HAPPY HALLOWEEN, GUYS AND GHOULS! This year, like so many other years, Lance and I went with a Disney-themed, DIY couple’s costume. The only difference? This year we were villains! Say hello to Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.
Before we get into the specifics of how I made this year’s costumes, you should get in the spooky spirit. Here’s my Halloween playlist. You’re welcome. (What? You didn’t know there was Halloween music? You’ve clearly never worked retail. Any other former Hot Topic employees have really fond memories of the Halloween store playlist?)
Alright, let’s get specific. I’m okay at sewing. Like… only okay. I don’t have a machine because they always confused me, if that gives you an idea of my sewing skills. So, instead of going totally DIY for Halloween I like to take existing items and transform them into the costumes. If you can’t follow a pattern, but you don’t want to go store-bought, it’s the best option. That being said, these did take a while, largely because I did each step wrong a few times before figuring out the best approach. Is it even a DIY project if you don’t lose your temper, hurt yourself, and/or pour yourself a third drink? Didn’t think so.
Captain Hook
Materials
- Cheap Renaissance costume dress
- 4 yards cheap lace fabric
- Gold ribbon
- 5 safety pins
- 2 sets of snaps
- Bendable black floppy hat
- Feather
- Gold and red cord
- Plastic hook
- Black wig
- Eyeliner
- Basic sewing supplies
- Hot glue gun
- White tank top
- Black leggings/pants
- Boots
- Pirate jewelry
Directions
- Cut the bottom of the dress to your desired coat length, then cut down the middle to open it like a coat. Sew a basic hem along the edges you cut. Glue ribbon along edges, then add support stitches to keep it in place.
- To make the shirt ruffle, cut one yard of lace, then cut it into three strips of different sizes lengthwise. (Confused? You want three strips of fabric that are each one yard long.) Pin the three strips together and sew, scrunching the fabric as you go to create a shingle-like bib of fabric. Attach snaps on the edges of this new bib, as well as on the edges of your coat. This allows you to pin them to the coat so it looks like a shirt underneath the jacket. Add safety pins to keep it in place if the fabric is too heavy.
- For the sleeves, cut one-and-a-half yards of lace fabric, fold it in half lengthwise and sew a running stitch down the fold. Scrunch the fabric up as you go so you end up with enough bunched-up lace as you need to wrap around your elbow. Flip your coat’s sleeves inside out and stitch the lace into place, allowing it to hang out of the edge. Repeat on the other side.
- To create the hat, fold the brim of the hat up in two locations and safety pin into place. Glue a thick gold ribbon around the hat. Cover the bottom of your feather in hot glue and stick it between the ribbon and hat. Attach a rope trim to the edge of the hat using more hot glue, then add stitches to secure it into place. Use a scrap of leftover coat fabric to cut a headband to go between the wig and your hat.
Oh, and in case you’re curious, here’s what that coat looked like before I got started…
(Er, the back of it… I forgot to take a picture before I started cutting. Whoops!)
…and here’s the original hat…
Pretty proud of that one! Now, onto my trusty sidekick, Mr. Smee…
Mr. Smee
Materials
- Blue t-shirt
- White t-shirt
- Fabric glue
- Basic sewing supplies
- Sunglasses
- Beanie
- Cheap white faux fur
- Broken pocket watch
- Shorts and sandals (or pants and sneakers, ‘cus it’s coooolllddd)
Directions
- For the top, cut strips of the white t-shirt and dot fabric glue on the back. Place them on the blue shirt and let them dry. Sew them into place. (You can do this nicely, or with a contrasting thread and big stitches like I did for a pirate vibe. This definitely isn’t because I was sick of sewing by the time I got to this part…)
- Carefully pop the lenses out of the (cheap!!!) sunglasses to make fake glasses.
- Attach rectangles of faux fur to the beanie using a few stitches to create sideburns.
You could also just buy a shirt, which we did… without realizing it was not sold in adult US sizes. Be smarter than us. Read the Amazon description before you order.
So, what do you guys think? I’m really happy with how these turned out. Also, I get to wear basically pajamas under my costume, so after years of tight and/or short costumes I’m thrilled to be so comfortable.
What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
