Halloween Bat Costume & Butterfly Costume DIY

We are flying high for Halloween. One girl wants a bat costume and one a butterfly costume. A good DIY challenge for Mama I was ready to take on.

Girl in bat costume and girl in butterfly costume - Press Print Party!This post may contain affiliate links

We were fortunate enough to make a trip to Venice, Italy, where the girls fell in love with the abundant variety of masquerade masks available. With Halloween around the corner, we decided to get inspired by them. So we came home with a gorgeous bat mask and one reminiscent of a butterfly’s wings.

girl in bat mask and girl in butterfly mask - Press Print Party!Fortunately you don’t need to go to Venice to get these beaufiful masks, Amazon has plenty of them to choose from.

I will share below how I made each costume. I got inspired by Pinterest of course, but in the end, I created a unique design for both.

Girl in bat costume and girl in butterfly costume - Press Print Party!

 

How to Make a Halloween Bat Costume Wings:

I didn’t want just some lame little bat wings under the arms. Yes, that would have been easy, but to me, it’s not really bat-like. So I looked at bat pictures and came up with these:

Girl with bat costume open wings - Press Print Party!

I first took some black jersey fabric I had lying around. I had 2 and 1/4 yards and that was just right for my 8-year-old.

I folded the fabric in half and had her lay on top of it so I could find the placement for the wooden dowels.

Bat wings on the floor to make bat costume -Press Print Party!

I then cut the fabric to form the wings.

Bat wings on the floor to make bat costume -Press Print Party!

I ended up cutting the bottom a bit shorter than this picture shows.

I then hand sewed the dowels in the fabric (by wrapping the fabric around) on each side and attached ties at the hands and the neck.

Girl with bat costume open wings - Press Print Party!

Girl with bat mask - Press Print Party!

I love how it behaves like real bat wings!

Girl in bat costume closed wings - Press Print Party!

How to Make a Girls Butterfly Costume Wings:

Girls with butterfly costume open wings - Press Print Party!

This was harder than the bat wings. Again I could have made fabric wings under the arms but my daughter was insistent the wings be behind her AND fold. I got on the right track with this post from iCandy Handmade who made a stunning Monarch Butterfly Costume. I think I simplified her design though.

You will need 2 black foam boards (the big ones from an office store- I think 3′ x4′) and whatever felt fabric color you’ll need for your chosen butterfly.

Measure your child’s arm span and use that as the width of the wings. Cut and score the foam boards as shown in the diagram below. This will create a nice and strong backing to the wings. The foam boards will fold nicely when scored. Be careful when scoring as to not cut the foam board all the way.

Butterfly costume foam board DIY template - Press Print Party!

Here’s a picture of them cut:

Black foam board for butterfly costume DIY - Press Print Party!

And how it works when glued together.

Black foam board for butterfly costume DIY - Press Print Party!

Black foam board for butterfly costume DIY - Press Print Party!

At this point cut your wing shapes BEFORE gluing the backings together. It’s just easier that way.

My daughter insisted on this type of butterfly:

yellow and black butterfly

So I did my best in cutting and gluing felt pieces to the foam board to recreate that design:

Butterfly costume wings open back - Press Print Party!

I added some black marker and white chalk to finish the look.

Girl with butterfly costume open wings - Press Print Party!

I took a strip of black jersey fabric (leftover from the bat costume) and created a rudimentary shoulder strap tied in the back.

Here you have it, two very happy little girls.

Girl in bat costume and girl in butterfly costume - Press Print Party!

I have more Halloween costumes DIYs like an easy ghost costume and a stunning no-sew jellyfish costume.

Pin it for later:

Bat costume tutorial pin - Press Print Party!

DIY butterfly costume pin - Press Print Party!

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