Yarrrr! Pirate Costume
Featured on the CBS Early Show in a segment devised by and starring Natalie Zee Drieu of CRAFT Magazine!
Time:
Active Time: 2-4 hours (depending on whether your
child is going to help you. If so, it will make
everything go faster!)
Inactive time (to allow fabric paint, glue and painted
sword handle to dry): 8 hours
Materials:
Craft/Fabric Store
2 yards of wide double-faced satin ribbon in red
Red bandana
1 small sheet black craft felt
2 yards brown craft felt
1 package black iron-on velcro (in one long strip)
1 package ¼ inch black woven elastic
Black thread
Brown thread
Hand sewing needle
Silver, White or Black slick fabric paint (depending
on the color t-shirt you are going to stencil—pick a
color that will stand out)
Gold acryllic paint
2 Sponge brushes
*Optional but useful: Sewing machine (you are only
going to sew four straight seams by machine, which you
can certainly do by hand, or using fabric glue if you
don’t have a machine).
Premade:
Black leggings or narrow-botttom pants
Solid color long-sleeve cotton t-shirt for
stenciling—black, white or red
Steam Iron
Misc/Grocery Store:
Freezer Paper (in the same aisle of the grocery store
as waxed paper, cling wrap etc)
Aluminum Foil
Duct Tape
Black sharpie or marker
White glue
Cardboard (a packing box works well)
Cardboard toilet paper roll
Newspaper
Make Stencil:
1. Download and print out Skull & Crossbones stencil
from the CRAFT website
2. Place a sheet of freezer paper shiny side down over
the printout, and use your marker to trace the image
onto the matte side of the freezer paper.
3. Using a craft knife or small, sharp scissors, cut
inside the lines of the design to make a negative to
paint on your shirt. Carefully cut out the eyes and
nose inside the skull and set them aside—you’ll be
ironing them on the shirt in their original position
after you’ve ironed on the main stencil.
4. Place your stencil shiny side down on the center
front of the shirt. Using the medium setting on your
iron and no steam, carefully iron the stencil so that
it adheres to the shirt. Once it is set, pace the
eyes and nose inside the skull and very carefully iron
them in place
5. Allow the shirt and stencil to cool, slide a sheet
of cardboard or newsprint iside the shirt to keep
paint from bleeding through from the front. *This is
a good place to have your child step in!
6. Use your sponge brush to dab the exposed shirt
inside the stencil with fabric paint until it is well
covered.
Set aside to dry thoroughly for at least 8
hours or overnight. When it is dry, gently peel away
the freezer paper. You may need to use the point of a
pair of small scissors to gently lift an area of the
eye and nose pieces to begin peeling.
Make the Sword
1. Draw a curved cutlass shape on a piece of
cardboard, remembering to include a straight “handle”
at the bottom.
2. Cut out two identical pieces of cardboard based on
your traced design
3. Lay your two cutlass pieces so they are a mirror
image of each other, and spread the “blade” of each
with glue.
4. Press glued portion of the blade to a sheet of
aluminum foil, repeat with second blade.
5. Once the glue is dry and secure, cut the foil
around the blade leaving ½ inch of aluminum foil
around the edge. Fold this extra ½ inch over to the
exposed cardboard side of the blade so that it covers
the cut edge.
6. Spread the remaining exposed cardboard on the
blades with glue and press them together. Use elastic
bands to hold them together while they dry if
necessary.
7. Slide the toilet paper roll over the “handle”
portion of the sword. Stuff the roll with aluminum
foil to keep it roundish, use silver duct tape across
the exposed top of the toilet paper roll to keep the
stuffing in.
Your child can probably take it from
here…
8. Paint the toilet paper roll and any remaining
exposed cardboard of the handle with gold acryllic
paint and allow to dry.
Make the Swashbuckling Buccaneer Boots
1. Lay one leg of the leggings or pants on a piece of
newsprint.
2. Make marks at the inseam of the ankle, knee and
mid-thigh on the newsprint
3. Connect the marks and draw a diagonal line from the
ankle point about 3 inches below (to cover the top of
the child’s shoe).
4. Cut long the lines to create the boot pattern.
5. Make a fold in the brown felt and place the
straight edge of the newsprint pattern along the fold.
Pin the pattern to the doubled layers of felt. Make a
small cut at the “knee” to indicate where the boot-top
will be folded down.
6. Cut around the newsprint and voila! You have one
boot. Repeat step 5 to make the second one.
7. Cut a length of iron-on velcro that will fit
between the small cut you made at the knee of the boot
and the ankle. Follow the directions on the velcro
package to attach each side of the velcro to the edges
of the boot so that it will close into a cylinder
around your child’s calf once the velcro is closed.
Repeat on your second boot piece and you have your
boots!
Make the Vest:
1. Fold your t-shirt in half lengthwise and lay the
fold along the straight edge of a piece of newsprint.
2. Trace along the neckline and shoulder, then from
the underarm to the hem.
3. Remove the shirt and draw a curve between the
shoulder line and the beginning of the underarm.
4. Mark a second line 1/2″ away from your traced line
along the shoulder and side, leaving the armhole curve
line as is.
5. Cut around the second line to have your basic vest
pattern piece.
6. Fold the brown felt and pin the vest pattern piece
so that the straight edge is lined up with the fold.
7. Cut around the pattern piece to create the vest
back.
8. This time you’re making the front of the vest
which needs to be two pieces that open, so pin the
pattern down to two layers of felt, but not along a
fold.
9. Cut around the pattern piece to have two vest
front pieces.
Vest front and back pieces
10. Pin the front pieces to the back at the shoulders
and sides.
11. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew the pieces
together at the two top shoulder seams and the two
side seams.
12. Press the seams open.
13. Hand the vest over to your child so that she can
cut some ragged edges into the bottom of the vest to
make it more piratey.
Make Eye Patch:
1. Cut out eye patch pattern from sheet you downloaded
earlier
2. Pin pattern to black craft felt and cut around it
3. Measure your child’s head, across one eyebrow and
around the back of the head. Cut a piece of black
elastic that measures this length MINUS ½ inch
4.Hand stitch the raw edges of the elastic to the eye
patch at sides of the straight top edge.
Final Touches
1. Once your child is wearing the top and pants, wrap
the satin ribbon twice around her waist and tie at the
side with a large double knot. Tuck the sword into
this “sash” at your child’s side (preferrably across
from her sword arm).
2. Fold the bandana in half diagonally and tie it
around the top of your child’s head.
3. Put on the eye patch over the bandana, use hair
pins to secure if you’re worried about it slipping
around on your child’s head.
You’re done! Go and find some booty, matey!