Mermaid
If you or your little girl are hoping to bring the magic of the sea alive with a mermaid costume for Halloween, you may be worried if you have few or no sewing skills. However, you don't need stellar sewing skills to make an easy mermaid costume that would be ideal for a costume party. Look for ocean-related material that you might already have, and you'll be able to put together a whimsical costume in no time and with little effort.
Top
A mermaid usually wears a small seashell top that ties in the back. However, you don't need to be on the lookout for two large shells that you can string around you for a costume. Instead, find an old bikini top that you no longer use. Go to your local arts and crafts store and buy a bag of synthetic seashells. Use a hot glue gun to cover the bikini top in seashells so that none of the original fabric shows through. You'll have a seashell bra that already has ties and comes in your exact size. Just make sure that you don't actually go swimming in it. If you want a little more modesty, buy a skin-colored T-shirt that you can wear under the seashell bra so that it doesn't ruin the effect.
Bottom
The bottom or tail portion of the costume may be trickier to do. If you have some sewing skills, you can put simple hand-sewing to work in creating this portion. However, even if you don't know sew, you can use fabric glue to help assemble the bottom of this costume. Buy bright green fabric from a fabric store. Look for something like satin or a fabric adorned with sequins so that it looks like fish scales. You can always add sequins to the fabric later if you wish. Starting at your knees, swath the fabric around you and up to your waist. You should be able to pull it so tightly that you can tuck the remaining fabric at your waist and the fabric will stay put. Once you know how long your bottom will be, take the fabric off. Cut two fins out of the excess fabric and sew them or glue them on the bottom. This way, you'll be able to walk, but it will still look like you have long fins. Make sure they are long enough to touch the floor.
Accessories
The luau section of your local party store will have plenty accessories for you to choose from to adorn your costume. Look for plastic flower leis to wear or small plastic fish or seaweed to pin or glue onto your tail. Just look for accessories to make your easy costume look more authentic so that there is no question that you are dressed as a mermaid.
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