DIY Halloween 2020: Monarch Butterfly

 

Ok, let's me honest: this is my most favorite costume ever. To the point where I might simply buy costumes next year because nothing will ever top this one. I told Em she has to wear it every year from here on out. 

Our inspiration came from a shoe company, of all places:

And while I liked the orange-yellow of the traditional monarch butterfly, my little gal is firmly ensconced in the all-things-must-be-pink camp. Fair enough. Biologic accuracy be dammed. We're going with pink. 

Here is a little play-by-play of our creative process. We sketched out a few ideas:

We began with plain black fabric onto which I sewed a wire along the outside. You don't necessarily need to do it, but it gives the wings 'lift'. 

We then created a paper template and used chalk to make our markings onto the wings. 

In total, we did 7 wings. Here they are with chalk outlines, ready for paining. 

We painted directly onto the black fabric with acrylic paint. They required 3 coats, so be prepared with lots of paint. I painted them a light pink and added orange accents later. (Below: finished wings at the top (3 coats), a wing with one coat in the middle and at bottom a wing with two coats of paint). 

I then sewed the wings onto a black fabric belt to complete the skirt. The chest wing was pinned directly to Em's black leotard. She wore black tights underneath and rain boots (Seattle in October!). 

The headdress was made by wrapping store-bought butterflies from a giant craft store  around the headband. They came pink, but we painted on a few additional accents. It's by far the coolest part of the costume (although not terribly comfortable). 

And there you have it! DIY Pink Monarch Butterfly Costume!