DIY Taylor Swift Costume
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Learn how to make a DIY Taylor Swift costume with a free sewing pattern and HTV t-shirt. This Halloween costume is great for any Swiftie!
My daughter loves Taylor Swift and is so excited to be her for Halloween. When we were looking through all of Taylor’s costumes, we wanted something that would be recognizable and something that would be warm enough for a cold Halloween Utah evening.
We ended up combining two of Taylor Swift’s outfits from the Red Era from the Eras tour. One of her t-shirts that says, “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? Ew.” sparkly pants (instead of shorts) and the full length red and black ombre sparkly jacket. This way she can be very recognizable and warm! Let me show you how to make a DIY Taylor Swift costume.
What do I need to make a DIY Taylor Swift Costume?
Jacket
The jacket was the most work of this whole costume. It was definitely a labor of love. I give details and show you how to make it in the tutorial below, but I’ll briefly talk about the jacket.
I started with my costume robe pattern and changed the hood to a collar. I used red fabric underneath and black lining. Then I use red sparkly mesh fabric and black sparkly mesh fabric which I layered in different ways to give an ombre look. It doesn’t blend as well as I imagined, but I think the costume is still eye catching and you can tell who it is.
This picture shows the colors the best. The top of the jacket is a bright red, the next layer is a darker red, the lower layer is a reddish black, and the bottom layer is black.
I ended up added some sheer black mesh in a small section in the middle to help it blend a little bit better. I don’t know if I should have tried to buy maroon or not to blend it better, but I’m still happy with the result.
I didn’t make the jacket full length so that it’s still pretty easy to run while trick or treating. She’ll also wear this costume to school and will probably take the jacket off while she plays at recess.
The pictures do not capture the sparkle that you see in person. It’s a really sparkly jacket when you see it moving around.
T-shirt
I found this basic white t-shirt at the thrift store to add the HTV. Taylor Swift wears a loose white t-shirt like this*, but you can also buy a basic white t-shirt like this*.
I used the font Tungsten in bold and created the graphic with Cricut Design Space. Then I used black and red HTV to cut the words. I wish I would’ve done glitter HTV, but I didn’t have the right colors and didn’t want to buy them.
I applied the words with my Cricut Easypress*. She’s planning on wearing this as a regular shirt after Halloween!
Pants
I wanted sparkly pants like the black shorts that Taylor Swift wears. I was going to make her some sparkly pants, but I found these crushed velour flared leggings at the thrift store and decided they were perfect. (You can buy similar pants here*) They give of the look of being sparkly, but they are very comfortable and she can wear them all winter.
Guitar
I wanted a guitar for the costume, but I didn’t want an actual heavy guitar. I also wanted something that would “read” Taylor Swift without being expensive, and it wouldn’t matter if it got banged up.
We decided on this toddler ukelele in rose wood*. It’s the right vibe, it’s lightweight, and it’s inexpensive.
Love to sew? Try one of these sewing projects:
DIY Taylor Swift Costume: Full-Length Red to Black Ombre Jacket
Supplies
- Free kids costume robe sewing pattern
- 2 yards red sparkly mesh fabric
- 2 yards black sparkly mesh fabric
- 3 yards red quilting cotton fabric*
- 3 yards black lining fabric*
- Interfacing
- Sewing tools
- Sewing machine
Instructions
To alter the pattern, move the center front out 1 to 2 inches. I did 2 inches, but I wish I would’ve done 1 inch. The jacket front covers the t-shirt more than I would’ve liked.
Cut the hood into a 3 or 4 inch collar. The center front becomes the center back fold and the center back seam becomes the pointed corner of the collar.
Now measure the height of your robe and divide it into 4. Cut the back piece and front piece into the four sections.
Line up the sleeve where it be sewn into the shoulder and cut the sleeve where the body pieces were cut. You want the sleeve line to line up with the body lines.
Add seam allowance to all the lines you just cut.
LABEL each piece so that you don’t get any of them confused.
Cut out all your fabric pieces. Each piece will be need to cut from the red quilting cotton and the black lining. The top of the front will need to be made out of the red quilting cotton and mess since it will show when the lapel folds out.
Since I only had two sparkly mesh fabrics, black and red, I was strategic in my cutting. I cut red mesh for the top pieces, red mesh and black mesh for the middle pieces, and black mesh for the bottom pieces. For the upper pieces I layered the red over the black and for the lower pieces I layered the black over the red.
Sew all the pieces together with the seam allowance you added. Some of these pieces have tons of layers so pin a lot, sew carefully and slowly, and consider using a walking foot.
Interface the collars and the center front of the lining. Sew the shoulder seams of the front and back pieces.
Sew the collar right sides together. Trim the corners and turn it right side out. Trim the corners. Turn right side out and press the edges. Topstitch the collar and then baste it onto the neckline. (Get tips to sew a collar.)
Sew the rest of the robe as the instructions direct excluding the hood directions.
If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!
I believe small sewing moments can create great joy. Find your own “right” way to sew. -Heather