Batman Lives

It took a whole village to make Benny's costume this year. I consulted the interweb for an appropriate model for Batman. Most of the costumes in stores are based off the new Batman movies. I decided to throw back to the Adam West model.

Plus, the grey, yellow and black seemed like they were the easiest to work with. I started with grey long johns. A mom from school mentioned that she had worked with felt and a hot glue gun for a costume and that seemed like the easiest route for a Batman logo. No sewing required! I traced the bat and cut out a yellow oval and black bat.

A friend kindly sent a black cape my way, but I wanted the logos on the shirt and the cape to match. My good friend Jen suggested that I make a cape out of a shirt. What? Could it really be that easy? It is! I followed these directions.

While the costume looked good, it wasn't very exciting. My neighbor mentioned that she put a light on her son's robot costume and I decided that Benny definitely needed a light on his belt. But, given my uncraftiness, I didn't know how to make that happen. I consulted with another neighbor who has a knack for constructing things. She had everything I needed to make a lighted belt! I used fun foam, leftover felt and a cheap battery-operated light (Benny added the sticker at his class party).

The light definitely made the costume. Benny rocked it!

Old-School Batman - What I Used

Grey long johns - from Hanes.com

Black boxer briefs - on super sale at Target

Felt squares (1 black, 1 yellow) - from Hobby Lobby

Batman mask - from Party City

Yellow fun foam - borrowed mine from a friend, but available at craft stores

Battery powered light - from Target

Hot glue gun - from Hobby Lobby

Men's large black shirt - used one of Nate's old shirts

Velcro - borrowed mine from a friend, but available at craft stores

Since I had over a month to make the costume, I gathered materials as needed. For example, one day I was at Goodwill and there was a Party City right next door. I decided to check it out to see if they carried Batman masks. Sure enough, they did. I made one special trip to Hobby Lobby. Otherwise I just looked for stuff while out and about. 

Lila's costume is a hand-me-down from Benny, which is a hand-me-down from a friend. Halloween wouldn't be the same without my friends helping out with costumes!