At Halloween, family fun is once again the order of the day - parents and children can enjoy being together and making costumes. Small children in particular like to let their imagination run wild. Books, films and favorite stories in particular awaken their creativity. Not only princesses are popular, but also other film characters - such as the little clown fish Nemo from the Disney and Pixar film “Finding Nemo”. Who could resist his charm? In any case, we can't do it, and that's why we offer you 3 DIY projects for a Nemo costume without sewing. Let yourself be inspired by the idea and conjure up costumes in cheerful colors for the whole family.
DIY idea with tutu skirt for girls
The film “Finding Nemo” has been very popular among kindergarten children since 2003. The adventures of the little clownfish in Australia have awakened the curiosity and imagination of the little ones. Nemo goes on a journey of self-discovery to the big city. Step by step he gets to know the big world better, meets new friends, and can deal with the difficulties and hurdles in life. And his love for his father grows every day. Conclusion: family and friends are the most important thing in life, they help children become adults. If your little child is also curious and enjoys life, then a Nemo costume expresses their character. Thefirst craft projectis for girls of kindergarten age.
The materials at a glance
All you need for the next project is an orange t-shirt, hat, leggings and white sandals/shoes. These are made with grommet strips (each strip 1 meter long, cut into 54cm long pieces) in orange, white and black, felt in orange, black and white, orange satin ribbon. Other accessories you need: scissors, hot glue gun, black and white fabric paint, brushes.
Step 1: Paint the blouse
Paint a white stripe (see photo above) with the thick brush and let the T-shirt dry. Then use the fine brush to draw two black lines at the top and bottom. Allow the finished T-shirt to dry and follow the manufacturer's instructions when washing later.
Step 2: Assemble Nemo accessory
Cut out two large circles from the white felt piece, two medium-sized circles from the orange felt and two small circles from the black felt. Glue the circles together so that they look like the photo above. Attach the eyes you have made to the hat using the hot glue gun. Be careful when handling the hot glue gun - the glue is very hot and you can injure yourself. Always have a bowl of cold water within reach in case the glue falls on your hands.
Step 3: Assemble the tutu skirt
Measure your child's waist size - measure the waist at the thinnest part and write down the measurement. Add 60 cm and cut the orange satin ribbon accordingly. Example: child's waist - 40 cm, length of satin ribbon - 100 cm. Tie two knots at the two ends (each knot should be 30cm from the end).
Now start knotting the individual grommet strips on the loop - the knots on the loop should serve as a guide for the beginning and the end. So start from one node and continue until you reach the other. First tie 7 orange tulle strips, then one black tulle strip, then four white and then one black tulle strip. Then tie 7 orange, one black, four white and one more black tulle strips one after the other. Keep going until you reach the other node.
Put the child in orange leggings, white shoes, tulle skirt, T-shirt and hat - and the outfit is complete! It is super comfortable, the child can move freely and wear the tulle skirt on other occasions. By the way, you can also use the instructions for the tulle skirt to make other costumes (for example a princess). It has a decisive advantage over sewn skirts - you can adjust it again to the children's masses even after a few months and you don't have to sew a new skirt.
If you have already mastered painting the stripes, then you can easily make a Nemo costume for a boy. If you want to wear the T-shirt in everyday life again after Halloween, you can make the strips out of white paper and black Tesa tape. Buy large googly eyes and glue them to an eye shade. You can make the dorsal fin out of cardboard and felt. Complete!
How to save money: onHalloween costumes: Start planning early. Several months (preferably in the summer) before Halloween or immediately after Halloween is the best time to buy new costumes. If you can't find anything ready-made, you can save money and time by making something yourself. In this case, the concept plays the crucial role in the final result. If you plan in detail who will wear what, then you will have a clear shopping list and can always keep an overview of the costs.
A cute clownfish
The next craft suggestion is for a soft Nemo costume for babies and toddlers. Particularly practical as a learner to walk - and of course cuddly soft. Halloween is also a good opportunity to familiarize the little ones with the underwater world and get to know nature better in a playful way. Take the opportunity to talk about Australia, the great barrier reef and its importance for the environment. Plan a trip the weekend before Halloween and visit an aquarium - even toddlers ages 2 and up will enjoy the opportunity. Experience-based learning is particularly effective for babies and can, among other things, contribute to the development of language skills. And it's fun for the whole family anyway. So enjoy the adventure with the children and add variety to your everyday life.
