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DIY Halloween Costumes

Macaroni Made

By Angeline Sheridan, Publisher of Macaroni Kid - Northern & Pascack Valley, NJ October 4, 2012
It's the beginning of October and that means Halloween is just a few weeks away.  I've always been the one to scramble for a last-minute costume at the local Halloween Costume store. Last year I was so proud of myself for giving myself enough time to make a thoughtful, fun costume for Cole that he loved - a train engineer! For Isabelle this year, I was inspired to make a sushi costume that I saw on Pottery Barn Kids. I was surprised at how easy it was to make, especially for someone who has little to no sewing abilities like myself. Read on to find out how I put the costumes together and for other ideas to awaken the Martha Stewart in you!

The Cole-Train Costume

If you give yourself enough time to see what you already have and then find the rest, you can pull this look together with minimal effort. And what's great about this costume is that most of what he has on he can wear again.

What Cole's Wearing:


  • Overalls - Cole is wearing pin stripes but any overalls would do (could be shorts or pants)
  • A long-sleeve baseball shirt; a plain white or blue shirt works too
  • Workboots - his is from Carter's but you can find boots in most stores at this time of year and then use throughout winter
  • Red bandana - I couldn't find one at the last minute so I just cut up an old red shirt and pinned it together
  • Conductor's hat - they're cheap on amazon.com
  • Whistle - optional, but a great prop!


The Shark-Bait Sushi Costume


This year, Cole wants to be a shark which is beyond my sewing abilities. So I focused on a homemade costume for Isabelle - sushi!  If you include the time to go to the craft store (Michael's is my store of choice), this could take you only 3 hours to make. I put it all together while the kids were napping. If any of the materials below aren't available, improvise!

Materials I Used:
  • A black stretchy headband
  • Lime green felt
  • Light pink felt
  • White long-sleeved onesie
  • A sheet of black Duck Tape (you can also get the roll if the sheet is not available)
  • Goldfish Beanie Baby or some other kind of fish stuffed animal
  • Needle and thread

Putting It All Together:

For the ginger slices, cut the pink felt into four rectangles. Take one piece of the rectangle and gather it together in the middle. Pull a needle and thread through a few times to hold the gatherings together. Then sew the "slices" onto the headband. If you mess up, you have 3 other pieces to practice on!

For the wasabi, take the lime green felt and cut out a 3x3" square piece. Start with one corner of the square and gather along the outside of the square until two corners meet. Sew where the felt gathers to hold them together. (NOTE: This doesn't have to look perfect, just capture the effect of a blob of green stuff!) Sew the wasabi onto the headband.


For the sushi, take your fish and center in on the front of the onesie. Depending on how big your fish is, cut a 3-4 inch wide piece of Duck Tape and place it across the onesie, holding the fish in place. Sew the nose of the fish onto the onesie if needed.  Cut another 3-4 inch wide piece of Duck Tape to go across the back of the onesie.  

Viola! Sushi is served! :)