Sometimes you just need a quick and easy costume. One of my favorite ways to whip up a costume in a jiffy is to make really cool DIY accessories that can be added to regular clothes. This is a DIY tutorial for my 3 piece Vintage Harlequin Clown accessories.
This is especially awesome if you’re on a budget and have a bunch of parties or events to go to: it’s super versatile. I LOVED the high waist short and contrasting striped shirt we dressed up my fantastic model Kelsey in, but you could slut it up (and I mean that in the best way) with a skimpy leotard, sexy dress, or maybe pair the shorts with a corset or halter bra for a pin up vibe.
I actually wore it to an early Halloween party while my main costume was still in progress, and it was a big hit. (The top, skirt, tights and shoes are all direct from my closet.)
Included in this tutorial are instructions to make a cone hat, ruffle collar and ruffle cuffs.
Beginner level, low cost, and can be done in an afternoon; what’s not to <3?
Enjoy!
NOTE FOR SUPPLIES: You want to get fabric 45″ wide or wider. The wider the fabric the more “ruffley” your collar will be (and yeah I just made up a word, so deal). If you’ve never shopped for fabric before, read this, then proceed.
Don’t forget to download my cone template!
- TIP: I used the large size for my human-sized hat you see in the pictures and I used small and medium for doll sized “party skeletons” that I used to decorate my “Circus of the Damned” theme Halloween party. You could also totally use the small version and glue it to a headband for a cute mini-hat look.
Repeat for opposite side of the hat. You’ll use these tabs to secure the hat to your hair with bobby pins.
Repeat step one with your second printed fabric- this time making a 6 1/2 ” fold.
NOTE: Save the excess fabric you trim off. You’ll use that to make the cuffs.
TIP: You should end up with 15 inches marked off directly in the center of your ribbon and 12 1/2″ of ribbon left over at either end.
Start with your left over fabric from the ruffle collar.
TIP: Before moving on to the next step, trim edges so they’re nice and even like the photo in step one.
- OH SNAP! Note on using snap closures: Each closure comes with two pieces (an “innie” and an “outie” if you will) that, uh, well, snap together. Cleverly named, these things are… but I digress. You will need to make sure that you keep track of which pieces are innies and which are outies as you apply them to your cuffs. Otherwise they won’t snap together, k?
Repeat steps 4-8 for the other cuff and your done! Enjoy! XOXO
Love note from JoJo: This post was originally a 3-part post condensed and reformatted on 6/21/14.
