DIY Harry Potter costumes
And so, after spending a year feeling guilty about dropping waaaaay too much money in the stupid Halloween store — and coming to the conclusion that DIY costumes aren’t always cheaper — I present to you … our sorta-bought, sorta-DIY Harry Potter costumes …
Pretty cute, right? Here’s the breakdown of what we cobbled together for each costume …
DIY Hermione Granger costume
- Oversized drapey black cardigan of mine (for the robe)
- Plain grey dress with a black tunic layered for warmth (it’s Canada, yo)
- Gryffindor tie I sewed using this great free tie pattern
- $10 Time Turner* ordered from Chapters Indigo
- $18 Hermione Granger wand* ordered from Amazon
- Naturally curly awesome hair
DIY Harry Potter costume
- Maroon and gold Quidditch robe I sewed (badly) that was kinda tight in the shoulders, oops
- Jean jacket underneath for warmth (again — it’s Canada and it’s cold)
- Gryffindor tie I sewed using this great free tie pattern
- $18 Harry Potter wand* ordered from Amazon
- Cheap $1 sunglasses with the lenses popped out
- Lightning bolt scar drawn on with liquid eyeliner
- DIY Quidditch broom (see below)
I figured the robe would be a breeze since I sew clothes all of the time, but … no. I took measurements and progress pictures in case I was going to share a full tutorial on it, but it didn’t fit D well in the shoulders and I’m not happy with how it turned out. Oh well. It was wearable, at least.
DIY Quidditch broom
- $1.50 broom head from the Dollar Store (they sell them separately from the handles, which is quite interesting)
- Large stick somebody found somewhere in the woods and left on our porch (thanks?)
- Brown tape (I bought wood-grain paper tape but would have preferred brown duct tape if I could have found it in the dumb store)
- Clear packing tape (since the paper tape was weaksauce)
It was super easy, as you can see in the photos. I just taped the broom head to the end of the stick (with the clear packing tape) and then wrapped the whole thing with two rolls of brown wood-grain tape. Could have used a third roll but the clearance section at the craft store wasn’t very forthcoming.
D didn’t bring it trick-or-treating, thankfully. MOM WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CARRYING THAT THING AROUND. But he likes zooming around the house on it.
Annabelle was going as Dobby the house elf, whether she liked it or not. (She did not.) I just ripped up a scrap of white fabric to be the “pillowcase” Dobby wears before he’s freed, and knotted it around her front. Then I ripped a small hole for the loop of her harness, and she was good to go. She happily trick-or-treated with us for the full two hours. Some people thought she was a ghost. Eh.
As for me? I was Rita Skeeter, the evil reporter! (The kids wanted me to be Professor McGonagall but it felt too boring.)
DIY Rita Skeeter costume
- Green cardigan I already owned
- Large piece of dark green felt tied around me as a scarf
- Sunglasses with the lenses popped out
- Red lipstick (plus winged eyeliner just because)
- Silver spray-on hair colour (since I wasn’t buying a blonde wig just for this)
- Dark green notebook with taped-on labels saying “Quick Quotes Quill” and “Property of RIta Skeeter”
- Black pen covered in green felt to be the Quick Quotes Quill
***
I can’t believe this was my ninth Halloween dressing up with the kids! (SEE THE PREVIOUS YEARS’ COSTUMES HERE) D is already saying he wants to be a vampire or a biker next Halloween, so who knows what I’ll be. Maybe something with a large box? That sounds uncomforable but also cool?
Happy (belated) Halloween!
xo
2 Comments on “DIY Harry Potter costumes”
So what do you think?
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Heather's Handmade Life 
love these costumes!
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Thanks, Meghan!
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