How to Make a Boy's Homemade Colonial Shirt Costume

If your child has a love of all things colonial--from Paul Revere to George Washington--you can help bring his pretend play to life with a colonial shirt. You should probably skip the musket, but encourage him to yell if the British are sighted. This shirt is a bit complicated, so allow plenty of time for the glue to dry at different stages.

Things You'll Need

• White dress shirt, one to two sizes larger than the child
• White hanky
• Scissors
• Fabric glue
• Hook and eye
• White thread
• Needle
• 1 yard of 1-inch-wide white lace
• Two imitation bone buttons

Instructions

1. Cut off the tips of the shirt collar so that it becomes rectangular. Cut the cuffs so that they are around 1 inch wide. Cut off the tail of the shirt to make it square (it should match the front). Try to keep it as long as possible, as colonial shirts typically hung to the mid-thigh. Put a line of glue along the edge to prevent fraying. Glue the edges of the collar and cuffs. Allow the glue to dry.

2. Remove all the buttons. At each side seam, cut up from the bottom around two to three inches. Glue the edge to prevent fraying. Allow the glue to dry.

3. Glue the front of the shirt together from the bottom to the second buttonhole. Make sure the side with buttonholes is on the bottom. Allow the glue to dry.

4. Sew a button onto each cuff. Cut a buttonhole in each cuff that will accommodate the button. Sew a hook and eye at the neckline of the shirt.

5. To create the ruffled ascot, cut off the corners of a hanky so that it becomes somewhat circular. Glue or sew the lace around the edge. Allow the glue to dry.

6. Fold the ascot like an accordion three to four times and then sew the top folded edge to the outer collar, right below the chin. The ascot will hang down loosely.

Tips & Warnings

• The hook and eye should meet underneath the point where the ascot is attached. As bleach was uncommon during the colonial era, an off-white shirt will be more accurate, but make sure the hanky is the same color. When you are gluing the lace to the hanky, the lace may not want to stay in place. A few clothes pins will help anchor it until the glue dries.

References

• Instructions for a man's colonial shirt