All of my thanks and gratitude to Larisa the Loud, wench extraordinaire, for passing along this tip to me. It also works for skinny men...

POOFY SHIRTS FOR BOYS IN 5 EASY STEPS
by Willa, ATF Staff Writer

I was in a bit of a bind about two weeks ago when I realized that my sons had outgrown their garb from last year. I pretty much panicked. Especially when they looked at me with those gorgeous blue eyes and said, "Mommy, we wanna be PIRANTS!" (They're 3 & 4...we allow them their quirky childhood mispronunciations.)

So, I thought and thought about an easy way to create some good garb for them on a very strict and nonexistent budget. The cheapest place I found for children's garb claimed that what I wanted would cost about $100 for the two outfits. HA! Double HA! Don't they know I'm a performer?

In the midst of talking to a good friend of mine, I discovered that she had come across the same problems, only it was for her boyfriend and not for any kids. She passed along some great tips that she came up with and I'm going to pass them along to you. Mothers of small boys everywhere will kiss my feet! Actually, you can just have your sons kiss my hands...you don't wanna go near the feet...

I spent about two or three days on a whirlwind spree of the local Goodwills and Salvation Armies with my buddy in tow (who was having more fun than I'd ever imagine a childless adult to have!) and we came up with some great finds. For about $20 total, we found four vests (women's in small sizes...perfect for pirates), three pairs of pants (mostly leggings), head scarves (from Hobby Lobby), two pairs of boots (brown leather combat type), as well as "pouches" (small purses), leather belts and yes, we even found tankards!

The greatest find of all were two oxford shirts that were about 6 - 8 sizes too big for my kids. And the point of this article is to tell you why.

See, an oxford shirt is just a very modernized poofy. With a few simple snips here and there, a bit of thread and some elastic, you can turn this oxford BACK into it's original poofy state! Yes! And I did two of them in the span of an hour and a half!

(That's where you gasp and claim it can't be done...)

Yes, it can! Follow these steps and you, too, will be a very happy person with poofy shirts galore!

	1. Get an oxford shirt that is about 6 or 8 sizes too big. My older son wears a size 5 and we got him a size 12 shirt.
	2. If the shirt has front pockets, seam rip those off. Or, if you're like me and can never find your seam ripper at times like these, just use a pair of scissors and have fun...
	3. I marked here where you should cut the collar, but I'm not sure if you can see clearly. You have to cut off the upper part of the collar...the vee part. And make sure you cut off any buttons that are there to hold down the collar. You just want that stiff collar right at the seam so you don't have to do any sewing on this part.
	4. Next, cut the cuff off right above where the fold ends. This is where you need the elastic. Measure around the boy's wrist and add an inch or two for good measure. Sew a cuff into the end of the sleeve and thread the elastic through as you would with any poofy shirt sleeve cuff.
	5. Cut off the front buttons and button holes all the way up to the collar. Simply sew up the front and leave a bit of room at the top for a vee neck. Sew those edges under so they don't fray.

Surprise! You now have a poofy shirt! Here's what the finished product looks like, both alone and with costume. Very easy! Now your kids can, indeed, look better than you at festival for literally a fraction of the money! Meet Captain Turtle (in the red) and Stripey the Pirate (in the blue).

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Permanent festivals in our area: Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bristol Renaissance Faire, Des Moines Renaissance Faire and Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Other ATF sites: DisneyFans.com DMHauntedHouses.com