DIY ant costume for a boy

Children's matinees are often not particularly original. Parents don’t want to spend their already small amount of free time sewing a custom suit.

However, what to do if a child, instead of standard bunnies or snowflakes, wants the image of an ant? Or if this outfit is required for some matinee?

A parent will need a little strength, patience and unlimited imagination to sew a cute costume for a children's party with their own hands.

We will help you do this work, show you a photo and tell you how to sew such an outfit with your own hands.

Required tools and materials

Before starting work, the parent must have a sufficient number of necessary materials and tools in stock. To work you will need the following.

• Thick fabric in brown or black.
• Wire. Its thickness does not matter; it can be either thick or thin.
• Foam rubber.
• Scissors.
• Sewing machine, if available.Otherwise, you must have a needle and thread in black or brown.
• Long sleeve blouse and black tights.

IMPORTANT! In order to sew an ant costume, there is no need to purchase new fabric. An old jacket, pants or robe may also be suitable for work.

However, if you have the opportunity to purchase bright, unusual fabric from a specialty store, this can make your costume the best and most unusual at the party.

Sew an ant costume

Costume base

First of all, it is necessary to build on the basis used in the work. This is precisely the role assigned to a long-sleeved blouse, regardless of the gender of the child. If you don’t have the necessary thing, you can easily replace it with an old children’s sweatshirt or golf shirt.

It should be remembered that dark shades predominate in the body of an ant - black or brown.

IMPORTANT! You should not focus your attention on materials that are exclusively black. Otherwise, the finished child’s costume will be too gloomy and nondescript.

Torso

The insect's body consists of 2 large parts - the tummy and a slightly protruding butt. To give additional volume in the area of ​​the child’s abdomen, it is necessary to fill the space under the blouse with foam rubber. For simplicity and in order to prevent the foam rubber from accidentally falling out of the suit at the most inopportune moment, you can sew it on the wrong side of the base of the ant suit.

If you don’t want to spoil your clothes in this way, you can use an ordinary elastic band. To do this, an elastic band is sewn along the bottom edge of the sweater so that it fits tightly around the child's belly.

An ant's butt can be made from two sleeves, also filled with foam rubber or rags.

Paws

A real ant has legs on its sides. In order to make them, you need to cut two long strips of fabric and sew them in the shape of tubes. The finished tubes need to be filled with foam rubber. It is not at all necessary to insert wire inside them; this is done at the discretion of the craftswoman.

ADVICE! You can sew bright bells onto the tips of the paws to make them look interesting and fun.

The finished look is completed with black tights. For a little variety, you can use bright shoes or socks, a tie, a colored bow tie or a mask.

Headdress

An ant costume must have a hat. It can be successfully replaced by the hood of a sweatshirt or an old children's hat in a dark shade. You can also paint a rubber pool cap black or brown.

In order for the costume to have the greatest resemblance to the original, the cap must have a mustache.

Algorithm for creating antennae

• To make them, you need to take the wire and cut two pieces of equal size from it.
• Then give them a slightly curved shape.
• After this, you need to cut long thin strips from old clothes or a piece of fabric and wind them evenly around the wire to give them a more beautiful shape.
• You can simply sew the strips into a tube and insert prepared pieces of wire into them.
• To give the antennae extra volume, you can insert foam rubber inside the tube.
• After all the steps taken, the antennae need to be secured to the child’s hat.

There are two ways to attach antennae to a child’s head.

• Using a hoop. In this case, the wire used to make the antennae must be wound around an old hoop. This is a fairly simple option and more convenient for a child.The hoop with antennae will additionally support the cap on the child’s head, preventing it from accidentally falling.
• Attach to the cap. In this case, the finished antennae are simply sewn onto the cap. However, it should be remembered that if the cap does not fit the child’s head tightly enough or the antennae are heavy enough, they may constantly slide off the head. Children at the matinee are active and do not stand still; the cap and attached mustache can sometimes fall, blocking the child’s view.

In order for the child to feel comfortable at the holiday, such factors should be foreseen in advance and corrected in time.

ADVICE! To make the finished mustache brighter and attract additional attention, you can decorate it with bright bells. For example, red.

An additional bright accent will make the ant costume brighter and more interesting.

Ant costume option for girls

The ant costume for girls and boys is not much different. However, if your little fashionista likes to stand out in the crowd, you can use bright elements in the costume that decorate the child.

So, for a girl, a large bright bow on her head or bright hair clips in her hair would be suitable. You can sew a small bright skirt yourself from leftover tulle. A small handbag with a colored ribbon will be an unusual accessory for a little lady.

Useful tips

• The ant's body has protruding parts - the cephalothorax and butt, which is definitely worth highlighting in the costume.
• Any ant has 6 legs and two antennae. Use these elements, they will give the costume maximum resemblance to the original;
• Try to make the costume as simple as possible, do not overload it with unnecessary details.
• The child must feel comfortable so that it is convenient for him to move and play with his peers.
• Children, especially preschoolers, prefer bright, unusual colors in their clothes, so that there are a lot of shiny elements on them. Therefore, the ant costume can be decorated with colorful rain. It is important that all decorations be in moderation, otherwise they will cover the main costume.

Having imagination and patience, you can easily play with any costume, regardless of what specific task the teacher gave you. Any, even the most complex character can be portrayed in a carnival costume, if you start from the main bright details from which the overall image is built.

Don't be afraid to get down to business, because the end result will surpass any store-bought costume.