DIY Mermaid Costume Part 2

If you haven’t read part 1 yet check it out here!

Like I said in my first post, my goal is to preserve the integrity of the dress, so I needed a top that would cover it.

I started out by cutting the plain white tee into a tank top. I taped out the area that I needed to paint.

 

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After I had the base down, I tried the shirt on over the dress. Next it was time to embellish. I had a bunch of sequins that I used a glue gun to attach. I added shading and used puffy paint to add dot details.

This was probably the longest step. I added glitter glue and gems as well. Finally, I painted a scalloped edge in a darker color to add contrast. If you’re doing a project like this remember to have paper behind the fabric to catch extra paint since t-shirt material is pretty thin.

Here is the finished product:

The last picture is in the back where I wanted to add a little detail.

My next post will hopefully be the entire costume finished, so look forward to that!

DIY Mermaid Costume Part 1

So in case you’ve been sitting around wondering what my kitchen counter top looks like right now… TADA:

It’s almost Halloween, and while i’m usually the throw a costume together the night before kind of girl, this year i’ve decided to put a little more effort into my ensemble.

I have an hand-me-down prom dress that I never wore ( light blue sequined material in the left corner), and i’ve decided to turn it in to what I hope will be a very classy, blue mermaid gown that I can wear this year.

I’m trying to preserve as much of the dress as possible, so i’m having to be creative. I took out the layer of tool under it, but other than that I don’t want to alter the dress further.

bye bye scratchy tool!

My plan:

1. take out tool (done!)

2. Create attachable bottom piece to make the dress more of a mermaid style.

3. Cut, paint, and embellish plain white t-shirt that will cover top half of dress.

I’m using this picture of Kim’s Halloween costume as my inspiration. I like that way that she was a mermaid, but without showing any stomach.

A run down of my materials:

– prom dress

– white t-shirt

– random sheer fabric

– ribbons

– paints

– Mardi Gras beads

– buttons

– and pretty much anything else I can find around the house

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The next step i’m going to do is to cut and paint the shirt! Wish me luck. I’ll be keeping everyone updated on here.