Summer Boost
Activity:
Homemade Ladybug Costume
The ladybug might just be everyone’s favorite insect. It’s red, spotted, and eats some of those other insects that we don’t like in the garden. A homemade ladybug costume is also a quick and easy costume solution for kids of any age. You can probably find most, if not all, of the things you’ll need at a thrift store, or perhaps you have everything you need already stashed away in your child’s dresser!
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What You Need:
- Red sweatshirt with a hood
- Black or red pants
- 1–2 yards black fabric, such as from a large sheet, T-shirts, or dress
- Round jar the size of your ladybug dots
- 3 yards black yarn
- White stamp pad or chalk for marking circles
- Fabric glue (or a sewing machine if you want to sew the spots on)
- Fabric scissors
What You Do:
- Use your round jar to create circles on the black fabric for your ladybug spots. You can draw around the jar with chalk to create the circle shapes, or use your white stamp pad on the jar edge to stamp on the circle shapes.
- Cut your fabric circles from the shapes you made. Arrange them on your sweatshirt and decide where you want to attach them.
- Either glue or sew your spots in place.
- Next, make the antennae for your ladybug. Cut 6 half-yard strands of yarn. Knot three strands together, and braid them. It may help to use a safety pin and attach the end of the strands to something sturdy to hold them in place while you braid. Tie off the braid two inches from the ends of the yarn to leave some string hanging on the end. Make two separate braids this way. Then, sew them on to either side of the red sweater’s hood. The antennae are complete!
- If you want your ladybug to have wings as well, you can cut out pieces of black fabric and attach them to the arms and waist of the sweater. Arrange the fabric flat on a smooth work surface, and lay the sweater out over it with the arms out to the sides. Mark out the triangle edge of your fabric where it will attach to the arms and sides of the sweater, and draw a curve between the sleeve and waist for the wing shape.
- To attach the wings, you can sew them on or just use small safety pins from inside the sweater to attach the fabric. Depending on the fabric you use, you may want to hem the edges to prevent fraying, especially if you want to keep the costume for later use.
- You’re done! Your little ladybug can wear black or red pants with the ladybug sweater and she will be cozy and warm while she's out and about.
