Be Raggedy Ann for Halloween

Here's a cute, original and simple, easy-to-make costume that looks great. It's a blast back to the 1970s, when Raggedy Ann was a hit with the young Generation X-ers. Read and find out how easy it is to make a Raggedy Ann costume for you.

Steps

  1. Assemble the clothes needed. See "Things You'll Need" for suggested clothing. The hair is the most distinctive feature, so this will the most important part to get right, followed by the striped tights. Don't forget to check in your closet to see what you might already own and visit a thrift store for missing items.
  2. Put on the dress. A dark color, preferably blue, is best. It is an added bonus if you can find a dress with floral prints on it. Look for old Laura Ashley clothes from the 1980s in your local thrift store for the right sort of dress.
  3. Add red and white striped tights or knee-length socks. If you cannot find tights like these, try knee-length socks or buy tights of either red or white and sew on ribbons of the opposite missing color. Be creative in your solutions!
  4. Pull on your bloomers. Try to use something that resembles bloomers. The bloomers only need to peek out from under the costume, so any type of shorts that are white might work. You could always sew white calico lace to assist in creating the right effect.
  5. Put your apron over the dress. Raggedy Ann's apron is a pinafore shape, both above and below the waist. Preferably it should be a little shorter than the dress. You might need to improvise here and use a normal apron and sew on a white cotton top half with some ruffles if you cannot find a full-length apron.
  6. Fix your hair to look like Raggedy Ann's. There are two possible ways:

    • Fix your own hair. Find a can of red spray dye suitable for temporary hair color change and spray your hair red. Wash and curl you hair if it is long. The more "raggedy", the better. Add a red ribbon when it's done.
    • Create a wig. This is probably the easier and less messy option and more likely to give a Raggedy Ann look. Perhaps purchase a wig from a dollar store or get creative and make one by dying a mop-head red and turning it into a wig.
  7. Do your makeup. Add some freckles, exaggerate the smile by drawing cartoon style wide smile lines to the sides and create wide, open eyes with mascara and eyeliner. Use the photo below as a guide.
  8. Put on black boots. Lace-up boots, if possible, are best.

Tips

  • Be with them, hold hands and skip around chanting for the overall effect.
  • If you have a real Raggedy Ann doll, carry her with you for added effect. It will help people to recognize your character and it will look sweet.
  • Get someone to be a Raggedy Andy.

Warnings

  • Don't get too hung up on details. If you can't find elements of the costume, improvise and always go for the most distinctive features first.

Things You'll Need

  • Tights or knee-length socks that have red and white stripes
  • A blue dress with long sleeves (or add a long-sleeved blue t-shirt underneath a short-sleeved dress)
  • A white pinafore apron
  • White bloomers - if possible
  • Red mop-like wig
  • Black boots
  • Makeup - especially reds and rosy pinks

Related Articles

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Be_Raggedy_Ann_for_Halloween&oldid=321468"