Fairy Costume - on a Budget (2024)

About: I like making little treats and pretty much doing anything crafty. I want to learn new techniques and share how I do what I do. Edit - I took a break for awhile but I'm ready to get back into sharing my work … More About bagnitsch »

Fairies are beautiful fanciful creatures. Who wouldn't want to be a fairy?! Luckily you can easily make an inexpensive fairy costume with a few key items. Little to no sewing involved!

The one shown here cost about $30 total. I'm sure you could go even cheaper by using clothing you already have.

Fairies are nature-lovers and free spirits.

With this in mind design your fairy costume coloring and fabrics. You will need

Wings,

Elf Ears,

a dress or top and skirt or pants - The skirts and pants should be free flowing but can include tights underneath.

Optional: a crown and/or wig

Traditionally, fairies are barefoot but you could wear some simple flats or leather shoes.

Color schemes can be pastel, earth tones or bright colors. (Dark colors if you're an evil fairy). Think of colors inspired by nature - especially flora and fauna.

Make a list, create a drawing or keep a mental picture of the look you're going for.

Once you know what type of fairy you want to be, start heading out to thrift stores.

Will you look for loose and flowy garments or structured? Corset tying looks festive. Big stitches give the clothing a rugged look.

Scour the racks for these garments you're envisioning. The fun part is there are so many options to choose from.

If you see the perfect fabric but it's not the right size, think about if you can use it as an accessory. You can always cut it into a rag skirt, cuffs or anklets.

Try to stay away from prints, if possible.

Keep in mind the time of year you will be wearing the costume. Think about dressing layers for colder weather.

Typically, I've found that tops range from $3-6, Skirts: $5-8 and dresses: $7-20. These are even cheaper for children's clothing.

The wings are fairly simple. I have created an instructable on how to make wings from wire clothes hangers and panty hose here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Fair...

threadbanger has a good tutorial as well :

https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Fairy-Wings-HOW-TO-and-BONUS-Costume-Essential/

The flower crown is fairly simple too. It consists of a plastic headband with silk flowers glued on with hot glue.

Positioning of the flowers and leaves is a little tricky but if you make a base of leaves and build it up with flowers you can't go wrong. Leave some room near the bases of the head band because that is where the ears are getting glued. A simple flower barrette adds charm without having to make a crown.

Ears... Ears... I used air dry clay to make these. Use aluminum foil as the structure base. Measure your own ear and try to draw it to scale on a piece of paper. It doesn't have to be exact but just so you have a concept of the size. Scrunch your aluminum foil to the size of your ear and make a tip piece like an elf ear would have. Take your white air-dry clay and mold around that structure, covering the aluminum foil completely. Form the shape of the ear and the tip. I looked at a picture of an actual elf ear while doing this to help guide me.

You must let them completely dry before painting and gluing!!! (Letting set over night is a good idea). Once dry, you can put on a base coat of white and then 2 coats of skin colored paint over that. I used American acrylic craft paint in buff beige.

I actually fell in love with doodlecrafts ear idea here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Elven-Princess-or-...

Once the paint is dry, hot glue the ears on to the tips of the plastic head band. Before gluing, wear the head band and decide the placement of the ears. For support you can glue small strips of fabric along the back of the ear and over the plastic band. Glue some plastic jewels on for earrings if desired.

Long hair definitely helps the ears blend in. A wig really helped create this look.

To add to the natural feel of this costume I added a brown rag skirt and ribbon tie skirt on top of that.

While you're in the thrift store you may come across leather or fur fabrics. I simply took a skirt with a nice brown hide color and cut it diagonally to give it a rough edge. I fastened that on top of the flowy skirt.

Add another layer with a ribbon tie skirt. Simply take a ribbon that ties around your waist and tie on other lengths of ribbon that will flow down. Use ribbon colors that tie in with your fairy's color scheme. You can even add strips of tulle and scrap fabric.

This is up to you really.

I would keep Jewelry minimal and use smaller gemstones and dainty chains. Some pops of color around the eyes are fun. Nude or neutral toned lipsticks would work as well.

Now you have a costume to wear to the renaissance faire or Halloween.

Have fun! I hope you enjoyed this instructable!

Thanks again to Kate for being my fairy!