The Bat Costume

So I know there are LOTS of boys out there begging to be Batman. Or at least there must have been last year because three of the six boys in Sweet Pea's preschool class came dressed as the masked man last year. And there was my girl. She passed up princess, fairies, mermaids because she wanted to be a BAT. Not bat man. Not bat girl. Just a bat. Like the kind that flies in the sky.

um. thanks for the challenge kid.

So yeah, I did a bit of searching on the world wide web and came up with this.

So how did I do it?? Let me tell you. Can't show you since I didn't know about craft blogs then and didn't take photos of the creative process.

1. Buy an inexpensive black sweatshirt. I had zero option in the girls department, so look in the boys. Black pants are from Target. Both are size 5T.  (And she was only three at the time! Told you she was tall!)

2. Buy an umbrella. We got ours at the dollar store for a dollar. You will notice that dollar store umbrellas lack a bit of quality and are a LOT smaller than regular umbrellas. That's just fine for this project but if you are doing this for an adult, you may want to purchase a bigger umbrella.

3. Using a wire snips or pliers or whatever works for you, remove the handle from your umbrella.

4. Clip off those little extra pieces of metal that are hanging off. I don't know what they are called. Leave the pieces of metal that make the "ribs"

5. Cut the umbrella in half to form two wings. I cut a little extra off of each one to make these a little more manageable for my three year old.

6. Using a sewing machine or needle and thread, sew the "wings" into the armpit and down the body of your sweat shirt.

7. My girl wore a black stocking cap and a bat ear headband I picked up at Walgreens. I had intended to attach felt ears to her cap, but the headband worked just fine.

please note, this is a bit difficult to get on and off.

For other ideas of how to make a bat costume out of umbrellas & sweatshirts check out these tutorials.

Martha Stewart Umbrella Bat Costume

Evil Mad Scientist Labratories Bat Costume

and this year, yup, a mermaid. Coming soon :)