Mermaid costume with your own hands from improvised materials

Since the release of Disney's cartoon "The Little Mermaid," mysterious mythical sea creatures have conquered the hearts of girls of all ages. It's no wonder that different versions of the costumes depicting these characters appeared on the market. But what if the budget is limited and the store option is too expensive? Make a mermaid costume with your own hands! Further in the article we will show different options that require minimal sewing skills. In addition, when making them, they use objects from an ordinary children's wardrobe, which greatly simplifies the task.

Custom look

The easiest way to make a mermaid costume with your own hands from improvised materials is to pick up a swimsuit in purple on the Internet (the theme of the mermaid Ariel is very popular, so it will not be difficult), or a shirt with seashell prints, as well as leggings of shiny material with a pattern of scales .

But this option will be good for everyday life, and for the holiday you will need to try a little more.

For example, this charming costume is made with the help of paper liners-molds for cupcakes and crepe-paper.

Based on a blue T-shirt and greenish leggings. Making a suit is extremely simple:

• Bend the molds in half, cut the paper in strips;
• Glue the elements to the shirt and to the bottom edge of the leggings;
• From the usual rim, cockleshell and another mold make a tiara.

And from a simple white dress and scales made of shiny cardboard, you can create this kind of beauty:

So you can quite make a beautiful mermaid costume with your own hands from improvised materials.

Convenient and simple

If you want to make a more durable outfit, then this option is for you.

Usually, mermaid costumes assume the presence of a fish tail, but it fetters movement, or it is impossible to walk at all. But the child wants to not only slowly seed in an unusual outfit, but also have fun and play on a par with everyone. Therefore, you can make this simple and convenient version of Disney's dress Ariel, which is sure to please a little girl.

To make a mermaid costume with your own hands, you will need:

• Dense blue fabric;
• Organza in several shades of blue, you can remain;
• A strip of purple cloth;
• Sewing accessories ;
• Bodysuit body color;
• Leggings or tights of blue or green color;
• A red wig (desirable).

Preparation for work:

• First of all, you need to take measurements. So you can accurately determine the required amount of tissue, depending on the age and composition of the child. For this centimeter tape measure the chest and waist circumference as well as the height from the waist up to the heels plus 25 cm.
• Multiply the OT by 2, take the resulting value for the length of the tail, and you will get the size of the rectangle to be cut from the dense blue fabric.
• Measure the girth of the chest too, multiply by 2, width enough to cover the girl's chest, and cut out a rectangle of purple cloth for the bodice. From it, make a narrow thin strip for the string on the neck.

How to sew a mermaid costume for a girl with her own hands

The further process of dressing is as follows:

• Fold the blue cloth twice, draw out the outlines of the fish tail and cut it out. You will have two blanks.
• Cut from the organza small squares of 10x10 cm. Fold each in half and cut the bottom in a semicircle, to get "fish scales".
• Take 1 tail piece and pin the semicircles from the organza to it, starting from the bottom. Gradually stretch the rows of scales so that the upper rows cover the lower ones.
• Cut off the excess organza around the edges.
• From the remnants of the blue fabric, open the narrow strips, which will become tailings. Fold them face inward, stitch, unscrew.
• Take a piece of the tail with scales, put it face up, needles pin the straps and the second part of the tail (face down). Stitch both blanks, be sure to leave about 10 cm on top not stitched. Turn out the tail and sew the remaining hole.
• It remains to tie a bando with a knot on his chest and thread a rope into the knot to tie it around his neck.

Now you can wear leggings, body, a topic, a tail, a wig - and you will have a comfortable and beautiful mermaid costume. With your own hands (photo of the little princess in the image see below), you can create a real masterpiece! And the costs are not so much.

You can replace the organza with felt in blue tones, and then you do not have to make a base under the tail.

How to sew a mermaid costume with your own hands?

Are you ready for more complex production options? For an older girl, this solution is suitable - with a long skirt, a comfortable blouse and a crown.

To make this mermaid costume with your own hands, you will need:

• Silver fabric with paillettes - 1-2 m;
• Organza blue and green - 0.5 m each;
• Dense cardboard - 5 sheets of A4 size ;
• Wide elastic band - about 0.6 m;
• Tulle - 1-2 m, it is possible more (at will);
• Glue gun;
• Sewing accessories;
• Sequins of blue color;
• Large silvery pebbles;
• Blue-colored body;
• Silver braid - about 1 m;
• Dense silvery fabric - 3 small pieces.

Mermaid skirt

• Before buying a fabric, remove the measurements, so as not to be mistaken with its footage. The easiest way to find out the optimal size of a skirt-tail is as follows: ask the child to lie down on a large sheet of millimeter paper and outline the contours of the tail so that it loosely covers the legs. In order for both sides to be symmetrical, you need to fold the paper in half and cut the pattern along the most successful lines. Now you will know exactly how much tissue you need.
• Prikolyte pattern to the fabric with sequins, cut out the details of the tail. Do not forget about the allowances for seams. If the skirt is worn on the naked body, it is desirable to make a lining of soft, pleasant fabric, as the decorative material is pricked. Or, pod the tights under the suit.
• Now sew one side of the skirt, and at the top make a kuliska and put a rubber band in it, the length of which is determined by trying it on the waist of the child in a slightly stretched state. After that, you can stitch the second side of the tail.
• Now cut small scales from organza and, from the bottom of the skirt, glue them with an adhesive gun.
• To keep the fins in shape, take a cardboard box and outline them. Then cut out the blanks and glue them to each side of the fabric. Fins should be bulky and fairly firm.
• After that, cut the tulle with thin strips about 40 cm long, fold them in half, tie the top with a knot and glue just above the beginning of the fins. The skirt is ready.

The upper part of the suit and the crown

Here the work is much less than with the bottom:

• From the hand, draw a shell about 12 x 12 cm and cut 2 pieces of dense silvery fabric. Put on the body on the child and with the help of pins, carefully mark the places for all ornaments.
• Remove the blouse and glue the shells on the chest, silver braid around the cutout and on top of the shells, large stones under the chest in the form of jewelry chains.
• Print or draw a template for the crown, transfer it to thick paper, and then onto a piece of the same fabric that was used for shells on the body. Cut out the material, glue it with a cardboard. Decorate the crown at will - carved patterns of cardboard and fabric of a different color, shiny pebbles, shells, etc.

Add a blue wig - and now a mermaid costume is ready! With your hands, you made a wonderful outfit for the morning or home holiday. You can not doubt: the joy of the daughter will not be the limit!