Make a Peacock Costume

Peacock costumes are perfect for kids and adults alike. For a child's costume, focus on the bright colors of a peacock's plumage and keep the outfit simple, sweet, and conservative. If you decide to wear this as an adult, you can make subtle alterations to make the costume look a little sultrier and more mature. Here are the basic steps involved in creating a peacock costume for any age.

Steps

Making the Tail

1. Find a folding hand fan. More specifically, you should look for a Marabou fan, which is a type of folding fan trimmed in feathers. Wrap tape around the bottom of the fan to hold it open as you work.
   • Look for a Marabou fan with bright blue or green feathers if you want a brighter, more colorful peacock costume. This would be especially fitting if you intend to make the costume for a child, but this can be used for an adult costume, as well.
   • If you plan on making this as an adult costume, you could look for a Marabou fan with black feathers for something a little sultrier.
   • For added authenticity, you can even look for a Marabou fan that is trimmed with peacock feathers.
2. Adhere peacock eye feathers to the fan. Use a hot glue gun to glue the tips of 12 peacock eye feathers to the tip of the fan.
   • A child-size tail will need a total of about 50 "eye" feathers and 50 "sword" feathers. An adult tail may need several dozen more.
   • The feathers should be between 30 and 35 inches (76 and 89 cm) long, but you may need to trim off up to 12 inches (30 cm) for a child's costume.
   • Alternate which side of the feathers faces up so that both sides look nice when finished.
3. Add peacock sword feathers. Use a hot glue gun to glue the tips of 11 peacock sword feathers to the tip of the fan. Place the swords in between the eye feathers.
   • The sword feathers should be slightly shorter than the peacock eye feathers, but only by 1 or 2 inches (2.5 or 5 cm).
   • Turn the sword feathers so that they are angled in toward the center.
   • "Sword" feathers refer to peacock feathers that have the traditional coloring of a peacock tail but not the trademark "eye" pattern at the upper end.
4. Fill in empty gaps. Continue adding peacock eye and sword feathers until there are very few, if any, gaps remaining in the tail.
   • Apply hot glue to the stems of the remaining layers. The stems should not only be fixed to the tip of the fan, but also to the feathers of the fan and the stems of lower layers.
   • Glue the peacock feathers on in layers. Many of the stems will overlap.
5. Hold the tail together with cardboard. Use hot glue to attach a piece of thick cardboard over both sides of the plastic portion of the fan. Close the bottom up by attaching the two pieces of cardboard together with duct tape.
   • Place the fan over the cardboard and trace around the plastic portion of the fan. Cut out two identical pieces using scissors and trim away as much as necessary to only cover the plastic portion of the fan. Do not cover any of the feathers.
6. Cover the cardboard with fabric. Cut out two pieces of felt or sparkly fabric. The pieces should match the shape and size of the cardboard cutouts.
   • Use hot glue to secure the fabric in place.
   • If possible, use ravel-proof fabric so that the ends will not fray with use.

Crafting a Mask

1. Use a black or gold eye mask. Buy a craft mask that only covers the eyes, making sure that it fits the face of the intended wearer.
   • A gold mask creates a brighter, more playful appearance, and can be used for a child's or adult's costume. A black mask is better suited for adult costumes as it creates a more "mature" look.
2. Replace the elastic with thin ribbon. Remove the mask's elastic string and slide two pieces of narrow ribbon into the holes, instead.
   • Measure the distance from the outer corner of one eye to the outer corner of the other, taking the tape measure around the back of your head. Divide this measurement in half, then add 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10 cm) to this number. Cut two strands of ribbon that equal this measurement.
   • Tie a piece of the ribbon into each hole. When putting the mask on, tie the two ribbons together in a loose bow.
3. Attach craft gems to the mask. Use hot glue to attach small beads or craft gems around the eyes of the mask, positioning them either along the sides or near the corners of the eye holes.
   • Use clear, white, or silver gems for a black mask. Apply blue and green gems if you are using a gold mask.
4. Decorate the mask with glitter glue. Outline the gems in silver glitter glue and connect the outlines with swirling glitter glue lines.
   • This step is only optional. If you like the way the mask looks without the glue, you can skip it.
5. Add peacock feathers and a final gem to the mask. Glue four short black feathers to one corner of the mask and glue two or three short peacock feathers on top.
   • Attach the feathers with hot glue.
   • Arrange the feathers so that they come up and out at a slight angle.
   • Glue a larger gem or hair clip over the tip of the feathers.

