Homemade Halloween Costume Patterns

We know, the Great Recession has hit really hard all over America. People are still losing their jobs left and right, the unemployment rate is officially 9.7% but it’s actually closer to around 16% if we count those who have looked for work but can’t find any and have since given up. There is supposed to be one job available for every six people looking which means five of you are going wanting as Halloween season starts and you are desperately trying to figure out how you are going to be able to give your kids a proper holiday. Well, we can’t help you with the candy (although rice crispy treats are a cheap choice), but we can help you with some nice homemade Halloween costume patterns.

Well, patterns would be a bit of a stretch to explain here. We’re not actually going to give you drawings. Instead, we’ll provide you with some cool ideas for those patterns. Let’s start with some of the simplest of the patterns, things like wings and wands.

For wings, all you need is a pair of wire clippers, some old wire hangers from the dry cleaners and some nice frilly looking fabric from a fabric store. What you will do is to cut off the hook from the top of the hanger, where it would hang on the pole. Then you can simply bend the resultant triangle into the shape of wings. Glue or sew your material onto the new wings, paying special attention to the area where you cut off the hook and covering that especially well to make sure no one gets cut from it.

Continuing our homemade Halloween costume patterns, you can create a wand very simply by simply buying a wooden stick (they can be had at any hardware store for just a few dollars), then cut out some cardboard into the pattern of a star. Paint the whole thing with white paint and add some glitter and voila, instant wand for your child to use for a fairy costume, a wizard or witch costume or anything else you can think of.

Want more ideas for homemade Halloween costume patterns? Just look around you. The whole world is filled with patterns. Check out some simple things like leaves, snowflakes, even houses. All these things can be used in patterns for Halloween in order to create beautiful costumes. And the material is largely free in the form of old cardboard boxes from the supermarket or cast off clothing than can be torn apart and remade. The sky is the limit and it’s all based on your own imagination. Happy Halloween.

Homemade Halloween Costumes — Phantom of the Opera

Well Halloween is just around the corner now, coming in at the end of October and with the economy still reeling, with 9.7% unemployment and no end in sight, it is time to consider ideas for homemade Halloween costumes. Instead of wasting a ton of money buying made in China junk, try this simple idea for a cool homemade Halloween costume: The Phantom of the Opera.

It sounds really complicated, but it isn’t. Especially for adult men who may have their old tux from their wedding lying around. The biggest part of the costume is in fact the tux. If you don’t have one, a black suit might work, especially if you can lay your hands on a bow tie. The other parts of this costume are fairly simple.

You will need the half mask of the phantom for your homemade Halloween costume. The easiest thing is to simply buy one; they can be had for just a few dollars at most novelty shops. Or, if you are feeling creative, buy yourself some white oak tag (heavy cardboard like paper used for school projects – it can be found at most craft stores) and start by cutting an oval face from the material. Most oak tag pieces should be big enough to let you make several of these, so don’t worry too much if you don’t get it right the first time. Once you have your oval, you want to create a wavy line across the middle, to match the phantom’s face. You can easily see examples of this using Google’s image search (just search for Phantom of the Opera Mask). A key tip here is never to have a hard cut with your scissors. In other words, if you fully clamp your scissors down, you will create a tip, which you don’t want. Keep the scissors moving the entire time until you’ve sliced the entire mask in half. A simple string or sturdy rubber band can be used to hold the mask in place.

Next, you’ll need a cape. This is fairly simple as well. Go out and buy yourself a piece of black cloth from any fabric store. You can either sew the edges to create a cape, or do what I do: use a glue gun. To have a little more fun with your cape, you can also buy some other color of material to put on the inside and create a lining. In order to tie the cape around your neck, you need to fold over the top and either glue or sew it down, leaving enough room for a rope or tassel to be threaded through the top of it.

Put on your cape, your tux and your mask and you’ve got your homemade Halloween Costume ready to go. Now to find your love as the Phantom!

100 Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas for 2009

Yes, the economy sucks right now and we’re all trying to dig ourselves out from a mountain of debt, but what do we do if we want to celebrate Halloween anyway? It sucks big time to not have the money to buy a professional costume, but not to worry. I’m here to help with several homemade Halloween costume ideas.

First off, this is one from an old movie that I’ve always loved the idea of and I think could work well (though you will need to explain it to some people). It’s the Law Suit; basically, what you do is to scour the web for various legal documents. A simple Google search should bring up plenty of material for you. Print out around thirty of them or so and then go and grab your Sunday suit. Use some safety pins to pin the legal documents all over your suit and lo and behold, you’ve got a lawsuit (Law Suit, get it?).

Okay, for the ladies who don’t mind showing off some skin, try this on for size: Get one of your most scanty looking dresses – something tight fitting would be best and wear a pair of long boots together with it. Add in tons of makeup, much more than you would ordinarily wear, maybe die your hair a funky color as well and well, you know. . .just make sure you can explain to any cops who stop you that it’s a Halloween costume and you’re not a “working girl.”

Okay, how about this one for a homemade Halloween costume idea: The Michael Jackson look. Basically, you can choose how far you want to take this and how much effort you’ll put into your costume. You want to use either a hair press or a curler to give your hair one of those Michael Jackson looks. If you have short hair, you’ll need to buy a wig. If your hair is not the right color, dye it black. Next, use some light powder to give your skin a Michael Jackson style look. Add in a black jacket with some silver tassels across it (you can buy and glue or sew the silver tassels on from any craft store) and some black pants. Complete the look with a flat black hat. If you can get your hands on a campaign hat from some political party, you could paint it black for a cheap and close approximation of Michael’s hat.

These are of course just a few of the 100 ideas. We will continue to update the list. Try and experiment and tell your friends about your homemade Halloween costume ideas. They’ll thank you and you’ll both save money in the long run.

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