Have you ever wanted to make your own Mardi Gras costume? Most likely, if you know somebody who lives in South Louisiana, they have at least made a simple Mardi Gras costume and you’ve probably envied this fact.
Mardi Gras costumes are usually shiny and often contain he colors of Mardi Gras – green, purple, and gold (or a goldish looking yellow). They do no have to be as fancy as the costumes that Kings and Queens of “Krewes,” groups that get together at the Mardi Gras season for parties and working on floats.
In fact, there is a group known as the Mardi Gras Revelers. While their costumes are more complex than this costume is going to be, this is a simple way to dress as a Mardi Gras reveler. Your are going to need the following supplies to make this Mardi Gras Costume.
1 White T-shirt
Purple Fabric Paint
Gold or Yellow Fabric Paint
Sponge Brushes
White Keds-like tennis shoes
A cheap child’s umbrella or just a cheap umbrella such as from a dollar store
A lot of gold, purple, and green sequins
Gold, Purple, Green, and Silver glitter
Hot glue gun (or E6000)
A “zorro mask” of any color, which can probably be found at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby
Green, Yellow, and Purple fake feathers
A T-shirt form
First, do not plan on finishing this costume in just one day. Instead, give yourself at least three days if not a whole week to complete this Mardi Gras costume.
Gather all the supplies needed and keep them in one area. First, wash the T-shirt to get all the sizing removed. Dry the shirt. Put the T-shirt on the T-shirt form. If you have ever been to south Louisiana, it is likely that you have seen or may even have a shirt that has one bold yellow stripe, one bold green stripe, and one bold purple stripe running around the entire shirt. If you do have one, you can skip this part of making the Mardi Gras costume.
Take the sponge brushes and assign one to each color. Decide which color is going to be on the top, which is going to be in the middle, and which is going to be on the bottom. Then paint the stripes across the shirt using the sponge brushes. After the stripes are painted on the front, wash the brushes thoroughly. Let the front of the shirt dry for one day.
On the next day, take the sponge brushes (or new sponge brushes if you have enough of them) and paint the back of the shirt the exact same way that you painted the front of the shirt. If you need to look at the front before starting, fold a bit over and mark where you are going to paint. After you have painted the back of the shirt, let the shirt dry for a day and make sure to wash the brushes. After the paint is dry, run the shirt through the heat cycle in your dryer.
Now, wash and dry the tennis shoes. Next, take the sequins and the hot glue gun. Hot glue a variety of sequins all over the tennis shoes so that they shine with all the colors of Mardi Gras. Let the glue dry so that the sequins will stay stuck to the shoes when you wear them.
Next, take the mask and glue any sequins and glitter onto it to decorate it for Mardi Gras. The feathers are also for the mask. Put at least one feather of each color sticking upwards at the top corner of the mask. This will make the mask look more like one of the fancy Mardi Gras masks. Let the mask dry.
Now, take the umbrella, and despite the warnings of not opening the umbrella in the house, open it. Find each section of the umbrella and assign that section a color (by using the pattern as follows). A section is usually the part between each little metal rod that holds the umbrella up. Cover one section in only green sequins, then next to that, cover that section in gold, then next to that section, cover the next in purple sequins. Repeat the pattern until all the sections are covered. Let the glue dry.
After the glue is dry on the umbrella, put some more glue on it in small bits and cover the glue with the silver glitter. Do not allow huge clumps of the silver glitter to accumulate. This is only to add to the shine of the umbrella. Let the glue on the umbrella dry.
Now you have a Mardi Gras costume. Wear the shirt, some plain blue jeans (or colored jeans if you have purple, green, or gold jeans), and the tennis shoes. Carry the umbrella and be proud to hold it while you dance to songs such as the Mardi Gras Mambo and other Cajun and Zydeco favorites.
