9 year old making her own costume

The last week of October has been a sewing week for my oldest daughter and I, for the last few years.  As I mentioned earlier, when my daughter was little she’d make her own Halloween costumes from her dress-up clothes. But as she grew older that didn’t quite work anymore.

Homemade Halloween Costume - A Flower Fairy

So, the year when she was nine, she came up with the idea of making a flower fairy costume.

She had been digging around in a box of fabric we had gotten from Freecycle, and found a red flower patterned fabric and decided that it would make a good costume material. 

Because she had been learning to sew, I agreed that we could use Halloween as an excuse to make something, and since we were using a real dress pattern, the effort would be worth it, because she could wear it again.

Wearing the dress to a Dad and Daughter Christmas Event

Somehow, Halloween has become a yearly sewing event – a lesson in creativity, making due with with what we have, and learning new skills. 

Last year, my daughter (then 11) sewed a long white dress and a hooded cape to be a snow elf. The cape is being re-purposed this year for a new costume she’s designed. 

This week, the sewing she and I are doing is a little different. Instead of making her costume, we’re sewing a Cinderella costume for my 5 yo using a pattern and fabric my oldest daughter picked out when she was 5 (and I never got around to sewing). And, we’re sewing a hooded cape for my 10 yo son, who finally decided on dressing up as a Jedi Knight for Halloween, after all his other ideas got nixed for being too dark.

Now I’m not a “natural” or accomplished sewer; in fact those patterns marked “easy to sew” stretch my abilities. But it’s a skill that my parents required me to learn, and has proven very useful for when money is tight and I need something or need to make Christmas Gifts. But I am appreciative that I have the skills, and that my daughter has learned that she can make what she needs by being creative with some fabric and thread. 

Halloween has given her an outlet for her creativity and a fun way to practice her skills.  And it makes a fun week of school, covering art, home ec, and financial life skills.

If you are still looking for a Halloween costume for your children, I recommend making your own costumes. Not sure what to make?  Then I recommend taking a look at The Hillbilly Housewife’s Homemade Halloween Costumes Made Simple ebook. It has the materials and instructions for making 90 costumes, including quick last minute costume ideas.  At $7, it’s a fraction of the cost of a store-bought costume.