Coolest Dia De Los Muertos Costume

I love Halloween and find it my own personal challenge to hand make all my costumes. This year I wanted to create a Victorian “La Catrina” Day of the Dead costume.

I began by crocheting the collar from a vintage pattern found in the fall 2011 “Crochet Traditions” magazine. I added several more rows than the pattern to make it bigger and sewed on beads and velvet ribbon to tie it around my neck.

I luckily found the fabric I wanted on sale for only $5 a yard! I bought a pattern to make the bodice, but changed the sleeves and neckline.

I made the bustle by taking pillow, folding it in half, and sewing the ends together. Then I put a belt through the center and strapped it around my waist.

I put the bustle on a dress form and made the layers of skirts by draping them on the form until I liked it, and pinned everything where I wanted it. There is an underskirt that can be seen in the front that has fringe sewed to it, a skirt that snaps over this one in the back that has the train, a small ruched layer in the front and a layer on top of the bustle. Each of these layers snaps to the one below it.

I bought plain black elbow length gloves and painted the skeleton onto them actually with house paint and detailed with crayons.

The hat was a pirate hat that I bought, but removed all of the ribbon on it and snipped the sides so it would lay flat. I then added fabric and flowers to decorate it.

I dyed white fake cobwebs grey with paint and draped it all over the Dia De Los Muertos Costume.

The make up I designed and applied myself. I hope you like it!