Creating a Tulle Tutu

1. Measure around the wearer's stomach. Use a tape measure to measure the distance around the stomach, right around the belly button.
   • Hold the tape measure parallel to the floor all the way around.
   • Place the tape measure around the area at which you expect to tutu to be worn.
2. Cut a band of black elastic. Measure a band of 2-in (5-cm) elastic to match the distance around your stomach.
   • Instead of black elastic, you could also use blue, green, silver, or gold. Choose elastic that is nice enough to wear without being covered by additional fabric.
3. Cut out strips of tulle. Use 2 to 3 yards (1.8 to 2.7 m) of 6-in (15-cm) tulle. Half the tulle should be green and the other half should be blue.
   • If desired, you can also add in some black tulle.
   • Cut the tulle into strips that are twice as long as the distance between your intended waistband and knees.
4. Attach the tulle to the elastic. Knot the tulle in a double layer over the elastic band. Cover the band completely.
   • Alternate between green and blue tulle strips, weaving the occasional black strip in if desired.
   • Fold each tulle strip in half and place it beneath the elastic band. Hold the fold just above the band and stuff the ends and the rest of the tulle into the loop made by the fold, crossing over the elastic band and pulling the entire length of tulle through the loop. This should secure the tulle strip onto the band.
5. Stitch the elastic together. Use a needle and thread to hand stitch the ends of the elastic band together, forming a continuous circle.
   • Use your fingers to gently "fluff" and position the tulle so that the tutu looks full.

Designing a Peacock Hair Clip

1. Glue two small peacock feathers to a hair clip. You only need the "eye" portion of two peacock feathers. The overall length of the feathers should be between about 4 and 5 inches (13 cm).
   • Apply a dot of hot glue to the back of each feather and press the feathers against a plain metal hair clip or barrette. The feathers should be slightly fanned away from each other. They should also be pointed up and out at a mild angle.
2. Cut three circles of craft fabric. Cut three circles of varying sizes out of scrap synthetic fabric.
   • Choose a blue, green, or black fabric so that it matches the feathers.
   • Make sure that you do not choose a flammable fabric. The material you use should be relatively flame-resistant.
   • The largest circle should be about 1.5 inches (4 cm). The middle should be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) and the smallest should be a little more than 0.5 inch (1.25 cm). The sizes and shapes of the circles do not need to be perfect, though.
3. Melt the edges of the fabric. Use a lighter to slightly melt and curl the edges of each circle.
   • This is why it is vital that you use a non-flammable fabric.
   • Hold the edges of the circle near the flame, but do not allow the fabric to touch the flame directly. The edges should curl even without being directly immersed in the fire.
4. Sew the circles together to form a flower. Stack the circles and sew them together in the center using clear thread.
   • The largest circle should be on the bottom and the smallest should be on top.
   • Stack the circle slightly off-center from one another in order to create a flower shape.
5. Sew beads in the center of the flower. Hand stitch a few small, translucent beads in the center of the flower to create a center.
   • Use the same clear thread.
6. Attach the flower to the hair clip. Apply a generous dot of hot glue on the back of the flower and place it onto the remaining visible portion of the hair clip.
   • The flower should cover the stems of the feathers.

Putting It All Together

1. Wear a blue or black dress. A royal blue dress is perfect for a child's costume or an adult's costume, while a “little black dress” can be appropriate for an adult's costume.
   • A knee-length dress will work on most body types and ages. You should choose a simple dress without any embellishments, but otherwise, any cut, length, neckline, and sleeve length will work. It is mostly a matter of personal preference.
2. Slip on a pair of tights. Royal blue tights work well for both children and adults. Both kids and adults could also wear white or black tights.
   • For a more mature look, an adult could wear sheer flesh-tone nylons instead.
3. Put on the tulle skirt. Step into the tulle skirt and pull it up so that it rests comfortably on your stomach.
4. Tie the tail in place. Tuck the end of the tail into the band of the skirt. Keep the skirt and tail in place by tying a metallic green or gold ribbon around the elastic band of the skirt, wrapping it around several times and knotting the ribbon in place at your side or back.
   • Tie the ribbon snugly so that it holds the tail in place and keeps it secure.
   • The feathers of the tail should face upward, fanning out behind the wearer's back.
5. Add a pair of slippers to your feet. A simple pair of blue, green, silver, gold, or black ballet flats should work well for this outfit.
   • If you want something a little sultrier or more mature, you could wear a gold or black heeled sandal.
6. Don the mask and hair clip. Style your hair as desired. Tie the mask over your eyes and place the hair clip in your hair.

Tips

• If you like background noise, put on "Peacock" by Katy Perry (preferably the instrumental).
• If you don't have a mask, you could create a peacock look with eye make-up. Apply a rich purple shadow to the inner part of both lids before sweeping a green eye shadow over the rest of the lid. Add a touch of gold shadow in the inner corner of both eyes and line both the top and bottom lids with black eyeliner. Use a wing-shaped tip toward the outer corner of each eye. Top the look off with black or navy mascara.

Things You'll Need

• Marabou fan
• Peacock "eye" feathers
• Peacock "sword" feathers
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue gun sticks
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Felt or other fabric
• Eye mask
• Thin ribbon
• Craft gems
• Glitter glue
• Tape measure
• Band of elastic
• Sewing needle
• Clear thread
• Tulle
• Metal hair clip
• Scrap fabric
• Beads
• Blue or black dress
• Tights
• Ribbon
• Ballet slippers
• Eye shadow (optional)
• Eyeliner (optional)
• Mascara (optional)

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Sources and Citations

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