Kid's Cowboy Costume

School dress up day came again this last week. My son's class has been learning about the American pilgrims and decided to have a Thanksgiving feast and dress up day to celebrate. The costume requirement was simply American themed dress-up. With only a week or two to come up with something we decided on an American Cowboy. 

Most of a Cowboy's clothes are ordinary things that are easy to find. We already had the red bandana in the kid's dress-up box, and some beige fabric in my stash for the waistcoat. The jeans, shirt, hat and belt I found in the op-shop for $9. 

The shirt I found was a men's size medium, obviously too big for a 9 year old. Using a shirt that fit my son, I cut a new shirt out of the body of the men's shirt, keeping the collar and buttons intact. I then shortened the sleeves at the shoulder and reinserted them into the new shirt, keeping the cuffs intact. I also took in the jeans at the waist to fit better.

To make the waistcoat I used a t-shirt to draw a basic shape before adding the v neck and shaped points to the front. I used a brown knit fabric to add the 'leather' tassels. Because knit (stretch) fabrics don't fray as easily as woven fabrics, they are a better choice when there will be raw edges left exposed. I think the tassels add the real western cowboy vibe to the finished waistcoat. The waistcoat is fully lined and I even added false pockets for a realistic design detail.

My son looked super cute dressed up and had a wonderful time at his Thanksgiving day festivities. I enjoyed the challenge of creating a fun costume out of op-shop clothes and leftover fabric!