For the project you will need the following materials: orange fabric (soft, plush is also possible) - at least 1.5 square meters, black fabric (the same fabric in black color) - at least 1.5 square meters, white felt cardboard, pillow filling, felt-tip pens, hot glue gun, white plastic bowl for the eyes, templates. Optional – the child can wear a black blouse and leggings under the costume.
And this is how the Nemo costume is made: first fold the orange fabric in two, then place the created Nemo template on the fabric - the head should be on the folded side. Then carefully cut out the clownfish silhouette so that the fold at the front of the head remains. This creates two fish silhouettes that are connected to each other at the front. Then you can cut the strips out of the black fabric and attach them together using the hot glue gun.
Now cut the same strips of white fabric and glue them over the black. Our tip: Create the same stencil for the white and black stripes. When cutting out, make sure that you cut out the details in black a little larger and the details in white - a little smaller than the template. The goal – in the end, Nemo should look like the picture above. Now you have to cut out the plastic bowl in the middle or punch out two holes.
Color the border around the holes with orange marker. Mark the correct position of the eyes on the orange fabric. Glue the eyes with hot glue gun or universal glue. Allow the costume to dry for 5-10 minutes (depending on the manufacturer's instructions) before you can move on to the next step.
Now you need to fill the headboard of the costume with the pillow filling. Cut a circle out of the white fabric and glue it to the inside (see photo above) so that the pillow filling stays inside. Now cut out the details for the mouth from the white and black fabric. Be careful not to injure yourself when handling the hot glue gun. If you are making the costume with the children, you can buy glue from the craft store.
Use the template for the fish body and cut out two details from cardboard (see photo above). Glue them to the inside of the Nemo costume. If desired, you can use double-sided tape. Cut out two openings for the arms so that the child can move freely.
Optionally, you can cut out felt and fabric for the pectoral fins - and you have the costume ready. Our tip: Test in advance whether the child can move freely in the costume. Make sure the child does not have access to the lining (pillow filling). And never leave your child unsupervised when dressed in the Nemo costume - for safety reasons.
If you want to dress a baby in the Nemo costume for Halloween, then you can dress up appropriately - two film characters play important roles in the film “Finding Nemo”. The diver who catches Nemo in the beginning and sells him in Sydney, and the girl Darla, the niece of the dentist who originally buys Nemo from the diver. The clownfish is intended as a gift for Darla. For the diving costume you need a diving mask with a snorkel, dry suit and fins. The little girl Darla wears a purple blouse with the words Rock'n'Roll Girl, a checked skirt and braces that you can make out of aluminum foil. Family fun is guaranteed, and of course you can look forward to the Halloween photos with the family!
“Finding Dory” inspired baseball cap
Dory, the pallette surgeonfish with memory problems, which we already know from the film “Finding Nemo”, is the main character in the sequel from 2016. In the search for his family, Dory experiences many adventures together with Marlin and Nemo. The character is particularly popular among adults and children between 8 and 12 years old. In any case, since the beautiful Pallet Surgeonfish has quite intricate stripes, you can save yourself the trouble of making a costume and decorate a baseball cap instead.
For the craft project you will need the following materials: felt in white, black, yellow and dark blue, dark blue baseball cap, scissors, felt glue or hot glue gun.
First, cut out two large circles for the eyes from the white felt, then from black fabric - two medium-sized circles, and again from the white felt. Glue the three circles together and attach them to the baseball cap. Now cut out the Dori mouth from black felt and glue it as shown in the photo above. In the end, all that's left is to make the pelvic fins out of black and yellow felt and attach them to the sides of the baseball cap. Complete! For maximum effect, you can wear the cap with blue leggings and a T-shirt.
Whether it's a full felt Nemo costume for the baby, or just a painted t-shirt for school-age children, or perhaps an outfit with an orange tutu skirt - the possibilities are simply endless. Let your creativity run wild, ask the children for help - they will definitely be happy and happy to take part in the craft work. So you can put together fun, playful costumesfor Halloweencraft for the whole family. Don't forget to organize a photo shoot - this way you will have the photos as a nice memory of family time. We wish you a lot of fun crafting and a nice Halloween party with the children!
