Fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday.   I really love making costumes, and the simpler, the better.  For the next couple of days I will be sharing some homemade costumes I've made in the past.  If you are looking for costume ideas this year, I hope my posts will inspire you!

Making homemade costumes isn't really that hard.  The great part about sewing costumes is they don't have to be perfect and you don't need a lot of sewing experience.  There are some very basic patterns that even beginners can understand and work with. 

Part 1:  Costumes For Kids

Animal costumes are always popular and you can get one simple pattern that will enable you to make many different animals. 

Depending on the shape of the ears, type of tail and choice of fabric, one pattern can go a long way. 

Using the same pattern, I was able to make these bear costumes for The Three Bears

and a lamb costume to accompany Little Bo Peep. 

 Other ideas:

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Skunk

Bunny

Dog

For a very easy animal costume - start with footie pajamas and just add mittens, a tail, and ears.  I attached yarn to one of those pull on knit hats that covers the whole head (except for the face) to create this lion costume (my very first costume).

 Raggedy Ann wig is made from yarn and knit cap too! 

My all time favorite costume for my kids was this scarecrow costume.

All you need is an old pair of jeans, flannel shirt and a floppy hat.  Hand sew colorful patches to the hat, pants and shirt.  Use rope as a belt.  I cut the sleeve cuffs off the shirt and tied some string around the wrists to give sleeves a gathered look.

For headpiece:  Sew two pieces of fabric to form a sack...like a pillowcase (or just use an old pillowcase) and then cut a circle out for the face. 

Place over child's head and loosely tie a rope around the neck.

This half boy/half girl costume looks really difficult, but it was really simple to make. 

I just cut the boy clothes in half and attached them over the dress. 

This prize winning costume was the brainchild of my daughter, Ashley.  She thought up this one all on her own.  She called it Psycho Santa. 

She used burnt cork to dirty her face, and added a plastic cigar, bad wig, and a hatchet to an old Santa suit. 

Cold Weather Tip: 

After going to all the trouble of making the costume, it's a shame to cover it up with a jacket.  Make costumes big enough so that jacket can be worn underneath. 

 Convenience Tip for storm doors:

When the children come to your door to Trick or Treat, do you open the storm door out into them and have to reach around it to hand out the candy?  Remove the screen or glass from your door for Halloween and you can hand out the candy hassle free.