A Twist on the Classics

Devil & Ghost & Bat Darling Devil

Supplies: 11" by 17" sheet red craft foam, pinking shears, red puffy paint, red glitter, child-size plastic headband, 1 yard 1/2"-wide red ribbon, hot glue gun, red long-sleeve leotard, red tights, red feather boa (optional).

How-To: On red foam sheet, draw a tail with an arrow on one end. Then draw two horns, as shown at left. Cut out foam pieces with pinking shears, and decorate edges with puffy paint and glitter, if you wish. Wrap headband in ribbon, gluing as you go; glue horns to top of headband. Glue or pin tail to back of the leotard. Wrap a length of red feather boa around your little devil's neck, if desired.

Snowy Ghost

Supplies: Pullover poncho (we used McCall's pattern #3307), 4 to 6 yards each of white organdy, bridal tulle, and shiny white polyester fabric, small pieces of black and white felt for eyes, double-fold seam binding, elastic, white leotard and tights to wear under costume

How-To: Follow the pattern directions for making the poncho, cutting three layers of white fabric. The top layer is organdy, the middle layer is tulle, and the inside layer is polyester. (Measure your child from neck to ankle to make sure that the finished costume is not too long.) Use a jagged motion when cutting the lower edges of the fabric to give the costume detail and dimension. Follow directions for making and attaching a hood, but add elastic to the casing so that the hood will fit snugly around your little ghost's head. Add eyes to the top of the hood. Attach elastic around the neck edge using double-fold seam binding. To form a sleeve that will make your child feel more comfortable in the costume, sew the front and back of the polyester layers together 8" below shoulder seam and 10" down toward center of the poncho.

Super Cool Techno-Bat

Supplies: 3/4 yard faux leather fabric, 3/4 yard shiny silver fabric, 3" or 4" Velcro, 1 1/2 yards 1/8" black elastic, black cargo pants or sports pants, 2 1/2 yards silver trim, black baseball cap, white foam sheet, black thread, large google eyes, black puffy paint, black glitter (optional)

How-To: To make bat wings, cut half circles of black faux leather and silver fabric long enough for the straight edges to reach from one of your child's wrists to the other when arms are stretched apart (see photo). Cut 4" by 15" rectangles of each fabric for a collar. Place right sides of wings and collar pieces together, and sew around edges, leaving neck area open. Trim and clip all seams and curves, and turn right side out. Hand-stitch collar to wings, and add Velcro closure to each edge of the collar. Attach the wings to your child's wrists by sewing circles of black elastic to each end. (No-sew option: Cut bat wings out of black felt, and spray-paint one side silver. Attach a ribbon collar to the neck area with glue.) Sew or glue silver trim to outside seams of black pants. To make a bat cap, cut a row of pointed teeth from white foam, and two triangular ears from black faux leather. Glue teeth to center front of baseball cap brim, ears to back edge of brim, and google eyes to top of brim. Trim seams with black puffy paint, and sprinkle with black glitter, if desired.