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Mad As A Hatter

comments (1) November 2nd, 2009 in design, garment construction, tips & tricks, tools & supplies, reader's closet

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Curt82, member

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I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan and once I heard he'd be starring in Disney's new version of "Alice in Wonderland" opening in March 2010, I had to pay homage to it!

Here's my costume breakdown:

Hat: I made a pattern that would fit my head and be the right shape. I cut it out of green microsuede, heavy interfacing and reinforced the shape with cardborad strips. I stamped the outside with black and gold paint to create depth. I made the hatpins out of BBQ skewers and hot glue, painted them or embossed them and...magic! Homemade hatpins! The hat band (actually, hat scarf) is a piece of cotton I hemmed and frayed the ends to create fringe.

Wig & Eyebrows: I made a mold of my head using plastic wrap and duct tape. I then created a wig cap out of cheap, loose-weave cotton. I sewed the hair onto it and using rollers, a lot of product and an iron I created the kinky texture. I made the eyebrows by attaching the hair to two layers of tulle.

"Shirt": In Florida, where I am, it was unseasonably warm this Halloween. So, I created a dickie and matching cuffs with lace trim out of pink cotton fabric. The bow tie is a leopard print fabric (that I got for free from a clothing boutique!) that I painted with screen printing ink to get all of the colors.

Gloves & Hands: I traced my hand and made the cutoff gloves. I made the "thread Spool Thimbles" out of 3/4" CPVC pipe, gold paint and red yarn (I didn't have blue yarn to match my inspiration!).

Jacket & Chain: The jacket is made from cheap fabric, using the wrong side as the right side and a store bought pattern. I embellished it with random, mis-matched buttons and bias tape on the bottoms of the sleeves. The "THread Spool Chain" is made from 1/2" tubing, white vinyl, cardstock and gold cording.

Pants: The pants are just a simple pattern that I'd already made and shortened to the proper length.

Socks: The socks are actually fake: They are spandex tubes that I made long enough to fit into my shoes and over my knees!

Spats: I made the spats out of lime green cotton fabric that I then painted with yellow-orange acrylic paint. I finished the edges with black bias tape.

So, that's how I did it! As you've read, I only used a store bought pattern for my jacket; the rest I made to suit my inspiration pictures. I hope everyone enjoys it and is inspired to use random objects in creating future costumes and clothing!!

Pattern or design used: Huffington Post: Alice in Wonderland Movie (March 2010)