The Common House Fly Costume

This was originally made with the intent that one of my daughters (the dragonfly this year) was going to be a flyswatter, but she finally fessed up and said she really didn't want to be a fly swatter, even though it would have given her permission for the night to swat her little brother and get away with it! My son that the fly costume was made for said he still wanted to be a fly, so the costume stayed.

Materials Needed

Wings:
Heavy-Duty Wire (Mechanic's Wire)
Black Pipe Cleaners
Gray Knee-High Nylons (Two pairs)
Self-Stick Velcro
Blue or Green Glitter Glue (OPTIONAL)
Zip ties

Eyes:
Clear glasses (can be found with sunglasses)
Super Glue, Spray Adhesive, or Hot Glue Gun
Googly Eyes
Black and Pink Pipe Cleaners

Bend the wire in the shape of four oval shaped wings, and layering the top set over the bottom set.

Zip tie the sets together in the middle. (You can tweak and bend the wires to your preferences later.)

Use the pipe cleaners to simulate the veins in the wings by twisting one end of the pipe cleaner to the wire frame and positioning as desired.

(If you don't have black pipe cleaners, you can use any color and spray paint them black.)

Next, use the knee-high nylons and cover the wings, taking care not to snag them on any wires sticking out of the pipe cleaner "veins". Secure the ends of the knee-highs to the middle of the wings with zip ties.

If you wish, you may take the glitter glue and brush it onto the side of the wings facing out to give it the "iridescent" look.

Add a strip of Velcro to the wings, attach to the costume wearer's shirt (black works best)

For the eyes, take the glasses, and using your preferred gluing method and attach the googly eyes to the outside of the lens, as close to the outside frame of the glasses as possible, so the wearer can still see out of them.

NOTE: You may use any material you wish (red sequins, red rhinestones, etc.)

Next, add the black and pink pipe cleaners to the nose piece of the glasses to make the antenna and tongue of the housefly.

Grand total to make was about $6