Costumes on a Budget

Note: Many of these techniques require at least a basic knowledge of both hand and machine sewing.

Unitards

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of ways to get around this particular expense, since dancewear in general is quite expensive. It's very hard to find a unitard anywhere that doesn't cost at least $30 plus shipping, unless you happen to find one secondhand. However, you can shave a few dollars off the price by ordering a scoop neck uni instead of a mock turtleneck. Also, on some websites there's a price difference between cotton/lycra and nylon/lycra. Cotton/lycra breathes better, but nylon/lycra works just as well.

Dyeing your uni

There are various ways to color a unitard, none of them foolproof. If you want all-over color and can't find a uni in the color you want, washing-machine dye (such as RIT) works best. For patterns or stripes of color, you can find fabric markers at Hobby Lobby and other craft stores, but they don't come in a very wide variety of colors. (Alternatively, you could use Sharpies, but be warned that they are not necessarily as permanent as the company would have you believe.) If you use markers of any kind, be sure you put a piece of cardboard inside the uni before you start or the color will bleed through.
Incidentally, I don't recommend either spray paint or fabric paints such as Tulip, both because they look very cheap and because they change the texture of the fabric.

Tails

The best and quickest way to make a tail is to buy a marabou boa at a craft or costume shop, cut it to length, and (if necessary), spray paint it to correspond with your costume colors. If you want it to have the same swing as professional tails, sew a small washer or other small dense object to the end of the tail. You can then do one of two things - 1) Sew or pin the tail directly to your uni, or 2) attach it to a piece of decorative rope, such as upholstery trim, then pin it around your waist.
The other option, which is very time-consuming but probably much more realistic, is to make a yarn tail. Unfortunately, I've never done this myself, so I don't know how to go about doing it.
Note: If you use the marabou method, you can use the leftover bits of boa as shoulder or arm poufs – just figure out where you want to put them and stitch or hot-glue them into place. I recommend stitching – hot glue and feathers can create quite a disaster.

Wigs

This depends on the type of wig you want to make. I've made several kitten-type wigs out of yarn tufts (more on that later), but I've found that the yarn technique doesn't work as well for wigs with longer hair. For that, your best bet is probably to find a fairly inexpensive wig at a costume shop (rock star, Cruella DeVil and sports-fan wigs work particularly well for Cats) and trim it to the size and shape you want, then add colors if need be. Alternatively, you may be lucky enough to find a wig that already looks somewhat like a cat wig; I have a Dracula wig that actually works very well as a potential Mistoffelees or Munkustrap wig.

Making yarn wigs

Supplies: clean pair of neutral-colored stockings or tights
1 or more skeins of yarn in the color(s) you need
Needle
Neutral-colored thread
Scissors
Cardboard

1. Put the pair of stockings on your head, inside out. Make sure it covers your ears and extends slightly past your natural hairline.
2. Take the legs of the stockings and tie them in a double knot. The knot itself should be tight and secure, but leave some extra space at the back of your head; the cap will shrink slightly as the yarn tufts are added. (This also allows room for long hair, if you have it.)
3. Secure the knot by running five to ten stitches through the entire knot. Tie the thread off and cut it, then cut the legs off the stockings close to the knot.
4. Turn the stockings right side out. You now have a wig cap.
5. Select a color of yarn. I suggest starting at the front of the wig and working backwards.
6. Figure out how long you want your tuft of yarn to be, then cut a piece of cardboard a little over twice that length.
7. Wrap the yarn lengthwise around the cardboard until you have a clump of yarn about 1 to 1 ½ inches wide.
8. Slide the yarn off the cardboard, being careful to retain the loop shape. Cut a piece of yarn two to three inches long and tie it tightly around the middle of the clump of yarn.
9. Cut through the loops on either end of the bundle. You now have a bundle of loose yarn pieces. Take this bundle by the knot in the middle and pass it through the circle made by your finger and thumb; this makes sure all of the yarn ends are pointing in the same direction.
10. Depending on your preference, you may want to fray the yarn ends with a comb or by hand. For longer tufts, you’ll also want to spray them with hairspray or a glue/water solution so they hold their shape.
11. Sew the tuft onto the desired spot on the wig cap, anchoring it at the base where your knot is.
12. Repeat steps 5-11 with more tufts of yarn. Yes, this is a tedious process, but the end result is well worth it.
13. For ears, stop at step 9. You may want to use a thinner tuft for this – ½ inch instead of 1. Tie another pieces of yarn around the top of the tuft so it comes to a point, and press down slightly on the top. The result should be somewhat of a teardrop shape. Spray it with hairspray; you’ll have to hold the shape until it dries.

