As soon as I got the invitation to a Halloween party, I was so excited for it and started planning what to make. I absolutely LOVE making costumes and love the idea of becoming a character for a day!

The party theme was going to be a spooky dark dungeon, and I thought Maleficent would be perfect. I immediately got to work on her choosing a pattern to use, what materials I would need, and of course, her accessories to complete the look.

Starting with inspiration, I searched for images of Maleficent on Pinterest and found some great ones:

I knew that I wouldn’t have time to actually make the  horned headdress and her scepter, so I ordered those on Amazon. I got the raven at a Halloween shop, and my darling Diablo was perfectly behaved the entire night!

It happened to also be pattern sale time at Jo-Ann Fabrics (luckily this happens pretty often!) and I had a 40% off coupon as well, so I headed to the store and purchased this McCalls pattern #6818 and 6 yards of black satin and lining for her costume:

McCalls 6818

I received her horns and sceptor pretty quickly and was delighted with them both!

Headdress, pattern and fabric ready to get started!

My fashion sketch, just for fun!

As I cut out the pattern pieces, I decided on what modifications and adjustments I would make to the pattern to suit the costume. I thought that her skirt part of the coat would need to be fully enclosed (not the open front as on the pattern) and the collar would really be the focal point. I also wanted pockets in the coat dress so that I wouldn’t have to worry about carrying around a purse.

I also wanted the jacket to close up in the center front, so I added an invisible zipper here instead of the hook and eye closure as the pattern had.

So, I used the back pattern piece of the skirt as the front as well instead of making a new pattern piece. I added 3 inches to the skirt length to be sure it was floor length on me, and added pockets to the side seams of the skirt as well as an interior pocket inside the bodice lining.

I had some leftover faux fur and some faux leather from another project that I used for the collar which was perfect! I used the faux leather for the under collar and the fur for the upper collar. I spotted some beautiful feathers at Mill End Store in Beaverton, so picked those up, along with super stiff interfacing, to add to the drama of her collar.

For her dramatic medieval sleeves, I chose a black stretch velvet (the cheapest velvet I could find!) to line them. That was probably one of the most difficult parts of this to sew just because of the slippery satin and the nature of the velvet to sew together. But, with careful pinning and slow sewing, I got through it.

In the end, after hours of cutting out, fitting and sewing, I really love how my costume turned out! I love the dramatic collar, the bell sleeves, and the little corset lace-up on the back. Plus, the pockets were the perfect little convenience to stash my cell phone, ID and lipstick 🙂

Diablo was a perfectly behaved companion

Beware of the darkness…

I’ll be wearing this costume for years to come, and hope to add to it with a long cape, some gloves, maybe even wings!

Happy Halloween!