amscan Elmer Kids Cape

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Start with a stripey jumper. It can be the start of many an easy costume including Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Where's Wally, or Horrid Henry. The ears are big and floppy – a bit heavy, perhaps; my daughter didn’t wear them all day, but I couldn’t make a funky elephant costume with small ears! If you're after more book-smart ideas on how to make easy World Book Day costumes, we've got you covered! Here are just some of our vital tips for making easy and affordable costumes for World Book Day:

I’ve not met a child who doesn’t like Elmer. Did you know it was originally published in 1968? And there are now nearly 30 spin-offs! The construction of the actual dress was really straightforward – it was the piecing of all those squares that took forever. I did have a little helper who was passing the squares to me to sew. I also had a little monster who kept walking aimlessly through the carefully laid out pieces on the floor… You won't have to go to Infinity or beyond to make your kid a great Buzz Lightyear costume this World Book Day, you just need this easy-to-follow guide! Top tips for making World Book Day costumes Adapt a PE or sports kit, or their school uniform - think Football Academy for sports kit, Harry Potter and St Trinian's for the uniform.Next up: ears. This was a job for my glue gun. I literally glued squares of felt on to both sides of pieces of card that I had cut into big ear shapes. I also glued tabs in loops on to the card, wrapping them around a hairband. I finished by handsewing some little stitches on the tabs to tighten their grip on the hairband. On the 1st of January I made some sewing goals; one of them was to actually make a costume for WBD. If you love making things with cardboard boxes, you might like Adventures In Cardboard; our new kids craft book all about the creative adventures you can have with cardboard boxes! FIND OUT MORE >>> This year, World Book Day was so much fun. For the past couple of years my daughter has dressed up in shop-bought costumes – I think she’s been a fairy and Snow White. They weren’t the most imaginative costumes ever, but she was happy enough. This year was different.

Look through EVERYONE'S wardrobes. Dad's tie may make a great Penny Crayon costume and an apron could be fashioned into an Alice in Wonderland dress. Get the face paints out. Book characters can easily come to life with cute painted faces. Think The Tiger Who Came to Tea or the Cheshire Cat. Disney characters can have some simple and easy-to-copy outfits, and most of them are based on books. Make a simple mask. Paper plates are great for making simple masks. You can turn your child into pretty much any World Book Day character they fancy with a little crafting. I was very aware that I was making it for one day’s wear so didn’t stress about matching the squares exactly – which was just as well, really. Also I didn’t finish any of the seams, so I’m glad it came home from school clean as it’ll probably fall apart in the wash!

Sew the hood together

I was going to make a plain old grey elephant but realised we had run out of grey paint so my 4yr old came up with the idea to paint him like Elmer! MATERIALS: