Homemade Bumble Bee Costumes

I put together this graphic of homemade bumble bee costumes for Fun Family Crafts last week. 

As I was looking for costumes to feature, I was disappointed to discover that I'd never posted the instructions for the homemade bumble bee costumes I made back in 2010. I didn't start blogging until 2011, so I guess it's not surprising that I hadn't done a tutorial. Time to change that! 

The materials list below includes affiliate links. I get a small commission for any products you buy after following a link. Thank you!

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Easy DIY Bumble Bee Costume

Materials: 

• oversize yellow t-shirt
• seam ripper
• scissors
• clear ruler
• masking tape
• black acrylic paint
• stencil brush
• black felt
• black thread
• Poly-fil
• antenna

Steps: 

Carefully remove the sleeves from the shirt using the seam ripper. Hem the unfinished edge, or use a fray block.

Use the ruler and the masking tape to mark where you want the black stripes to be. I put six stripes on Steve's shirt (adult large), five on mine (adult medium), and four on Trevor's (child large, hemmed to just above his knees).

Use the stencil brush and an up-and-down motion to work the black paint into the fabric. Let the paint dry, then remove the masking tape. Repeat the process for the back of the shirt, taking care to line up the stripes. 

To make the stinger, sew a cone shape from the black felt. Stuff it with Poly-fil, then add a circle of felt as a cap to hold the stuffing in place. Hand-stitch the stinger to the shirt using black thread. 

  

Wear black thermals, sweatpants, or tights, and a black long-sleeved shirt, then put the bee costume over it. Add antenna and you're ready to go!

This was such a fun costume! If any of you make your own, please be sure to share photos with me. I'd love to see what you create.