Trick or Treat: DIY Halloween Mermaid Costume

Halloween is such a fun holiday filled with candy, scary movies, and silly costumes.  I wanted to take a crack at making my costume this year.  I mean that is the Domesticated Diva way!  I did a little research on Pinterest for inspiration.  I knew I wanted to repurpose some of my old clothes that were lying around in my closet.  This is what I came up with...

Cute right?!? This is the PG rated mermaid costume, since I was wearing it to work.  You can easily wear the costume without the white tank top.

The original Domesticated Diva herself, Martha Stewart, has a wonderful tutorial done by the hilariously talented designer Christian Siriano.  Find the tutorial here.

|supplies|

-disclaimer- I did not use the shiny silver top because the seashells did not stick to it well.

|additional supplies not in picture|

+ leftover white foam page

+ stretchy sequin ribbon

+ clear plastic beads

+ needle and thread that matches the fabric colors

+ glue gun

+ scissors

+ craft paints of your choice

|how to|

{1} I started out by cutting out the fabric for the mermaid fin skirt.  The fabric and tulle will be the "fin" portion of the skirt.  I used a little over 2 yards of tulle.  I cut the tulle into about 36" long strips.  The length will depend on how tall you are and how long your skirt is.  Then I cut the heavier fabrics (shiny poly satin and shiny sequin fabric) into 18" x 18" square pieces.

{2} Then, I sewed on the one of the heavier pieces of fabric onto my green tube top which is now functioning as my skirt.  I sewed the top middle piece of the fabric to the tube top.  I put the sequin fabric piece on each of the ends and the solid shiny poly satin in the middle.  Do the same thing to the back side of the skirt. 

Here's how it should look

{3} Then hot glue 4 pieces of tulle around all the sewn fabric pieces.

{4} Next, cut semi circles out of the fleece sheets.  These will be the "scales" of the mermaid fin skirt.  I used three different green colors to make the scales pop.



{5} Then hot glue the scales onto the skirt.  I started from the bottom and worked my way to the top.

Finished Mermaid Fin Skirt

{6} Next paint two seashells with the color of your choice. 

{7} Hot glue the seashell to your bikini top.  Since the seashell still did not feel secure, I secured the shell with thread.  Then, I hot glued clear beads on the shell for added sparkle.  After gluing the clear beads on, the thread was not that noticeable. 

{8} For my head band, I cut about 14" of the stretchy sequin ribbon.  I measured by head and sewed the ribbon together.  I then drew a starfish design on the foam sheet using a sharpie.  I used some metallic sliver paint and painted over the starfish design.  I cut out the starfish shape, and hot glued it to the stretchy sequin headband.

{9} I completed the mermaid look with makeup.  I used gem stickers, glitter gel makeup, green eyeshadow, and fake eyelashes.

The Completed Mermaid Costume