Anyone can create a tricked-out Halloween costume

Denise Sautters With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to start clothing your little goblins. You can go out and buy a commercial costume or you can choose to be creative this year and make Halloween garb for your children. Not sewing is not an excuse anymore. “You don’t need to know how to sew,” said Mary Bugg, a sewing instructor at Jo-Ann Etc. “There are glues and fusible webbing products that have taken the sewing out of making costumes.” Bugg explains how these products work and how they can be applied to actual “sewing” projects. “There is not a lot of difference between using glue or sewing,” she said. “The trick is to choose the right glue. It can be water-soluble or non-water-soluble. But, if you are using it for a child’s costume, you want to use the non-water-soluble because you are going to want to wash it. There are some really excellent ones out there (on the market).” Glue is put along the stitch line, then allowed to dry. “The other thing is fusible webbing. The original is Stitch Witchery, which is still available,” said Bugg, explaining it can be used like glue in the seam allowances. “It used to be used for hemming in the beginning, but now you can get it in sheets. It is a available by the bolt (of fabric).” Face paint adds finishing touch Costumes can range from the most devilish to the most heavenly. However, the hobo costume is the all-time classic for do-it-yourselfers, said Bugg. “It is the most utilitarian costume,” she said. “Just get Mom’s and Dad’s clothes they want to get rid of and add patches. If you don’t want to glue them on, get a big pin and pin them on.” If you are going to make your own costume, you will also have to make your face to match, noted Adam J. Ford, a makeup artist for the Players Guild of Canton, Ohio. He said children are more likely to touch their faces a lot, so he recommends using as little makeup as possible. He said if a child wanted to go scary, some black eye shadow to put dark circles around the eyes and hollow out the cheeks. Add black lipstick to the lips. Add baby powder or flour to white out the child’s face. A thin layer of petroleum jelly put on first would make the makeup adhere better. “It takes five minutes to put on and five minutes to take off,” he said. “I strongly recommend doing a test run with the child before Halloween to see what they want and find out what you can do makeup-wise.” The thing to remember, he said, is that too much grease paint can be expensive and it can damage your child’s skin. Ford advises parents to stick to the basics. He offers these fundamental tips: • Look for a kit of makeup that lists directions for how to apply it. • Use stencils for specific shapes. • To hollow out the cheeks, use black on the full part of the cheek. To find the full cheek, make a fish face. • To highlight an area, use lighter colors. • Highlight to increase an area. • Shade to decrease (hollow out an area). • Use spirit gum to add fur to simulate hair. To keep it sticky, put it on where you want it, let it sit for a minute then tap it and add the “hair.” The tapping makes the gum sticky.