How to Make a Superhero Costume

Building the Basics

Sport some spandex. All superheroes wear a tight get-up of some sort, whether it be a unitard, leggings, or a full-body suit. Pick a color or two and start building your costume from a foundation of spandex.

Shoot for full length leggings and a long-sleeve tee shirt. Most superheroes fully cover their skin to avoid being recognized. You can also use solid-colored clothing in place of spandex. Think about using Under Armour workout clothing or visiting an American Apparel clothing store if you are having a hard time finding solid-colored spandex.

Rock a full-body suit. If you're up for the awkwardness, you can purchase a full-body spandex suit from a costume store or order one online from a website such as superfansuits.com.

Hiding Your Identity

Disguise your face with a mask. As a superhero, it is extremely important that you hide your identity from potential enemies. Make a mask of some sort to disguise your face and prevent being discovered. There are several methods for making a mask at home.

Make a paper mask. Hold up a piece of sturdy cardstock to your face and have a friend mark two dots where the outside edges of your eyes are, and one dot where the tip of your nose is (you can also use a paper plate). Draw the mask out on the piece of paper, using the dots as reference points for how big your mask needs to be. Cut out the shape of your mask and poke two holes in each side near where your ears will be. Attach a ribbon or string to each hole so that you can tie the mask behind your head. Decorate the outline with colored markers, paint, sequins, feathers, glitter, or any other embellishments that suit your superpower.

Create a mask using tin foil and tape. Stack three sheets of aluminum foil together and press the stack on your face to create an impression in the tin foil. Outline where your eyes and any other openings will be with a marker. Use scissors to cut around the edges of the mask, the eyes, the mouth, and any other openings you outlined. Poke a hole in each side of the mask near where your ears will be and attach a string or ribbon to hold the mask on your face. Making sure to keep the mold firm, cover the mask in strong clear tape such as packing tape. Decorate with acrylic paint and any other embellishments such as feathers or sequins.

Make a papier mâché mask. Blow up a balloon to about the size of your head. Lay newspaper flat on a table or the floor to use as a working surface. Tear strips of newspaper or cut strips of thin cloth into long strips. Combine 2 cups flour and 1 cup water in a mixing bowl. You can use 2 cups of white glue in place of flour if you don't have any flour handy. Dip the strips of paper or cloth into the mixture completely and begin to lay them on the balloon until the entire balloon is covered. Be sure to place the strips at random, intersecting angles. Allow it to dry completely and then take a needle and pop the balloon. Cut the globe in half using strong scissors starting at the base of the balloon where it was tied and cutting up over the peak of the globe. Shape the mask to fit your face, cut out any openings for your eyes or mouth, and finally, decorate it with paint and any other decorations you choose!

Fashioning a Cape

Find a piece of fabric. Most superheroes wouldn't be caught without this most dashing of accessories. Make a cape from any rectangular piece of old fabric you have lying around, such as an old sheet, that you can cut up. Felt also works well as cape material and is inexpensive at most arts and crafts stores.

Drape the fabric over your shoulders and have friend mark small dots where you want the corners of your cape to fall. Make sure that the cape is not so long that you will trip on it when you walk.

Cut out the shape of the cape. Use a ruler to connect the four corners of the dots and carefully cut out the rectangle shape.

Decorate your cape. Attach a symbol or letter that represents your superpower in the center of the cape. Felt works well for a cape embellishment because it is easily manipulable and won't fold as you fly around. You can either glue this embellishment on using a hot glue gun or use leftover velcro strips to attach your symbol.

Attach the cape to yourself. You can either tie the fabric in a knot where it hits your sternum, use a safety pin to hold it in place, or attach velcro strips to your base outfit and the cape so that the two meet around the top of your shoulders.

Flaunting Foot Gear

Rock brightly colored boots. If you already own a pair of brightly colored rain boots, add them to your outfit to make it truly pop.

Sport soccer socks. If you aren't going to be walking around outside, you can simply wear a pair of high-topped soccer socks in the color of your choice.

