5 Tips for Costume Sewing (and how to do it on the CHEAP)

It’s no secret around here that I looooove costume sewing! I’ve been making DIY Halloween costumes since my kids were little tykes and I’ve shared pretty much all of them here with you over the years. But today I wanted to share some tips and tricks for sewing Halloween costumes that I’ve picked up that have made costume sewing both easier and cheaper. You CAN DIY your kids’ costumes, and your own too!

If you want to DIY some home made costumes this year, but don’t know where to start, how to find costume fabrics, how to do it frugally, or how to find patterns for that obscure cartoon character your kid wants to be — you’re in the right place!

I’ve been having some fun over on my YouTube channel lately, so in addition to writing these tips here, I created a video with my costume sewing tips too! Enjoy :)

5 Tips for Making DIY Costumes:

Make them last with well-finished insides.

This first tip applies mostly if your kids are still young and very into dress up. My kids played dress up with their costumes, often for many years after I had made them! Because of this, I learned to make them to last. Use cheap fabrics if you need to, but use nice finishes. This is one of things that makes spending time sewing costumes feel more worth it! Because you want these costumes to last and not disintegrate during their inevitable washing, you want to finish the insides in a way that make them hold up to wear and tear. I made Natalie a mermaid tail when she was three that her and her friends played with for at least another decade because I had taken the time to sew French seams and make sure there was no chance of it unraveling.

Of course, some costumes are more glue projects than sewing projects (see Buzz Lightyear), and those just won't last as long. But when sewing, finish your seams with a serger, zig zag or French seams. Go the extra mile to sew trims and embellishments on instead of gluing them. Things like that will help your costumes last for years of dress up play.

Cut costs by thrifting fabric.

It's no secret I'm a frugal sewist. I'm a huge fan of thrifting for supplies and fabrics and Halloween costumes really lend themselves to this. Before you spend a ton of money on yardage at the fabric store, go hunt down sheets, curtains, and other linens that could work for your project at the thrift store. You might even have some clothes or items in your own giveaway bag that will do the job, and those will cost you nothing! Kelby's Fortnite Dire costume is a good example of a totally thrifted costume. Since the components mostly needed to be torn up, we thrifted jeans, a jacket and a flannel shirt, ripped holes in the right place, then added faux fur for the werewolf effect.

More cheap fabric choices for costumes:

Luckily, fabric stores often have costume fabrics just for this purpose. Most people aren't going to pay for bridal satin for their 7 year old's Halloween princess dress, so they sell cheap-o costume satin too. I've make lots and lots of princess dresses from the cheap costume satin and as long as I take the time to finish the seams well, they last for years of dress up.

Felt comes in huge widths, making it perfect for certain types of costumes! I made the most adorable cupcake costumes for my girl when they were little and because the felt is so wide and so cheap, they were very inexpensive to make. Natalie’s Storm Trooper costume was another project made totally from inexpensive felt.

Similar to felt, fleece is big and cheap. Layla's unicorn cape was made from inexpensive fleece, leaving enough funds to buy just a sliver of the more expensive fur and sparkly fabric we needed to embellish it. I’ve also made a couple dinosaur costumes for my son using fleece and fleece has been a component in many other handmade costumes.

Sheets, curtains, and other household linens are perfect for many costumes. Especially if you're making historical costumes (see my sewing Hamilton post), you can find those brocades in curtain form for super cheap at a thrift store, rather than paying a fortune for yardage of similar upholstery.

Think outside the costume pattern box.

Remember that just because you can't find a pattern for the exact costume you need, doesn't mean you're out of luck. Most costumes can be broken down into parts and you can find a pattern for each component, or better yet, use patterns you already have. You may have to alter and adapt here and there, but the point here is to break down the costume into its basic pieces and build the costume one piece at a time. Natalie's Eliza Doolittle costume is a good example of this. Obviously, we weren't going to find a pattern for this exact costume, but when broken down into a button front skirt, a ruffled blouse and a cropped jacket, it became easy to pull out patterns that would work.

I also have one cape pattern that I've made over and over for both costumes and just for dress up fun. The same pattern I used for Merida's cape is the same one I used for Kylo Ren!

Utilize ready-to-wear basics.

If you don't have the time or desire to make a costume from scratch, you can still DIY a costume! Don't underestimate the value of solid color sweats, leggings or t-shirts when it comes to costume making! I made a cow costume out of one white sweatshirt for Layla when she was a baby. With some felt scraps, it was super inexpensive. This year, Layla's going to use a matching sweatpants and a hoodie to make a Cowardly Lion costume as part of a group costume with friends. The hood will be perfect to add a mane to and she can easily make a tail to attach. You can also buy basic aprons, hats and visors in every color like we used for Natalie's Starbucks barista costume.

Hopefully this list of tips for sewing costumes has given you some courage to try making costumes this year! I love making costumes for a few reasons. One is that it’s super fun to get crazy with fabrics and ideas. I can make the out there things I wouldn’t ordinarily get a chance to and play with materials that don’t show up in my normal sewing. Second, I love that I can bring my kids’ vision to life and not be limited to what we can find at the party store. Lastly, being the puzzle loving problem solver that I am, figuring out how to put costumes together gives me a chance to stretch my creative muscles and I LOVE that!

How about you? Do you like costume sewing or do you find it frustrating? Have you tried it? Let me know in the comments and let’s chat about it!

Cheers :)

Nikki