Imaginative Play Dress-Up Crafts Made with Streamers for Young Kids

Streamers are fun to use when you create dress up clothes for kids to use during imaginative play. Children pretend or use imaginative play to help them understand and learn to interact with the people and world around them. Whether you are using paper or fabric streamers, you can make dress up clothes that are sure to please any little girl or boy and encourage imaginative play.

Skirt or Cape

Cut a piece of 1" wide ribbon long enough to tie around a child's waist and tie in a bow and form a skirt. Staple 2' long pieces of paper streamer along the length of the ribbon but leave enough of each end uncovered to tie the hula or fairy skirt around the child's waist for dress up play. For a longer lasting skirt, use strips of fabric as the streamers instead of paper. You can cut shorter or longer streamer pieces when you cut them for a shorter or taller child.

Glue or sew a second piece of ribbon on the inside of the waistband to cover the staples so they do not cut or scratch the child when she is wearing the skirt. You can also use the skirt as a cape. If you use fabric streamers strips, sew the pieces together instead of stapling. Sew on small bells at the end of each fabric streamer so the skirt or cape jingles when she wears it. You can dress up the waistband area with small silk or cut out flower shapes.

Crown or Veil

Make additional streamer costume pieces to accompany the skirt. Use covered jewelry or florist wire for a crown or veil. Make sure you cut the piece of wire long enough to circle the child's head and fasten by twisting the ends together at the back. Tie fabric streamers or staple paper streamers on the back half of the crown so they will hang down the back of the crown piece. You can dress up the front of the crown or veil with flat felt flowers or silk flowers glued in place. If you want a sparkly crown piece, use gold or silver craft pipe cleaners twisted together instead of the wire.

Magic Wand

Finish off the dress up ensemble with a magic wand. Paint a 1' to 1 ½' piece of 1/8" doweling in a color to coordinate with the streamer colors. Cut two matching poster board stars, crescent moons or circles of about 3" to 4" in size. Staple the two pieces together. Put glue on the end of the doweling and slide the joined pieces over that end of the piece of doweling. Make the shapes out of fabric for a longer lasting magic wand and sew the pieces together.

Staple or sew 1' to 2' long pieces of paper or fabric streamers around the outer edges of the shapes. Cut wider streamer pieces into half or third widths to make the streamer pieces thinner and more delicate looking. You can give the strips wavy edges as you cut them by using craft scissors with different shaped cutting edges.

Get the kids involved in the crafts. Let them help choose the streamer colors, shapes and decor items. They may have unique ideas of their own to add that will appeal to them personally. The children will have fun in their imaginative play time with their homemade dress-up streamer crafts.