Girls Indian Costume Homemade by Daddy

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I just had to share this girls Indian costume that was homemade by her daddy for her school’s colonial days. This homemade costume couldn’t be easier and hardly costs anything to make.

Homemade Girls Indian Costume

When we saw the emails about needing colonial costumes for our kids, I immediately panicked. I’m not exactly what you’d call “crafty”, so to be honest, I ignored it initially. But after constant questions from my type-A first born about all the necessary requirements for her to be a historically correct Natchez Indian (and my Kindergartener’s adamant insisting that he wanted to be George Washington), I couldn’t sit back any longer.

I was comforted by her 2nd grade teacher after school who assured us we didn’t have to spend money on an actual costume. And I also figured that Britton’s old Captain Hook costume could adequately double as a George Washington costume (though it’s a 2-3 and we’ll have to cover up the pirate icon with an American flag 😉

So we armed ourselves with a 20% off Michaels coupon and invested about $5 in a large white adult t-shirt and some wooden beads.

How to Make an Easy Indian Costume

My handy husband took the shirt and notched all around the collar (being careful not to cut through the seam) and did the same with the sleeves to create fringe.

He also cut about 3 inches up all along the bottom hem to create larger trim. He then took the wooden beads and alternated colors and which fringe he chose to decorate, simply tying a knot at the bottom of the fringe he threaded the beads through.

We paired it with a fake leather belt I bought at H&M years ago and we’ll stick her hair in braids and VOILA! instant Indian princess!

Here is the final result!

Older Girls Indian Costume with Jeggings

UPDATE: A year later, but Kariss wanted to dress like an Indian for a Thanksgiving party at church, and I love how she paired it with jeggings, moccasin boots and a feather in her hair:

I must add, my daughter is now a teenager and having studied more of American history, she wants to make it clear that the correct term is “indigenous people”. While we were brought up saying “Indians” or “Native Americans”, neither of those are completely accurate. As with any other race or culture, it’s important to respect their history and recognize it is not our own.

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