DIY Harry Potter (Inspired) Halloween Costume (on a tiny budget)

Do you have a little Harry Potter lover in the house!? Great Halloween costumes don't have to break the bank.

With Halloween quickly approaching, my kids bring forth their costume ideas (usually only to change their minds about a dozen times), so I thought I had hit the jackpot when "L" decided on Hermione Granger for this years costume. After taking a look online I quickly realized that an "official" Harry Potter costume was way out of our Halloween budget so I knew I would have to be creative and figure out a DIY version.

The bulk of this costume is handmade except for the dress shirt underneath the cloak.

The materials I used were:

An old black sheet

An old burgundy sheet (or whatever house color you choose)

Yarn (in corresponding house colors) $4.99/ball (purchased at Micheals buy one/get one)

Size H crochet hook

Felt (black, yellow, red, light brown) - $0.65/sheet

iron-on fusible webbing - $ 4.99 (Micheals craft store)

An old burgundy tie (We had a tie that worked perfectly, but our next stop would have been the thrift shop!)

yellow electrical tape (or corresponding house color) - $1.25 Dollarama

2 buttons

I began by crocheting the scarf in the corresponding Gryffindor House colors. I Used a size H crochet hook and alternated colors while using a half double crochet stitch throughout until my scarf reached the length I wanted. If you aren't crafty or do not crochet or knit, there are lots of awesome ideas on pintrest on how to make your own HP scarf. Electrical tape on a solid color, or a cloth scarf for instance. I was able to find a sale on yarn and bought 2 balls for $5 from Micheals. I had enough to make multiple scarfs and was able to sell on, essentially making the scarf free!

I knew I needed the cloak to be as simple as possible to sew together, for an avid sewer I am not. I used an old black king size sheet that had a few pre-existing holes and an old burgundy sheet that I had already cut up for a previous project and I found a great tutorial at Live About blog. I adjusted the basic design to fit this project.

I hit a few snaffoos here and there but I think the cloak turned out pretty great! I added a hood and lined the inside with the corresponding Gryffindor House colors and the best part is that it is roomy enough to wear a warm sweater or small coat in case the Canadian weather decides to freeze us out again this year!

For the finishing touches I made a Gryffindor House patch out of felt and fusible webbing. I found an awesome blog called Freshly Completed and that is where I found the template for this patch. I modified mine ALOT, you will find her patch to be much more involved and hers looks GREAT. I decided on a more simple approach (which is code for, I tried and couldn't get mine to look right). For the tie I dug through my husbands closet and found the perfect shade of burgundy and I luckily found some colored electrical tape at my local Dollarama. All together it creates a simple, and polished look! Add a wand and our little Hermione is ready to take to the skies!

I think I spent under $15 in total for all of the materials and we have a costume that can be re-worn for a few years to come!

Did you get crafty to save a few dollars this Halloween? Comment Below!