Halloween is almost here and what an awesome time of year!

(I swear this picture will make sense in a minute)

Honestly, Halloween and the fall season in general are some of my favourite bits of the year. The leaves changing colours, the crispness of the air, and the festive attitudes leading up to Halloween. Halloween itself means costumes, candy, scary movies, and treat or treating.

Now this week is also a Craft Challenge week and the theme was of course Halloween! Since there is less than a week to get dressing up and freaking people out I decided to share a quick and easy costume idea that you can make in time for Halloween. That is in case you are super last minute like me this time around. Cannot help being busy sometimes and this DIY is here to help you get festive!

So when I was trying to figure out what to wear for a costume I had a few criteria:

1. Must be work appropriate
2. Must be easier to put on and take off
3. Must be different

With all that in mind I somehow came up with the idea to recreate the stick figures on a bathroom sign as a costume. Truly you could make any sign person into a costume with this DIY because the measurements and designs are all quite similar. So without further ado, here is how to make a DIY Bathroom Sign Costume (Or DIY Sign Person Costume).

DIY Bathroom Sign Costume

Materials:

• 3-4 sheets of black bristol board
• 2-3 meters of thin sewing elastic (black is possible)
• A small piece of lace like fabric approximately 12cm x 4cm
• Some strong tape, ideally black or clear
• Black permanent marker

*Note, throughout the following instructions I mention making leg pieces. This is completely optional as black pants suffice for the costume and are far easier to manage!

First let’s make the arm and leg pieces. You will need one piece for each part of your arm and leg (upper and lower). Measure your upper arm length and add 8cm, measure the width and add 5cm. Cut out two pieces of bristol board to this measurement and curve one end (I used a compass from an old math kit). Now measure your lower arm length and add 8cm, keep the width from the upper arm measurements. Cut out two pieces to these measurements and round one edge again. For the legs it is a similar process adding 8cm to the length and 5cm to the width. The only difference is you do NOT curve the upper leg ends at all. If find this helps keeps the legs aligned more.

Torso is next. For a dress, first measure the width of your torso from armpit to armpit (yes, I know this is an odd place to measure). Subtract 20cm. That is the size your neckline should be so mark this out on a new sheet of bristol board. For the bottom, measure the width of the widest part of your hip and add 20cm. Mark this on the bristol board and add pieces to the sides as needed to get the full flare. Cut out the dress and round all of the edges for a finished look.

For the head, simply cut out a circle. I suggest using a plate that is slightly bigger than your head as a template. Then cut a small rectangle out for your eyes and cover with lace-y fabric. If the fabric is not black, colour it with marker.

Now how do you get all of this to stay on?

For the arms and legs, make two group of two small cuts close together about 10cm down from the “top” of the piece, one grouping to each side. If you have a longer arm/leg then repeat 10cm from the “bottom” of the piece. Cut a length of elastic that would hold the arm/leg piece tightly to your body and weave it through the cuts so that only a small portion is visible to the finished side. Tie it off on the back side. If you used elastic that is not black, use the marker to colour it, it absorbs well. Put all the arms and legs on to test the tightness and adjust as necessary.

For the torso, make the groups of cuts mentioned above on the neckline only. On each side slip some elastic through the holes and tie on the back. This will create a large loop for your head so you can wear it similar to an apron. Note, you will want distance between the head and the neckline of the torso so do not make this too tight.

For the head, if you have glasses use a set up similar to mine where there are two extra pieces of bristol board that slip over my glasses. This way the mask and my glasses are attached and there is no worry about losing either! Otherwise, use a similar tactic as the torso with slits close to the eyes and an elastic band that fits your head tightly. Having the band close to the eye hole will minimize warping of the mask and the tight band will keep it in place.

So that is my weird but super simple Halloween costume. If you give it a go, send me a picture! My husband had trouble getting a good shot because we were racing the sunlight since it goes down so early.

And of course check out the other Craft Challenge bloggers! I know Megan has an awesome DIY Spell Book idea for you.