DIY Network

Costume Components DIY's Michele Beschen shares her Halloween costume components ideas.

Creating your own costumes should be all about using your imagination. Some of the best costumes come from having to be resourceful with things you have around the house. Here are a few costume components that you can throw together to help create just about any costume imaginable.

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DIY's B. Original host, Michele Beschen, demonstrates how to create the basic components for costumes — here you can re-create spectacular wings.

Wings

2 identical wire coat hangers
pliers
1 pair of tights
needle and thread
scissors
trim or ribbon
elastic
hot glue gun and glue sticks
permanent markers or fabric paints.

1. Use pliers to bend the hook portion of the hanger toward the inside of the hanger.

2. Slip one of the legs of the tights over the hanger. Pull taut.

3. Twist off tightly and use needle and thread to secure. Cut away the excess.

4. Repeat on other hanger.

5. Shape the wings and secure together with wide trim.

6. Add loops of elastic to both sides to wear over arms like a backpack.

7. Decorate wings with markers or fabric paint. Embellish further with gems, glitter, or feathers.

8. You can create wings of any style!

	A simple headband can be converted to whatever you desire — including these clever ears...
	...or this fun antennae headband!

Headpieces

Headbands can easily be altered and turned into antennae, veils, crowns, tiaras and ears of any sort.

Ears

• Cut out ear-shaped pieces using heavyweight fabric, vinyl or leather. Two for each ear.

• Sandwich a wire frame between both pieces.

• Glue to headband and bend to shape. Manipulate it and bend it whichever way you wish.

Tiara

• Wrap wire and beads around headband. Twist and turn and secure so that it stands up off the headband when worn.

Antennae

• Paint headband as desired or cover with fabric or paper.

• Drill two holes in headband and add wire, or ready-made springs topped off with beads.

One simple headband — so many different options!

Mop hair, seen here, is just one of the options Michele Beschen reveals when considering how to top off your costume.

Hair and Wigs

Materials:

hat (of any sort — baseball caps or Derby's work great)
thick yarn or rope (Polyester macramé yarn is a good choice)
scissors
hot glue gun and glue sticks

1. If you choose to use a baseball cap, you can leave the brim on or remove it.

2. Turn your hat of choice inside out.

3. Cut off pieces of yarn or rope to desired hair length.

4. You need enough pieces to go around the entire hat.

5. Use a hot glue gun to glue the pieces of yarn around the rim of the hat. The yarn will take up a bit of room inside the hat, so make sure your hat is slightly bigger than your head or adjustable to accommodate.

6. Allow the yarn to hang down from the hat.

7. Unravel the yarn or rope to create fuller, thicker looking hair. Braid or style, as you like.

Note: Cotton mop heads also can be used for hairpieces. They come in a neutral whitish gray color and can easily be dyed with regular fabric dyes. You can untwist the strands, if desired; style with hair clips, etc. Flop that mop on top of your head, and secure with hair pins.

Cylinder Shaped Costumes

Materials:

2 hula hoops
fabric or a large pillowcase (old bed sheets work well!)
needle and thread (or a sewing machine)
rope
drill

1. Take two hula-hoops apart by removing the staple by the seam of the hoop.

2. Pull your hula-hoops apart.

3. Remove the beans from the inside of the hula-hoop. (You can leave the beans inside if you don't mind the swishing noise as part of your costume, but you'll still need to take apart in order to fit through your fabric sleeve.)

4. Create a tube of fabric large enough to slip around the diameter of your hula hoop.

5. You'll be placing a hula hoop at both the top and bottom of tube.

6. Create a sleeve at the top of the fabric and the bottom leaving a small opening for the hula-hoop.

7. Slide one hula-hoop through the top sleeve.

8. Slide the second hula-hoop through the bottom sleeve.

9. Connect the two hoops back together.

10. Drill two holes on each side of the top hula-hoop. The distance between the holes should be slightly larger than your neck.

11. Run rope through the holes so that the cylinder will sit on your shoulders.

12. You can be any type of can or container that you want to be.