Queen of Hearts Costume

Queen of Hearts and Clark Kent

Happy Halloween! I decided to be the Queen of Hearts for Halloween this year and since I have become quite crafty, I decided to take a chance and make my own costume:)  Tulle is one of my favorites! I use it a lot to make bows for gifts (I will post how to make a tulle bow next time I am wrapping a present).

Inspired by some cute and pretty pricey tulle costumes I found on Etsy, I decided to try my luck at making the skirt for my costume out of tulle.  Tulle is available in a variety of colors, finishes (matte,shinny, glittered) and is very easy to work with.

Supplies:

• 10 to 12 yards of shinny tulle (I used approximately 2 yds. yellow, 2 yds. white, 4 yds. red, 4 yds. black)
• 1 inch wide pajama elastic 
• 1 sheet (12 x 12) red stiffened felt 
• 1 sheet (16 x 16) gold glittered card stock 
• 1 spool of 1 1/2 inch wide red satin ribbon
• Heart stencil or cookie cutter 
• Tacky glue 
• Scissors
• Measuring board or tape measure 

First, I measured the elastic piece to fit securing around my upper torso (just below my chest).  I cut off the excess elastic and I secured the elastic in place by over lapping the ends and sewing across the band.  Remember, you want a snug fit and the elastic is very stretchy so don't worry too much if your elastic piece looks too small, you don't want to be pulling up your skirt all night long.

Securing the Elastic 

Next, I used my measuring board and scissors to cut the tulle into 72 inch x 7 inch strips. This is an  approximation so don't worry about being too precise, you can eye ball it if you don't having a tape measure.  I didn't want my dress to drag on the floor so if you prefer a longer skirt, just cut the strips as long as you like.


Then, I simply secured the tulle strips along the elastic band by folding each strip in half and loop tying around the elastic. The tulle strips should be approximately 36 inches long when folded in half.  To loop tie, place the looped side behind the elastic band and pull the two loose ends through the hole.


I secured the yellow tulle first as a starting point, this is the front of the skirt.  Once the yellow tulle was in place, I added the white tulle strips evenly to each side of the yellow.  I then filled around the sides and back alternating with the black and red tulle.

Loop Tied Tulle

As a finishing touch, I measured the red satin ribbon around the waist, leaving extra length on each side to tie a bow at the front of the skirt.  I folded the ribbon in half to find the middle and pinned it to the elastic waist band at the back of the skirt.  I straight stitched the ribbon to the back of the waist band to secure.  Then I brought the ribbon pieces back around (like a belt) and tied a ribbon at the front of the skirt to the side.

I used my heart cookie cutter to trace four hearts on to the red felt.  After cutting the hearts out, I used tacky glue to secure the hearts down the center of the yellow tulle.

Hearts 

I cut out a crown from the gold glittered card stock and glued, then stapled the two ends together to secure.  I hot glued some hair pins to the inside of the crown.

I completed my Queen of Hearts ensemble by wearing a black long sleeved top, black leggings and kitten heels.  I added earrings and my glittered crown and my costume was complete!

Happy Halloween! 

Lauren