Accessories

Gloves
This depends on whether you are dressing as a male or female character. Male characters can use cheap knitted winter gloves, the kind that come in 3-packs at Wal-Mart and other department stores. The fingers or fingertips are usually cut off; if your character has more complex gloves, like Tugger, you can buy biker gloves at a place like Spencer’s, but this is expensive and isn’t necessary for a good costume.
Female characters get a bit more complicated. Usually, you will have to buy evening gloves and cut the fingers or fingertips off, but evening gloves are expensive, as well as hard to find outside of prom season. Alternatively, you can use my favorite cheap glove method:
1) Take the legs from a pair of stockings (if you want, you can use the ones you cut off of the wig cap) and cut them to about 12-14 inches, or use knee-highs. Leave the foot part intact.
2) Place one stocking on top of your left hand so that the end of the stocking is at the base of your fingers. Using a Wite-out or fabric pen, put a dot on the stocking at the base of each finger and the thumb.
3) Cut a small circle in the stocking (about ¼ inch) around the dots. Do not run the circles together.
4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other hand. The gloves can now be slipped onto the hands.

Arm/legwarmers

The two best kinds of legwarmers (besides store-bought) are 1) knitted and 2) polar fleece. If you know how to knit (unlike me) or can find someone who will knit them for you, legwarmers are essentially yarn tubes or toeless socks; make sure they will fit you! The fleece method goes as follows:
1) Get two pieces of fleece in your color of choice that are about 2 feet square. (You can cut them to your desired length later.) Wrap one piece around your lower leg and pin it to fit.
2) With a sewing machine, stitch a seam about ½ inch away from the edges of the fabric, pulling out the pins as you go. Leave about 1- 1 ½ inches of unstitched fabric at the ankle end of the warmer.
3) If you want to hem the edges to make them look more professional, do this now: fold about ½ inch of of fabric outward and stitch it down very close to the edge of the fabric, being careful not to stitch through both sides of the legwarmer.
4) Turn the warmer right side out. You should now be able to slip it on your leg. If the bottom end is too narrow for your heel to slip through, turn the warmer inside out again, remove a few stitches, and backstitch several times over the end of the seam so it won’t unravel. Do this until you can fit your foot through.

This same technique works for armwarmers, except obviously you would pin the fabric to fit your arm instead of your leg, and you don’t have to leave any fabric open at the end of the seam.

Shoes

Once again, this depends on the kind of character you are planning to dress as; also on the circumstances in which you’ll be wearing your costume. If you are actually going to be in a performance of Cats, or even dancing a number or two, you’ll want to spring for a pair of dance shoes. Depending on the catalog you use, these can be expensive, but I’ve also seen ballet shoes available for about $14.
If you aren’t dancing – if the costume is for Halloween or cosplaying or something – girl characters can probably get away with plain-colored flats, providing they don’t have bows on them or anything. Guys, you will probably have to buy dance shoes no matter what, unless you are dressing like Tugger, in which case you can probably get away with wearing plain black sneakers or jazz sneakers.

Collars

Collars can come in many forms. Considering the recent punk/goth trend, it’s fairly easy to find studded collar-type chokers at such stores as Hot Topic or even Claire’s. They don’t even have to be spiked; female characters in particular can pretty much get away with any choker-type necklace that goes with their costume. For guys and girls alike, you can also buy actual dog collars for about $12 at pet store chains. They come in different sizes, so be sure you know it fits before you buy it.
Also, collars can be made by measuring out the right length of thick ribbon (3/4 to an inch wide), attaching Velcro to either end, and gluing on golf tees that are painted either gold or silver. (These are for characters with fairly extreme spikes, such as Tugger. Don’t use this method if you’re going to be dancing; those types of collars can be fairly dangerous in that situation.)
Remember, too – you don’t have to have a collar at all!