Last minute costume

So I had today all figured out, housework and blog post. I knew which post I was going to write up and had a little crafting set up for later. I take my son to school and chat to another Mum about the upcoming assembly that their class is putting on later in the week. I know what a costume needs to be whisked up but think I've got tomorrow and Thursday to figure it out. But oh no, it needs to be in tomorrow!  So much for decent notice!

My son has a little speech about Native Americans as that has been one of their topics this term. He tells me that his teacher is going to help him make a headdress but that he needs something to wear. So I go searching on the web for ideas of tunics and then, remember this?

My Mother in Law made these tunics for my son's Star Wars party (see the original post here). They have come in very handy for a variety of occasions and costumes. I went straight for one of them as the base of the Native American costume. However a large t-shirt would have been a good base too. I gathered together some ric rac, felt and fabric glue to create detail on the front. Thankfully I had all this on hand so this little costume has cost me nothing!

Firstly I cut a fringe into the base as this is what I had seen on the many costumes.

Thankfully it didn't fray!

I eyeballed some ric rac for the top of the pattern, cut and used fabric glue to stick it in place (always love no sew!).  I eyeballed the length of the felt needed and drew a pattern onto the back. I cut this out, used it to trace a second piece, cut that out and glued them into place.

The slot in the tunic served as a perfect spot to add the details to the tunic.  I then got some brown felt and eyeballed 2 lengths needed for either side of the slit. I then cut a fringe into each length and trimmed it down so that I had just a small border on which I could glue the felt to the tunic.

I should mention that I did place some paper in between the 2 sides of the tunic to stop the glue from sticking them together!

I left this to dry for about 2 hours. I used the glue sparingly so as not to splurge over.

For something that took me less than an hour and with very little notice, I think it turned out well. My son was very pleased with the way it looked, especially when I added a belt. The belt came from another costume (his wardrobe is riddled with them!).

Have you had to make a last minute costume? How did it turn out? Share on my Facebook page!