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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

How To Make a Ben 10 Costume

It was no surprise when my son requested a Ben 10 Halloween costume. Here's how the conversation went.

Evan: Can you make me a Ben 10 Halloween costume?

Me: Sure

Evan: I can't wait to wear it.

Me: You don't think I'm going to make it today, do you?

Evan: No, you're going to make it tonight when I'm asleep.

Apparently I'm one of the shoemaker's elves.

For those not familiar with Ben 10, it's a cartoon about a boy who can turn into different aliens. There's a picture of the actual cartoon, here. Simple directions below to make the Ben 10 shirt.

Supplies:
Plain white shirt
Black fabric paint- costs about a dollar at the craft store
Painters tape
Sponge Brush, Paint Brush
Wax Paper



Place Painters tape on front/center of t-shirt to make a 3 inch wide stripe. Make sure the tape is pressed firmly down on the t-shirt. You can measure it out if you wish, I just eyeballed it.








Place wax paper inside the shirt so the paint does not bleed through to the back of the shirt. Paint inside the blue tape. Make sure to place the paint on evenly for best results.








Last paint the the collar of the shirt and the edges of the sleeves. I used the hem lines as my border lines. Make sure to place wax paper in the sleeves and neck. Let dry, turn over and do the back of the neck and sleeves. Refer to pictures.

For Pants
You can purchase green pants at the thrift store. Another option is to dye an old pair of khaki pants green. You can purchase green fabric dye at most craft stores.

For the Watch
We already had the toy watch so I didn't have to make anything. However, if you don't want to go out and buy one I recommend drawing one on the child's wrist with face paints.

If you need more inspiration, here's the link to the Ben 10 theme song, click here.

29 comments:

amy turn sharp said...

yr so freaking amazing. I love coming here! xo

mayaluna said...

I JUST read the Shoemaker's Elves to my daughter tonight! Funny to see you reference it just now. You definitely qualify!

Coffeybunny said...

Brill.yunt.
I'll be a hero to my little boy, thanks so much for the instructions! So much fun!

Zip n Tizzy said...

Love a costume that fits the bill but is not too fussy. He looks VERY pleased.

Camilla said...

My nephew is crazy about Ben 10- here he is in his 'four arms' costume:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crunchcandy/2873564204/
I didn't have a clue who Ben 10 was until last weekend when my nephew turned 5 and every single gift he got was Ben 10 related!

Unknown said...

ah Ben 10's my son's fav too and its easy to make, tks a lot

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

"You're going to make it tonight while I'm asleep." LOL. I love his thinking!

mushroommeadows said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mushroommeadows said...

your son looks very heroic! And I, too, love his comment about you making his outfit while he's asleep. :)

JesPlayin said...

this is so cool! my 5yr old is a Ben10 freak! He's decided he wants to Ben 10 for halloween so I'm going to do like you did. He's actually one of the easier action heroes to do. Thanks for the tips.

Ginger Koolick said...

Thank you so much. My son is 4 and we have everything set for Halloween except the shirt. I bought a thick white t-shirt and was just going to wing it by sewing the collar, cuffs & strip down the middle, but this will help so much!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great tips and directions! My 8 year old wanted to be Ben 10, and your directions were just what I needed! I bought him a pair of Tony Hawk (his favorite) pants and painted a white t-shirt that I purchased at Michael's for $2.50. I used a paper bag since I was out of wax paper. Also, I used black acrylic paint (it said it was safe for fabric), but I haven't tried to wash it. It was a great hit at school and trick-or-treating last night! Thanks again!

Amy said...

My ds is getting the Omnitrix watch for Christmas. I was going to look for a Ben10 costume on Halloween clearance to go with it, but I just might make him one. Thanks!

zakkalife said...

Lisa J,

Thanks for letting me know that you gave the costume a try. I'm glad it worked out well for you too.

jessica

Anonymous said...

Here's an update from my earlier post.

The shirt (painted with acrylic paint) washed fine the first time on a delicate cycle, but the second time I did a regular cycle. That lightened the black a bit.

My son had a Ben 10 party yesterday, and I had trouble finding someone to make a cake for the party. I didn't want the standard copy from a plate or napkin. When I was at Costco, I noticed they had a skateboard cake with a boy on the skateboard, so I asked if they could make the cake without the skateboard. They did more than that! She made the black and white shirt, green pants, omnitrix, and even got the hair right!

Anonymous said...

my boyfriend is obsseded with ben 10 and he is 16 and i wanted to get him the costume ofr his birthday but you cant buy it anywhere for adults so now i will make it for him thank you very much really big help!
xox

Meg said...

Cool costume! My son told me today that he wanted to be Ben 10 for Halloween. I'm going to use your instructions!

Ronnie said...

Thank you, will try

Arsheed Hamza said...

My son wanted to be Ben 10 for his school fancy dress competition, he's a ben 10 freak. So I was worried if I will be able to get a costume. And then I came across ur easy and helpful instruction. And now i have made a t shirt for him and purchased a green cargos. He's excited and so am I! Thanks.

Chezvies said...

I wish I saw this earlier then I would've saved lots of money. Now, my sons want Ben 10 shirts and tomorrow I'm going to get plain white shirts and get down to work..:). Thanks alot for sharing this..^_^

Chezvies said...

Mine is here http://chez-vies.blogspot.com/2010/02/for-boys-ben-10-t-shirt-pj-pants.html but I didn't use the fabric paint, instead I used bias tape :D

Anonymous said...

this is waaaaaay easier than the other suggestions i looked up! thanks for the tips! i made the ben 10 ultimate alien ben costume (green jacket)for my older son. can't wait to surprise them with the costumes for halloween!

Lisa said...

You just saved Halloween for me! Thanks! :)

mputnam80 said...

Thank you so much for this. I made a shirt for my son for Christmas. I can't wait for him to see it.

Katia said...

Hallo!

I have found your blog entry while I was looking for pictures for my older son's costume.

I will use your idea of Ben's shirt, thanks for it.

Unfortunately, he wants to be Fourarms.... :-(

Thanks a lot, best regards,

Kata
(Hungary)

Anonymous said...

Another thank you :), I'm looking forward to making my 5 yr old son's request now!

Also, fyi, I found this post on this website and, well, it's pretty much a straight copy of yours, minus the pictures showing how YOU actually did it...
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_To_Make_A_Ben_10_Costume#axzz1aoG0OD5M

Anonymous said...

17 year old boy here. I've been looking for a place to buy a shirt like this for ages! Finely decided it would be easier to make m own, so thanks for the tutorial!

Weclaw8 said...

I'm a Little confused on where it says paint inside the blue tape.Shouldn't it be paint on the
Blue tape?Or are we supposed to take that off?

zakkalife said...

Weeclaw8,

Paint between the two pieces of tape. If you get paint on the tape, that's fine. Once dry, pull away tape.

Hope this helps :)

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