Preschool Thanksgiving Costumes: Indian Vest

When I was a kid we had a Thanksgiving feast at preschool. We all dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians, sat cross-legged on the floor, and ate popcorn and creamed corn. It was so fun! This time I get to dress up my own preschooler. Here's the first tutorial of Thanksgiving costumes. We will tackle the Pilgrim next time.

To make your Indian vest you will need a brown paper grocery bag.

I turned this brown paper bag inside out because I wanted my vest ALL brown, even on the back. I then crinkled the bag up to give it a leather look. If you really want to get fancy and you have some time, spray the paper bag with some water and then crinkle. It looks really nice and it's a LOT easier to crinkle. I rushed through this "vest" so it's not going to be pretty or fancy.

Open your bag up again.

Take a warm iron to flatten the vest out again.

Cut holes for the arms and neck, and one straight cut up the front for the vest opening. Here's a rough diagram of how to cut the bag.

It should look something like this.

Cut some "fringe" along the bottom of the bag, and decorate! Markers aren't the best for decorating. I prefer tempera paints or crayons. You could also use ribbons, rickrack or colored paper to add some flair.

We just might have to make these for dinner one of these nights and make up Indian names for each other.