How to Make a Bee Costume

Can I make a no-sew costume?

Yes—you'll need a black shirt, sweater, or dress and a yellow ribbon. You can turn any top into a fun bee costume—you could even use a simple black dress if you like! Lay your garment flat and use a piece of chalk to mark even horizontal lines that are 3 ⁄2 inches (8.9 cm) apart. Work from the top down to the bottom. Then, count how many lines you made and cut that many strips of 1 ⁄2 in (3.8 cm) wide fabric yellow ribbon. Make sure each strip of ribbon is long enough to go around the entire top. The length will totally depend on the size of your clothes.

Glue the yellow ribbons onto the lines of your top. Squeeze fabric glue along 1 strip of the yellow ribbon and press it onto one of the lines you marked so the top edge of the ribbon is on the line. Then, glue the next strip so the top line is on the following line. This makes a black space between the stripes. Continue gluing until you reach the bottom of your outfit and let the strips dry before you put on the costume. If you're making this for a kid who will frequently use it for playing dress-up, you may want to attach the ribbons using hot glue. This makes it sturdier and you can wash the top as needed.

Wear your striped top or dress with black or yellow pants or tights. Pop on your no-sew shirt or sweater and complete the outfit with black pants or jeans. If you're wearing a skirt or dress, pull on a pair of black or yellow tights. If you really want a shortcut, check your closet or a thrift store for a black- and yellow-striped dress. Then, you just need the tights and bee accessories!

Can I make a bee costume out of duct tape?

Yes—just use yellow duct tape instead of ribbon! This is even faster than using yellow ribbon and fabric glue. If you're feeling confident about placing the yellow stripes, you could even skip marking the lines on the black fabric. Just tear off strips of duct tape that are large enough to wrap around the entire top and press them firmly onto the fabric. If you want a shimmery bee, use gold duct tape instead of bright yellow tape.

How do I make an antennae headband?

Attach 2 pipe cleaners to a plain antennae headband. You can use a simple black or yellow headband and black or yellow pipe cleaners. Twist the end of 1 pipe cleaner about 2 inches (5.1 cm) away from the middle of the headband. Let at least 4 inches (10 cm) of the pipe cleaner extend from the top of the headband and repeat this for the other side. Want a little extra wiggle in your antennae? Just twist the pipe cleaners into a corkscrew shape.

Push 2 styrofoam balls onto the ends of the pipe cleaners to finish the antennae. Put the balls into a cardboard box so they don't roll away and spray them completely with bright yellow spray paint. Once they're dry, push 1 ball onto the top of each pipe cleaner. Feel free to use different colors of styrofoam balls. Use yellow pipe cleaners with black styrofoam balls, for instance.

How do I make bee wings?

Bend 2 wire hangers into ovals and twist them together in the middle. To connect the hangers, straighten the curved hooks and wrap them around each other in the middle. Then, bend the rest of the hanger into an even oval shape. Repeat this for the other wing. Make the bee wings any shape you like! Go for small round wings or long oval ones, for instance. If you're having trouble finding wire hangers, check your local thrift store or a dry cleaner.

Pull tights over the wires to make translucent wings. Take out a pair of black or yellow tights and cut them in half at the crotch so the legs are separated. Pull the leg over a wire wing and stretch it tightly so the material covers the wing. You'll have excess fabric that hangs down between the two wings. Once you cover the other wing, take the ends of the tights and tie them together in the middle. Want to decorate the wings? Take a glitter glue pen and squeeze fun swirls across both wings. You could also stick gold or yellow pompoms onto the wings with fabric glue for little pops of color. To attach your wings to the costume, cut 2 strips of elastic fabric and wrap them around your shoulders. Have a friend pin them to the wings or secure them with fabric glue.

What can I do to complete my costume?

Apply yellow eyeshadow and black eyeliner to make your eyes pop. Brush bright yellow eyeshadow onto your lids. You can use a matte eyeshadow or one with some glitter in it if you like a little sparkle. Then, apply black eyeliner to the corners of your eyes and along the bottom lid. If you want your eyes to really stand out, put on a pair of long, false eyelashes. If you're dressing up a kid in the costume, you can skip the eye makeup and reach for fun face paint instead! Use yellow face paint and paint small black bees on their cheeks, for instance. You can skip this step if you're going for a masculine bee!

Wear a tutu underneath your bee costume skirt if you want it to puff out. If you made a bee skirt to go with the bee top, pop on a bright yellow tutu that's the same length as the skirt. This gives it some oomph which can make you look especially like a bumblebee! Feel free to use a black tutu if you don't have a yellow one.

Pop on a striped baseball cap. If you don't want to go the cutesy route with your bee costume, stick a few yellow strips of tape to a black baseball cap to finish your look. Wear a pair of black loafers or tennis shoes to give your bee a sturdy look.