorate with paints and trims.  Make an easy pair of ears out of felt or fake fur to easily identify your animal.

T-shirts are a great start to any costume.  Rip, cut, paint and embellish an old T-shirt to make a pirate, gypsy, or monster costume.  Then embellish with trims, lace and ruffles, fabric paints and any number of details. 

Sheets and pillowcases are always a good standard starting place for children’s costumes.  If you don’t sew, make sure you have a supply of fusible web, safety pins, strings, Velcro, tape, and fabric glue.  Have fun with iron-on transfers and appliqués, feathers or fabric paints and trims. 

Uniforms of all kinds are easy to find at second-hand shops and can be remade to be cute costumes for children or adults. 

And don’t forget cardboard boxes.  Make sure you have a handy craft knife so you don’t dull your good scissors.