Make duct tape boots. If you'll be roaming the neighborhood or dancing it up until dawn, duct tape boots are a fast and inexpensive alternative to buying colored boots. Put on a pair of old sneakers and wrap a few layers of plastic wrap around the shoe and up around your calf as high as you want your boots to be. Purchase duct tape in the color that you want your boots to be. Begin to tape on top of the plastic in small pieces, trying to keep the tape as flat as possible. Be careful not to tape too tightly around your leg. Once you've covered the entire surface of your boot, you are ready to start trick-or-treating! If you are making the boots in advance, however, you can use scissors to carefully cut a line down the back of the boot so that you can slip your foot out. When you want to wear the boots, slip them on over your sneakers and re-tape the back slit with duct tape. For a more polished look, add a few inches of duct tape to the top of the boot to make them flare out slightly.

Sew felt boots. Step on a piece of paper and trace your left and right feet with a marker, allowing about 1/4-inch of extra space between the outline and your foot. Use a tape measure to measure from the tip of the toes to the tip of the boot on your calf and the circumference of your calf at the highest point on the boot. Add about 2 inches (5.1 cm) to the circumference measurement to allow the boot to flare out. Transfer an outline of these two measurements to a separate piece of paper and connect them to make a rough upside-down T shape. Repeat for your other foot. Cut out the two sole pieces and the four body pieces and lay them on your felt. Lightly trace the shape of each paper template onto the felt with a pen or pencil and cut out the four felt pieces. Pin two of the body pieces in an L-shape on top of your foot and sew the pieces together along the top seam that runs across the top of your foot, and the back seam that runs up the back of your leg. Turn the boot inside-out to hide the seam. Pin the sole piece to the L-shaped tube and sew around the edges at least twice for a strong seam. Repeat this process for the second boot, and you're finished!

Showing Off Your Superpowers

Accessorize your superhero outfit. Carry a fake weapon or decorate your outfit in a way that shows the neighborhood kids just what you're capable of in superhero mode. For example, if you have the ability to transform into an animal of some sort, cut out a design using paper or felt and attach it to the front of your shirt or the back of your cape. If you are planning to be an existing superhero character, make sure your accessory matches theirs.

Become Superman. Superman's superpowers are a part of his being. Re-create this superhero's look by simply embellishing the front of your shirt with an epic superman "S." You can make it out of felt glued together using a hot glue gun, or even out of stiff paper. Attach it to your shirt with hot glue or velcro.

Shine like Spiderman. Like Superman, Spidey doesn't need any fancy tools to fight crime. To create a Spiderman outfit, draw spider webs all over your outfit, making the front center of your shirt the center of the web. You can accomplish a web-like look by drawing with silver glitter glue or by drawing the web with white glue and covering it in silver glitter while it is still wet. Allow the glue to dry and then shake off any excess glitter. You may also want to make a spider out of paper or felt and attach it to the center of your web.

Build a Batman costume. Batman sports a yellow belt with square pockets on the sides that hold all of his nifty gadgets. You can make a belt out of felt and sew on pockets if you like, or repurpose an old belt and attach eyeglass cases to the sides to hold your gadgets. Don't forget to fill your belt pockets with super accessories such as Batman's Bat-monitor (use a black walkie talkie), Bat-cuffs (paint plastic handcuffs black), and Bat-lasso (use a black rope). If you don't have a walkie talkie or play handcuffs lying around, you can always make these gadgets out of cardboard and draw on the details.

Wow with a Wonder Woman costume. A gold lasso, a gold belt, gold arm bands, and a shining tiara are this Superhero's most recognizable assets. Spray paint any rope you have gold for the lasso and tie it to your belt. You can make Wonder Woman's signature gold belt out of thick paper or felt, or spray paint an existing belt gold. Wear thick, gold bangle bracelets to represent arm bands, or cut out strips of shiny fabric, gold paper, or tin foil painted gold. Place your arm bands around your wrists. Lastly, create the crowning tiara by covering a headband with a gold material or simply cut a tiara shape out of paper and staple it together behind your head. Attach a red star to the front of the tiara.

Create a Captain America shield. In addition to his impressive mask, Captain America sports a super shield. Make a shield out of cardboard by cutting a large circular shape and painting on the appropriate colors. You can also use a round plastic sled, a large stockpot lid, or round garbage can lid. Attach a piece of felt or ribbon to the back of the shield with hot glue or a stapler to create a handle for the shield. Cut out a white star from paper or felt and attach it to the center of the shield.

Roam the streets as Wolverine. Wolverine's sharp claws are easy to create using tin foil and cardboard. Get rubber dish washing gloves and spray paint them the same color as your skin. Cut out long, sharp claws from cardboard and cover them in aluminum foil. Use hot glue to attach the claws to the top of the rubber gloves at the knuckles.