Pirate Costumes on the Cheap

I love dressing up my whole family in fun costumes for Halloween. Last year, we went as a nerdy family. It was hilarious. My daughter loved wearing those geeky glasses!

Now, we're a family of four and Halloween is upon us again. This year, we're going to be a family of pirates- Arrr!

I have a lot of spirit but not a lot of money. To make costumes for me maties without breaking the bank, I found most of the items around the house and then purchased a few yards of fabric. I am a novice sewer. If I can sew a few pieces of material together, you can too.

Here's what I came up with for our pirate costumes:

Lil Bro Pirate
On hand: white shirt & black pants (rolled up)
Made: red vest, skeleton sash, striped bandanna, and eye patch with cross bones

Big Sis Pirate
On hand: white shirt, black leggings, and boots
Made: pirate tutu (see tutu tutorial), striped headband, skeleton sash, eye patch with heart

Momma Pirate
On hand: black skirt, white shirt, black boots
Made: striped triangle sash, red headband, eye patch

Daddy Pirate
On hand: tan pants, white shirt, black shoes, boot covers (from previous costume)
Made: striped/black vest, black bandanna, red sash, eye patch

Fabric needed for tutu:
1 yd sparkly red tulle
1 yd sparkly white tulle
1/4 yd skeleton
For directions: click on tutu tutorial.

Fabric for everything else:
1.5 yd red/white striped
1/2 yd red
1/2 yd black
1/4 yd skeleton
3 sheets red felt
1 sheet black felt
(also need elastic cord for eye patches & coordinating thread)

To make sashes and headbands:
1. Measure heads and waists. Add a few extra inches for the knots.
2. Cut fabric into 4-5 inch wide strips to the length needed. Then tie.
For myself, I wanted a triangle sash, so instead of using a straight piece of fabric, I cut a large triangle and tied around waist. For lil bro's bandanna, I also cut out a big triangle and tied around his head.
Note: If you do not have long enough fabric, cut the fabric you have into two pieces lengthwise and sew the ends together.

To make vests:
1. Measure back's width and length and then cut two pieces of fabric of that size. (I forgot to account for depth at first. My hubby is a big guy. So, I had to add a few inches of fabric to the sides to make the vest fit.) Cut one of the pieces into two lengthwise. These will be for the front.
2. Lay the front pieces on top of the back piece (right sides out) and cut the fabric around the arms and bottom edge to give it a vest look.
3. Turn the fabric inside out (right sides facing each other) and sew the pieces together. Be careful not to sew past the arm holes. I left about a foot on each side for his arms.
Note: The only sewing I did was to sew the pieces together. I did not sew the outer seams or arms. I simply ironed a hem on the rest of it and it looked great.

To make eye patches:
1. Using chalk, draw the eye patch shape onto black felt. Cut out two pieces for each eye patch. I also cut out a heart and cross bones on red felt for added cuteness on the kiddos eye patches.
2. Measure head circumferences and cut elastic cord to fit. Tie elastic cord in a knot and hot clue between two pieces of felt. Hot glue on heart and cross bones.

Here's how the kiddos' costumes turned out.

I was pretty happy with them. Unfortunately I couldn't convince my daughter to keep her headband or eye patch on but what can you expect from a two year old.

 This pirate wench loves her lil pirates babies!

 We be a grog-filled band o' pirates!

This Lil Pirate is pooped!

Happy Crafting!