Halloween is my favorite time of the year so I always try to make my own costume. This year I decided to be an owl! Here is how I did it!

After searching Google images I took a few different costume ideas and compiled different aspects to make my own costume.

What I used:

A cotton fitted beige dress
5 assorted brown / beige fabrics
Fabric glue (lots of it)
Hot glue gun / glue
Scissors
Chalk
Feathers
Plastic Glasses
Paper

I definitely had a hoot making it and I received lots of compliments on the outfit!

Step 1: Step 1: Creating the Feathers

To create the feathers I cut out a stencil from card stock paper in the size and shape that I wanted the feathers to be in. I then traced it over and over onto the backside of my fabric using chalk. I used 5 different colors/textures of fabrics. After tracing I cut out all the feathers.

Step 2: Step 2: Gluing the Dress

I don't have a sewing machine / am not particularly fond of sewing so I opted to glue my feathers on. The dress I used was a tight fitting cotton dress. I wouldn't recommend a stretchy-fabric dress like I chose as it is quite difficult to work with. I ran a strip of glue along the top of the feather, then pressed it onto the dress for a few seconds until it held. Unfortunately since my dress stretches I had to stretch it out while placing the feathers on so that I would still be able to fit into it, this method proved troublesome and took much longer as I had to wait for the glue to dry before moving onto another area. I overlapped the feathers in a random pattern and worked my way up row by row.

Step 3: Step 3: Complete Dress

I put feathers all the way up the front of the dress but on the back I only went with a skirt style. I needed the back of the dress to remain un-feathered so that I would still be able to stretch the dress to fit into it. I would recommend having a dress that doesn't require stretching it to put it on. I also had to leave the shoulder straps feather free so I could stretch them to get into it. I trimmed the feathers on the outer edge so I would have a straight edge of feathers running down the seams.

Step 4: Step 4: the Wings

For the wings I cut the fabric to reach from my shoulder blade to my wrist and made them accurate to my body size. I then repeated the gluing process. I decided to only cover half the wing with feathers for two reasons; 1: Weight: I didn't want the wings to be too heavy and 2: Time: I was short of time and tired of having glue all over my fingers. I attached them to my costume using safety pins on my shoulder straps and onto a hair tie around my wrist. I didn't attach the base of the wing to my lower back to allow for more mobility in my arms.

Step 5: Step 5: the Mask

I used a selection of brown and white crafting feathers for the mask. I glued them on in layers to a pair of plastic glasses until I go the desired look I was going for. The beak was made from card stock that I cut out and fastened on with a hot glue gun.

Step 6: Step 6: All Done!

The costume was time consuming to make because it required so many feathers to be cut out; however, the costume is pretty simple and I loved wearing it!