How to Make a Fast & Easy Homemade Pirate Costume

Dressing like a pirate can be fun

Commercially manufactured costumes are cheap and plentiful at Halloween. You almost can't buy the fabric for the prices they sell for. At other times of the year costumes can be hard to come by and rental shops can charge a half day's wages or more for a decent rental. Creating costumes from found items is fun, and pirate costumes are fairly simple,since they wear clothing that can be improvised from modern wardrobes with a little imagination.

Things You'll Need

• Old pants
• Baggy shirt
• Vest
• Leather belt or sash
• Dark overcoat
• Boots or sandals
• Bandana
• Eyeliner

Instructions

Pants and Skirts

1. Cut off a pair of pants with wide stripes in black and white or gray to just above the ankle on a jagged line. The stripes in pirate costumes come from the fact that so many of them were once convicts and escaped in prison garb. Alternatively, choose a rough fabric in a natural color such as brown, black or gray. Rolling the cuffs may be preferable if a pair of appropriate and unneeded pants are not available. Cut a skirt of similar fabric and color for a female pirate. Be careful not to cut too high with your jagged line.

2. Apply brightly colored patches of other fabric cut from an old blanket or bed sheet. Tack them on with a stitch or two, or hot glue them into position to add texture. Cutting ragged gashes in the knees of trousers can also give a distressed look.

3. Add a wide leather belt or tie a rope or bright colored scarf around your waste for a sash.

Improvised Pirate Shirts

1. Wear a baggy poet style shirt, if available, tucked into the belt or sash tied around the waste. Stick with solid colors like white, red or black.

2. Roll up the sleeves on a bright, horizontally striped T shirt as a suitable alternative. Basic colors, such as red, yellow, blue and black, work best. Coordinate the color with the color of your sash or other accessories for a cohesive look.

3. Cut the sleeves and neck out of an old dark gray or black sweatshirt. Cut a V at the neck and poke holes down either side that can be laced up with a shoe lace or piece of clothesline or other light cord. This can be worked over a large white dress shirt to give a tunic effect. Wrap the belt or sash around it.

Accessories and Finishing Touches

1. Top your shirt with a vest. Stick to basic colors or stripes for the best effect. Red vests are reminiscent of Disney's "Smee" in the classic "Peter Pan".

2. Pull on a long dark overcoat to give the appearance of an officer. If they are long enough, roll the sleeves up and sew on a pair of brass buttons or glue on a stripe of gold braid at each wrist. Coffee filters with the bottoms cut out make good shirt cuffs, taped into the ends of your coat sleeves.

3. Draw on a mustache or beard with brown eyeliner. Wrap your head with a bandana, or wear a long wig to complete the effect. For footwear, leather dress shoes, sandals or boots work best. Go barefoot as an alternative if proper footwear is not available.

References

• Coolest Homemade Costumes: Pirate Costumes
• The Most Excellent Book of Dress Up: Moe Casey and Rob Shone, Copper Beech Books, 1997