Simple DIY Ariel Costume Tutorial for Halloween

Today I’m going to share with you how to make an Ariel Costume. I’ll also share with you ideas for what to wear to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. If you like this post you may also like this tutorial showing you how to make Harry Potter Quidditch Robes.

Our favorite time to visit Disney World is during October. My kids also love dreaming up their costumes for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. We have had quite a few lively dinner conversations about what we were going as. Usually, the more “lively” conversations occurred in years where we were all trying to match our costumes. There always seemed to be one dissenter among the group.

So far Peter Pan, Star Wars, Grecian, and Superhero themed costumes have been considered. Each has always been nixed by one person who didn’t want to participate. Many years my kids would beg me to just buy them a costume at the store for Halloween. I not wanting to let go of the fun of sewing the costumes, would always say, “No, you get a handmade costume!”

This brings me to this year. One kid is off in college and one is a teenage boy who is too “cool” for almost every costume on the planet. The only one remotely excited about her costume this year was my teenage daughter. I knew that I had a lot of work deadlines before we left for fall break, so I told my kids that we’d just go to the store and pick out costumes this year. I had NO spare time to sew.

When I told my kids this it was met with a resounding NOOOOO. Really? The ONE year I don’t have time to make a costume is the one where they don’t want a store-bought one? My daughter told me, “I’m going to be Ariel, on the Land, with a blue skirt, a red wig, and a big blue bow.”

She was determined that I should make her an Ariel Costume.

Two days before Fall break we headed off to Joann to pick up fabric to make an Ariel in a Dress on the Land Halloween Costume.

I did not make my son’s costume. It was easy enough, he wore my husband’s jacket from his Ichabod Crane costume a few years ago, then added the foam hat and beard. Easy peasy (except he got overheated and ended up sick and almost left Disney World on a stretcher, he’s fine btw).

DIY Ariel Costume How To:

The Ariel costume is actually quite simple to make. It consists of two sewn items and 3 purchased items. None of the sewn items require any special skills. An advanced beginner should be able to make both.

This Ariel costume is designed for a teen, but you could also use this tutorial to make an Ariel Costume for an adult.

For the DIY Ariel Skirt:

Purchase blue satin fabric that does not fray (so that you don’t need to hem it). Then make a circle skirt. Here is a free tutorial for a Circle Skirt. It’s SO EASY, trust me.

For the Ariel Shirt & Vest:

We purchased a peasant shirt then I made her vest.

To make the vest:

Measure around the widest part of your model’s torso then and add 1″. Measure the and the height of their torso. Note both of these measurements and cut a piece of faux black suede those sides.

Add a separating zipper to the back seam (essentially making a fabric tube that was held together by a zipper) then zip the vest onto the model inside out.

Simply pin the excess fabric under the arms until it is the same shape as the model. You are essentially creating side seams and darts at the same time. Sew up these seams.

Other Ariel Costume Additions:

Once we got to Disney World she had the idea to pin Flounder to her skirt, which I thought gave the costume a fun and clever touch.

The wig is from Amazon, I made a big blue bow and pinned it to the wig, with my extra fabric. To make a bow cut out a long rectangle of fabric, then fold it in half, and “cinch” it with another piece of fabric. Saftey pin the bow on the wig (since it’s not real hair, you can even sew it on).

(hubby and I went as Mousketeers, an easy costume to throw together at the last-minute)

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party:

Last time we were at Disney we attend the Halloween Party and were not 100% sure we were going to go again. It was so crowded compared to years past. We could barely walk down the street there were so many people.

To top it off my husband and I got food poisoning from a drinking fountain that night. We decided to give it “one more try”. I’m happy to say that the crowds were perfect. Crowded yes, but not overwhelming and we were able to walk onto most of the rides.

Disney also added a lot of fun activities to the party, I was really glad we decided to go again.

Remember that “Funny Story” I mentioned earlier?

Everything was fine the night of the party until my son when on a ride got off and said he didn’t “feel so good”. To make a long story short, he got sick and dizzy and wouldn’t stand up or walk.

Disney noticed. Ten minutes later there were 3 paramedics, a cop, a fireman and about a dozen Disney employees around us. I will have to say that Disney is über prepared for sick kids, they were very nice and helpful. Yes, they can drive an ambulance into the Magic Kingdom.

After checking him out, they decided he didn’t need to go to the hospital. He did end up leaving the Magic Kingdom that night in a wheelchair. It was memorable for sure. My daughter made sure I knew she was mad she missed the Halloween parade and most of the party (oh, the perils of being a twin).

I think we still need to go back to the Halloween party again though, we need to try to “break” our streak of bad luck with it.