Bumblebee Costume Ideas

Many bumblebee costume ideas abound, predominantly because this is among the most popular costume in which to dress an infant. Babies look cute in anything, of course, but there is just something about a baby dressed as a bee that's particularly charming.

A bumblebee is among the most popular costume for infants

The costume shops and even the drugstores are full of bee costumes for babies. You can get one for less than $20 or spend considerably more. But bee costumes can be so easy and so cute when they're inventive, that it's much more fun to make or contrive the costume yourself.

You absolutely do not need to know how to sew to make a bee costume. All you need is some time and inventiveness. If you can sew, that will certainly make for a slicker costume, but it's not necessary.

At the heart of any bumblebee costume idea is yellow and black stripes. When it comes to making a bee costume for a baby, you can just use any number of clothes or accessories you already have on hand to contrive the right look.

The simplest route is to take a white onesie, dye it yellow, then paint black stripes using fabric paint. And you don't need to buy commercial dye – which can have more toxicities than you probably want to deal with – you can just use a few teaspoons of turmeric and soak the onesie in a glass bowl for several hours till the right shade is achieved. Then use masking tape to space the stripes. You don't have to add wings, but if you choose to, black felt can work well and won't rip easily. Be sure to attach the wings securely.

You can also make a sleeper into a bee costume. This is ideal if the family is going trick-or-treating and you want to carry the baby in chilly weather. A black fleece sleeper can quickly become a bumblebee with some yellow felt. Again, you don't have to add details like wings and tentacles, although they do make it more fun. Roll black felt into tubes and attach via stitches or glue to a black bonnet. You can top them with balls made of the last of the yellow felt.

As popular as a bee costume is for babies, that's not to say that older children or adults can't get in on the buzz. The original cast of Saturday Night Live performed a famous sketch in which they were all bees in very silly outfits. This bumblebee costume idea would lend itself really well to a group Halloween costume for adults. Obviously, it takes more craft skill to make a credible bee costume for an adult, since it requires shaping and padding. But you can find free patterns online, at sites such as All Crafts. If you are having trouble, consult any of the forums where sewing and crafts people will be happy to give advice.

While children probably won't know the Saturday Night Live sketch, they may still enjoy the idea of dressing up as members of a hive for a group costume. If you have a group of boys and one girl, you might have her be the queen bee, although check carefully to make sure everyone will be all right with that – it could lead to an unpleasant night. Older children, including boys, will definitely want bee's wings. Again, the Internet is full of free patterns and suggestions. You can even use window screen fabric, provided you cover the edges. Tentacles can be made more quickly for bulk use with twisted pipe cleaners. Because a bee costume mostly involves craft rather than sewing, it's a great project to engage kids in. Schedule a weekend for everyone to work on their costumes together, and it will make the actual wearing of them that much more fun.

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