Creative Infant and Toddler Costumes

Need some easy to make toddler costumes? Here are some great ideas that use items from around the house:

Lady Bug
Dress your little bug in black sweatpants, sweat shirt and shoes. Cut a large oval from a piece of card or poster board and paint it red with black dots. Take some elastic pieces and staple them in loops to the cardboard to use as arm holes. Attach black pipe cleaners to a black headband and curl the tops down, or attach black pompoms, for the antennae.

Spider
Use black sweatpants, sweat shirt and shoes as your child’s spidery basis. Grab old, black panty hose and stuff with something dark and lightweight. Sew or staple the ends to keep the stuffing from falling out and pin the legs to the clothing. Add black face paint and paint on extra eyes.

Butterfly
For this costume, your little one will need black sweats and black shoes. Take a piece of poster board, or cardboard, and cut them out in a wing shape. Paint them however you like (or let your child get in on the action and have her paint it). Punch two holes on the insides of each wing, use black ribbon to thread through the holes and tie them to your little ones body. Attach pipe cleaners and pompoms to a headband for antennae.

Costumes That Require Sewing
If you enjoy sewing and have bit more time, then consider making these costumes:

Pumpkin
Marterials:

  • Orange infant romper
  • Black fabric (sweatshirt fabric works well)
  • Iron-on fusible webbing
  • Sewing machine
  • Black thread
  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Scissors

 

Instructions:
1. Design your Jack-O-Lantern face on paper and cut it out.
2. Trace your design on the paper side of the iron-on fusible webbing.
3. Iron the fusible webbing onto the wrong side of the fabric
4. Cut out the shapes and remove the paper backing.
5. Iron the shape onto the right side of the garment
6. Zig zag stitch around each of the shapes.
7. Make a hat/stem using orange and green felt, or using a headband.

Piggy Costume
Materials:

  • Pink sleeper or sweat suit
  • Pink stocking cap
  • Darker pink felt
  • Black fabric or permanent marker
  • Scissors

 

Instructions
1. Cut 4 triangles out of the pink felt for ears.
2. Sew 2 of the triangles together, leaving the bottom open so that you can turn the ear right side out. Repeat with other two triangles.
3. Sew the ears into place on the top of the pink stocking cap from the inside of the hat.
4. Use pink make up or a store-bought pig snout to finish the costume.