As Halloween grows closer, the big question in every child’s mind are how much candy will they get and what should they be for Halloween! The choices are endless but they only get to choose one costume and they want it to be the perfect one. My son decided months ago that he wanted to be Link from Zelda for Halloween this year. He’s been showing me pictures of what Link looks like and reminding me ever since he decided.
For the most part, I prefer putting together a costume with my children rather than buying a premade one because it will last longer and be more comfortable. This year my son’s costume is a mix of store bought and handmade items. The store bought or preowned part of the costume include khaki pants, sword, brown shoes, gray undershirt and 2 brown belts. I made the hat, tunic, gloves, boots, shield and arm guards.
Supplies:
2 extra large boy’s green shirt
secondhand brown leather jacket
secondhand small leather gloves
foam board
elastic
foam board
elastic
hot glue gun
thin, stiff plastic
sewing machine
thread scissors
craft knife
printer
glue
First, I cut off the collar and buttons from one of the green shirts so that it became the tunic.
I cut the second green shirt along the side seams to make 2 large rectangles of fabric. From the rectangles, I cut 2 large triangles which I sewed together to make a pointed hat. I cut a long, narrow rectangle from the left over green fabric and sewed the short ends together to make a headband. I sewed the headband to the opening of the hat.
Next, I worked on making leather “boots” which are actually more like leather leg warmers. I cut the arms off of a secondhand brown leather jacket, removing the buttons and lining. I cut a small slit up from the bottom of the leather sleeve and cut the top straight across.
To wear the boots, my son slid the prepared leather sleeve over his pant legs and then put on a pair of brown shoes. We pulled the leather sleeve down so that it covered the laces of his shoes. The slit is in the back and makes it possible for the leather fit over the shoe. We folded the top of the leather sleeve down to make the upper cuff of the boot.
I cut the fingers off of a pair of secondhand leather gloves. Then, I sewed a piece of blue leather to the top of each glove to make a blue cuff. This step is optional but since I had some blue leather on hand my son really wanted me to add it.
I made the basic shield with photo editing software by starting from a coloring sheet I found online. Then, I cropped the image into 4 sections and printed the shield sections on 4 separate full size pieces of paper. I cut out the shield sections and glued them to a piece of foam core. Using a craft knife, I cut out the shield. Next, I hot glued a piece of elastic to the back of the shield for a handle. For added security, I hot glued a square of foam board over each end.
To make the arm guards, I cut 4 pieces of leather in an arm guard shape. I wanted the arm guards to be stiff, so I cut out pieces of thin plastic from a folder that were slightly smaller than the leather pieces. I laid 2 strips of elastic on a piece of newspaper and topped them with one piece of leather. On top of the leather, I layered one of the pieces of plastic. I drew up the elastic ends and hot glued them to the plastic. Then, I hot glued the final leather piece over the plastic. This process made it so that there are 2 elastic bands to hold the leather arm guard in place. I repeated the process for the second arm guard.
My son is very happy with his costume and can’t wait to wear it to school for the fall party. Now, I need to figure out some fall treats and crafts to make!
I received a couple of bags of KIT-KAT orange colored Halloween treats from HERSHEY’S. The kids have already eaten most of one bag but I hope to use the second bag for a recipe!
Would you like to receive a bag of HERSHEY’S candy?
HERSHEY’S has offered to send 20 followers of The Gunny Sack their own bag of candy!
{How To Enter Giveaway}
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I am participating in the HERSHEY’S BOO BLVD. campaign via Mom Bloggers Club. This post was sponsored by HERSHEY’S. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.
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Stephanie says
My favorite was last year when I made my daughter a jelly fish costume.
k11haugo says
I follow you on Pinterest 🙂
k11haugo says
Last year I made my son an actual transforming Megatron costume. It changed from tank mode to robot mode. It was awesome and he loved it!
debijackson says
pin follow as jacksondeb debbie jackson djackson1958 at hotmail dot com
debijackson says
Our best costume was Gilligan from the show Gilligan’s Island. We made a coconut to make it cool. V\ debbie jackson djackson1958 at hotmail dot com
DawnKathleen says
What an awesome costume! Love it! My favorite costume was Sylvester the cat. I follow your blog daily! Thanks so much!Dawnsdhutch92598@sbcglobal.net
Rebecca Dula says
I follow you on Pinterest. alexmomdula@hotmail.com
Rebecca Dula says
I follow you on Twitter.alexmomdula@hotmail.com
Rebecca Dula says
My favorite costume was when our whole family was the cast of Super Mario Brothers. I was Wario, my husband was Luigi,my son was Mario and my daughter was Princess Peach. It was the first time I used Rit Dye to make something. I also loved the Hershey Bar costume my Dad made for me when I was 8. alexmomdula@hotmail.com
Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles says
You are so creative! Love it!
Amy F says
So cute, Tonia!I made an “I’m Just A Bill” costume once for an event that was my pride and joy. It took me almost a month!
Betsy says
I love your costume you made. And my favorite halloween candy is salt water taffy! But these KitKat sound awesome.
Munchie's Mama says
This year my kids are going to be dressed as their nicknames and I love that it is something personal: Monster and robot.
Deanne Helgesen says
I think it was when I was a little girl and was Cinderella.dhelgesen@sbcglobal.net
Meg S says
When I was 9, I went as Wednesday Addams – pretty cute 🙂
Bliss says
I have always made all my kids costumes, and those days are winding down now, but I’ll remember these tricks for sure, because you know there is a kid in all of us!~Bliss~
pruttybird says
I already follow on twitter :)pruttybird at comcast dot net