Coolest Homemade Aviator in a Hot Air Balloon Halloween Costume Idea

This is my daughter dressed in the Coolest Homemade Aviator in a Hot Air Balloon Costume that I made for her. My daughter wanted to be a hot air balloon for Halloween for a long time but it took me almost a year to come up with a way to make a perfect looking balloon.

Firstly I made the Aviator costume, I used a shirt pattern to make the aviator jacket and used a lightweight faux leather fabric for the main part of the jacket and then trimmed it with cream colored faux fur on the collar and wrists and used Velcro for the front. I made faux aviator badges on the computer printed on card stock trimmed out and glued onto the jacket. I used a lightweight cotton fabric that had a hounds tooth pattern for the pants and altered the pattern to make the pants pouf at the sides. The scarf is made with red fleece fabric cut to shape. The aviator cap is made with a medium weight faux leather vinyl fabric and I had to just estimate the shape and size of the cap using measurements of my daughters head and looking at photos I found on the internet because I didn’t have a pattern. The goggles and boots were purchased at a second hand store. I used lightweight fabric for most of her costume because we live in Florida and it can be very hot on Halloween and I didn’t want her to over heat.

For the hot air balloon I started with the basket and I used a large lightweight basket and cut out the bottom. I covered the rough edges of the cut out bottom with brown craft foam glued on to it so that it wouldn’t snag onto my daughters legs when she was standing in the basket. I made faux sand weights with burlap fabric stuffed with polyfil and tied with strings and glued to the sides of the basket. I made a sign for the basket on the computer and printed it onto card stock paper and glued it to the front of the basket. I made shoulder straps with left over faux leather fabric and glued them to the basket so that my daughter could stand in the basket and hold it up over her shoulders easily.

I then created the hot air balloon using a large Swedish balance exercise ball. I carefully measured the ball and then created a pattern of strips of cotton fabric in the same shapes you find on a globe with some extra at the bottom to create the air vent. I then sewed all the pieces together and then deflated the exercise ball, I then inserted the ball into the fabric shape and re-inflated the ball until it fit nicely into the fabric. I then created a large circle that was slightly smaller than the circumference of the balloon with green plastic covered gardening wire stakes taped together with duct tape and then I used 4 more wire garden stakes to hold up the circle and used duct tape to hold all pieces together. I then secured the 4 poles into the basket with a hot glue gun and more duct tape and then covered the top circle of the garden wire with gold fringe. Then I placed the fabric-covered balloon on top of the top circle and because it was slightly smaller than the balloon it didn’t fall through and it balanced on top securely and didn’t fall off. I needed the balloon to easily come off so that I could transport the costume for my daughter to go to a party.

This Homemade Aviator in a Hot Air Balloon Halloween Costume Idea was a big hit everywhere!.

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