The making of a solar System costume

It was time for the annual “book character parade” at school this week. Kids get to choose a book and dress up as a their favorite character in it. My 8 year old son really challenged my creative mind by asking me to make a “Solar system costume” for him.

For a moment I truly though about changing his mind about it, but then I noticed he was holding his favorite book. The one I got for him in a garage sale when he was just 2 years old, and that still sits by his bedside table among his favorite night time books to read.

At the time I bought it because it looks like a real vintage- treasure book…and surely was. Published in 1963 , Is my understanding that “Our planets and it’s planets” by Angelo Rocca is not longer being printed.

With so little time to go and still recovering from a surgery myself I couldn’t afford to go to the shops, so I took the challenge.
I decided that the fastest way to go was to hunt for ideas in the web, put a few of them together and use what I already had at home.
So that’s what I did! and this are the results

I must advice that what looks like a simple DIY project could turn into a nightmare if you don’t have a silicone glue gun.

Sadly, mine had some how disappeared from my crafty corner and so I tried spray adhesive glue. The process became so complicated and frustrating that I couldn’t take pictures to guide you through a tutorial, and some of the orbits came undone right at the end of the parade at school.
I will still post some general ideas in how I did it and will give some suggestions at the end in how I would have done it if I had the chance to get the right materials, hoping that you will get better results if you want to adventure in a similar project.

WHAT I USED

Old pants and jumper.
Print out of planets and stars ( I found my in Dr google)
Cotton twine, silver beads, Sparkle nail polish ,adhesive spray and sticky tape
One yard of black flannelette fabric for the cape.
Orange cardboard and elastic string to make the sun (mask

HOW TO

I made my son wear the suit to calculate and draw where the orbits will be.
I print and cut out the planets and put a layer of thick sticky tape on top. (see picture above) This not just make the planets ha that shiny looking but it made the paper sturdy.
I attached the orbits and planets with adhesive spray.
I made the asteroids belt by adding touches of sparkle nail polish and by gluing silver beads with super glue. (I didn’t have silicone… remember ?)
I made a cape and pasted stars and more planets to make it look like the infinite universe was behind the solar system.
I draw a big circle in the orange cardboard , the size of a dinner table, to make for the sun. and added with staples the elastic string.

WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE ( in a perfect world)

Get any strong glue like silicone to glue the orbits and put more beads and etc in the asteroid belt .( or maybe with more time even embroider into the fabric the orbits with an outline stitch)
Print out the planets in ironing transfer paper.( This would have made the suit washable and reusable. )
Put some more starts and galaxies in the cape.

Aw!!.. crafting is one in a kind of adventure! This one was a messy one but ended up looking really good!

Good luck with yours!