Costumes of Halloweens Past

With Halloween approaching, I shared on my Facebook page that this year I’m not making one.single.costume. That feels a little like a dirty little secret! I’ve made quite a few costumes over the years, but sometimes the dress-up bin full of costumes and the half price thrift store costumes are a better decision.

I thought I’d share some of the costumes I’ve made, including some tutorials that could help you out in case you are making costumes this year. And if you’re not, well, you’re in good company!

The elephant costume I made, upcycled from old sweatshirts, is one of my all-time favorite costumes. It’s gotten a lot of love in our house. I made a simple grey sweatsuit to go with it (this is a big trend for my handmade costumes, because Wisconsin gets COLD).

This Luke Skywalker costume was super fun to make, and the boys still wear it all the time.

Of course, it was perfectly paired with these light sabers.

This iPod costume feels a little dated already, but could easily be an iPhone. I loved that it slipped right over his clothes and was easy to take on and off. Perfect for a toddler who may or may not even want to wear a costume!

The same year I made the iPod costume, I made this monkey costume. I didn’t put together a tutorial for it, but it’s pretty simple: brown sweatsuit with fuzzy fleece belly and arms, plus a hooded hat. (The cute baby peapod was a costume I found at half price)

We also used the brown sweatsuit another year as the base for a last-minute owl costume. This is one of the things I love about using sweatsuits as a costume – they can either be worn as regular clothing or as part of a different costume!

This Super Why costume was the first costume I made, and I kind of made it up as I went along. I used a green sweatshirt and a blue button-up as fabric – nearly all of my costumes have been upcycled, because I’m not one to spend lots of money on the dress-up bin.

These mustaches weren’t made with a specific costume in mind, but they’d be a perfect accessory to so many things, like Mario or wouldn’t they be perfect for Ron Swanson??

The same year I made Super Why, my little guy was a traffic light. Easiest costume ever!

This sword and shield set would pair nicely with a knight costume – the Knight Hoodie pattern from Charming Doodle would be perfect with these!

With all that in our dress-up bin, plus some clearance and thrift store costumes, can you see why I’m taking a break this year? I’d love to see what you’re making! And head over to Craftaholics Anonymous for a fun fall craft for the kiddos to keep them busy while you sew their costumes. ;)