Crafters creative with costumes

It's about time for Francesca Amendolia to pull out her sewing machine.

She dislikes sewing, but it's part of the Pennsylvania mother's Halloween ritual — and the one sewing project she can pull off.

"That's why Halloween costumes are so safe," said the 38-year-old from Carlisle, Pa. "They don't actually have to fit or be flattering."

Like buying candy or carving pumpkins, many parents consider making costumes for their children a Halloween tradition — even if they lack the skills of their grandparents' generation. Parents with varying levels of sewing skills wander the aisles of craft and fabric stores looking for ideas and inspiration.

"It's a big time for first-time sewers to come into the store," said Becky Hermann, who develops craft and sewing projects for Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, based in Hudson, Ohio.

New simplicity

Many are relieved to find so many new products that eliminate the need to sew, Hermann said. The do-it-yourself parent has her choice of adhesive products — fabric glue, Velcro, iron-on tapes — to hold the costume together. Parents who knit but don't sew can even find inspiration for wigs and costumes online.

"It just has to get through that party at school and that night of trick-or-treating," said Karen Edenfield, who also works for Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores.

Some parents tackle homemade costumes because they want to save money or create a family tradition. It's also an opportunity for parents and kids to be creative together, added Jodi Levine, kids editorial director for Martha Stewart Living.

"It's really about fun," she said. "It doesn't take that much effort."

Family fun

Many readers of Craft: magazine opt to make costumes because they want to create something cool and different that other kids won't be wearing, said editor Natalie Zee Drieu.

That's what the Kitchens family likes about making costumes. Melanie Kitchens, 43, already is brainstorming with her daughter, Erin, on how to make the 11-year-old look like a tube of toothpaste.

Kitchens owns a sewing machine but rarely uses it. Still, she manages to make or oversee the construction of multiple costumes every Halloween for five children who range in age from 8 to 19.