DIY Madeline Halloween Costume

I mentioned yesterday that Ellie is quite obsessed with this Madeline book. Dream come true for this mama! I used to watch Madeline every day after kindergarten, and still remember most of the episodes.

I had originally planned on having Ellie dress up as Anna from Frozen, but her costume got lost in the mail, so we improvised. DIY Madeline costume? Done and done! I love this costume so much, plus, it was super easy to make. For a quick tutorial (and more photos), keep scrolling down.

DIY Madeline Costume

Blue Knit Fabric (think maxi skirt material! I found mine at Joann’s for 50% off. I purchased a 1.5 yards, but 1 yard would have been plenty)
Matching blue thread
White Felt
Long Sleeve White Tee
Red Ribbon
Hat (I found this hat at Zurcher’s party store. You’d think we should get a discount there since it’s our name, right?)
White socks or tights
Black Shoes

First, I started out with making a quick jumper. I cut around one of Ellie’s dresses I had on hand, cutting a little bit bigger, so it didn’t get smaller when I sewed it.

Then, on one of the dress pieces, I cut a scoop neck for the front of the dress. You can finish off the edges on the neck, sleeves, and hem, or you can leave them as is, this fabric won’t fray. On her dress, I finished off the edges first. Then I pinned the front and back dress pieces together (inside out!) and sewed down the sides. With white felt, I cut out a Peter Pan collar, then attached it to the front of the dress.(I googled a few tutorials first, I would recommend doing the same!)

For the cape, I free hand cut a cape like shape. Then I stitched red ribbon to the top, front ends. I also took off the black fabric on the original hat and replaced it with the same red ribbon. To complete the look, add high white socks and black Mary Jane’s.

I finished her costume during naptime, and as soon as she woke up, she insisted on wearing it all day. In fact, ran around the house saying “Show Daddy! I Madeline! I Madeline!” She was thrilled, to say the least.

I added the peter pan collar to the jumper, just in case Ellie wasn’t a huge fan of the cape. I attempted to sew the Peter Pan collar onto the dress, but my dear ol’ sewing machine threw a fit, so I added a few drops of hot glue and called it good. Haha.

I think I’ll call this last minute Halloween costume a success! Ellie refuses to take it off and it took less than 45 minutes to make. Did you watch Madeline growing up? What are dressing up as for Halloween?