How to Create a Mermaid Costume

Designer Christian Soriano and Martha Stewart make a glamorous mermaid costume, complete with encrusted shells on a bodice.

Mermaid Costume

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"Project Runway" star Christian Siriano created this stunning mermaid getup for his own use at Halloween.

Tools and Materials

Nude tank-top body shaper
Assorted shells
Hot-glue gun and hot-glue sticks
Gold paint
Paintbrush
6 yards green or blue polyester organza
2 yards blue or teal stretchy fabric
Fabric scissors
Iron and ironing board
Safety pin or straight pin
Squeeze bottle with fine-tip top
Cardboard scrap
Hair clips, bobby pins or elastic headband

Mermaid Costume How-To

With hot glue, attach shells to cups of nude tank top body shaper as desired.
Once glue has dried and shells are secure, brush lightly with gold paint.
To make tail, cut stretchy fabric into rectangle of desired size based on your measurements.
Use hot glue to connect two ends of the fabric together to create a tube. Turn the tube right side out and position the seam as the back of the costume.
For tail fins, cut organza into squares of desired size. Pinch and grab the center of each square and twist tightly as if wringing out a wet towel.
Secure pinched end of organza to ironing board with a safety pin or straight pin (to avoid scorching your fingers) and with an iron, press and steam twisted organza, creasing it organically. Untwist organza to reveal fin.
With hot glue, attach fins as desired to bottom of skirt. This can also be done with a needle and thread or safety pins if desired.
Using a squeeze bottle fitted with a fine-tip top, add scales detail to skirt with gold paint.
To create a headpiece, cut a small piece of cardboard as desired and wrap with a scrap of organza or stretchy fabric. Secure fabric on backside of cardboard with hot glue.
Attach shells as desired, covering the fabric entirely, and, as with the shells on the bodice, brush lightly with gold paint.
Finish the headpiece by using hot glue to attach hair clips, bobby pins, or an elastic strap to the backside of the cardboard.
To style the costume, tuck the top into the skirt, secure the headpiece in the hair on the side of the head, and put on some shimmery makeup!

Resources

Nude tank-top body shaper available from Macy's or your local department store. Yellow-gold paint, fine-tip tops, and paintbrushes all available from Martha Stewart Crafts.

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How to Create a Mermaid Costume

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