Kids and adults can have fun in a bee costume. The black and yellow striped wings, antennae, and trunk make the bee costume eye-catching and fairly easy to craft. Use wire hangers and art supplies to make this costume for Halloween or your next costume party.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Making the Bee Body
Step 1. Start with a black item of clothing, such as a dress, a large T-shirt, or a black shirt and pants
Step 2. Buy yellow tape from your local hardware store
Duct tape comes in most colors of the rainbow and yellow works great for the bee costume. Its approximate cost is three dollars.
Step 3. Mark a dot on your black garment along your armpits and on the lower part of your torso
Use safety pins to mark the line. Take off the black garment and lay it on a work table or on the floor.
Step 4. Stick stripes of duct tape starting at the line just below your armpits and continuing to the bottom of the shirt
The parallel stripes should have a distance of three inches (7.5 centimeters) from each other.
Step 5. Flip the shirt or dress over and connect the stripes in the front with stripes in the back
Press down on all the stripes to make sure they adhere completely. Sticking and peeling the tape stripes multiple times will only make the costume last less.
Don't forget to remove the safety pins that you used to measure your trunk
Step 6. Choose black pants, socks and shoes
Part 2 of 3: Making the antennas
Step 1. Buy a yellow headband, yellow and black pipe cleaners, and yellow pompoms at the craft store
You can also make a black version if you can't find a yellow headband.
Step 2. Wrap the bottom of a yellow pipe cleaner around the top of the headband
Measure two inches (5 centimeters) from the center of the headband. Secure it with glue on top of the headband and wait for it to dry.
Step 3. Wrap a black pipe cleaner in a spiral around the yellow pipe cleaner
Attach a couple of large pom poms to the top of each pipe cleaner with glue.
Step 4. Twist the pipe cleaners around your finger before use; This will give them an extra bounce when you move
Part 3 of 3: Making the wings
Step 1. Get several wire hangers
Grab the top of the triangle with one hand and the bottom of the base with the other hand. Spread them as far apart as possible to make two figures with elongated wings.
Step 2. Stretch the hook at the top of each hanger
Lay them in a Y shape on the ground and twist the hooks around each other in the center.
Step 3. Buy black pantyhose
Yellow pantyhose will also help, but they are harder to find.
Step 4. Stretch one leg of the pantyhose over each elongated shape
If the pantyhose stretches relatively enough without breaking, you can use one leg for each wing and let the top of the pantyhose connect with the center section. If you can't, use a pair for each wing and cut off the excess pantyhose.
Step 5. Paint the pantyhose with Mod Podge (varnish glue) to make it more resistant to tears
Sprinkle glitter on the varnish glue while it's wet for added shine.
Step 6. Look for black rubber bands at your local craft store
Wrap a band around your arm and pin it behind the center of the brim. Repeat this procedure for the other side.
- Ask a friend to help you secure the elastic bands with safety pins.
- The bands should be very secure when you put your arms through them.
Step 7. Sew the bands to the center section of the wings to make them more secure
The bands will be strong enough to continuously put on and take off if you hand stitch them around the metal partition.
Step 8. You are done
Advice
- Alternatively, you can start with a yellow dress or shirt and use black electrical tape.
- You can also sew bands to a shirt or dress with a sewing machine if you want to wear the suit frequently. Cut off the back of the suit for easy sewing. Use a thread of the same color and sew around the bands. Next, hold the front and back sections where the bands meet.