How to make a quick and easy Ancient Egyptian costume for school

Help! You need an Ancient Egyptian outfit for school tomorrow and it's got to be easy to make… But don't worry because here's our simple, no-sew, Show Me version…


All photos © Rachel Hayward

For the no-sew tunic (boy or girl) you will need:
An old white sheet (that your parents don't mind you cutting up!), sewing scissors and a measuring tape.

Get a grown-up to measure you for the length of your outfit to just below your knee.

For our 9 year old models, we cut a metre in length and 70cm for the width.

Fold the material lengthwise in half and cut a quarter shape out of the folded corner for your neck hole as shown in the photo (see left).

Just use a belt round your waist to secure your tunic in place.

Click on the link for
how to make an Ancient Egyptian collar of beads.

See a real Ancient Egyptian collar of beads and find out what they were made of in the British Museum online collection.

See an Ancient Egyptian picture of the collars being made.

Click on the link for
how to make an Ancient Egyptian scarab necklace.

Did you know that the scarab beetle was a symbol of creation for the Ancient Egyptians?

Find out more and see a real scarab Ancient Egyptian beetle decoration in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery's online collection, BMAGiC.

Head dress/belt
We glued pumpkin seeds along a strip of card and then painted it gold for the headdress but you can just create a pattern with felt tip pens.

Good luck with your outfit and don't forget to
send us a photo!