Simply Resourceful

Simple ways to be more conscious about how we use our resources.

Handmade Mummy Costume


Making Halloween costumes can be fun and very affordable.  A friend requested I make her son a mummy costume after seeing the two I made for Jon and me 2 years ago.  The mummy costume is very easy to make and utilizes fabric you probably already have in your home.  I also want to mention that I am not a seamstress.  My sewing abilities are very minimal---mainly mending and the occasional curtain here and there. This project is great for beginners because lines don't have to be straight and there isn't a complicated pattern to follow.  

All you need is a pair of pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and some strips of white cloth.  I used a pair of pants that have been patched numerous times and a button-up shirt.  It's best if the clothing is light in color but I didn't have any light-colored pants so I used what I had on hand.  In the end I couldn't tell what color the pants were underneath all of those white strips anyway.

In the past I used a crew neck shirt and a turtle neck.  What I had on-hand this time was a button-up shirt with a collar.  The buttons were removed for a later project.  To fasten the front I used Velcro.  To sew the sleeves and pant legs, I cut the seams so they lay flat for sewing and then they are sewed back together once all the strips are on. 

I have an older sewing machine that doesn't handle thick layers really well so I removed pockets, hammer holds, pocket pouches, and belt loops to reduce the bulk. 

When sewing the pants I remove the thick inner seam and...
add a strip of cloth to replace the original bulky seam so it's easier to sew closed at the end.  With all
of the overlapping white strips the layers get thick.


These pants were getting a little short for my son so I added 2 layers to the bottom.  There's not much you can do wrong with this costume...uneven lines, zig-zag cuts, frayed edges, puckers...it's supposed to look scrappy and unshaven...that's what makes this project stress-free and fun!

I like using several shades of white for a unique look.  I used two different t-shirts (stained with holes) and an old curtain.  I try to  hide the stitching by overlapping the layers (kind of like laying roof shingles).  Leave some strips dangling.

I added a hood to complete the costume by using an adult-sized t-shirt.  I traced a hood from a sweatshirt onto the t-shirt, cut it out, sewed white strips on it, and sewed it to the collar of the shirt. 

One unplanned bonus of this costume is how warm it is.  If you live where it's cool at the end of October, you won't have to worry about wearing long underwear or a coat.  It's insulated already with all of those overlapping layers!  

Jon and I go as a bride and groom mummy couple.  You can't see it in the picture, but I have on an old veil.  I still have to finish my gloves but other than that, the costume is complete.  We competed in our first Halloween costume contest this past weekend and won $1,000 cash in the largest costume contest in WV!


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A weekly update on our adventures of trying to be more self-sufficient by using resources wisely. We explore a variety of topics that most broadly fit in the "Homesteading" category, i.e. beekeeping, organic gardening, edible landscaping/fruit forest, food preservation/canning, woodworking, soap-making, and environmental stewardship.

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