Beauxbatons | 2022

Beuaxbatons Uniform | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Made for : Pleasing my inner perfectionist

Background : This was meant to be my ‘ultimate-I-won’t-make-this-again version of this costume. BUT. I’m not happy with the hat nor the fabric choice, so expect another version soon.

Things used :

Hat : I brought a hat from Vilma Felting on Etsy. I chose the sky blue colour. I am looking to upgrade it to one that has internal structure so watch this space.

Cape : I made the cape the same way you would a circle skirt, though instead of cutting the circle in to two pieces, I only cut one side. I lined the cape in the same fabric only the darker blue. I made the under collar from a denim coloured linen and the upper collar from a white cotton brocade which I dyed using Rit dye. I stitched a hook and eye at the base of the collar as a closure.

Stupidly, I had the cape cut to the perfect length and then in a moment of sheer madness, I cut two inches from the bottom edge. I think this was the first sign that I would be remaking it one day in the near future.

Dress : I really wanted to make this costume from a crepe silk, however when I started looking for fabrics I wasn’t able to find anything locally (New Zealand) that stocked it for a reasonable price and international shipping was extortionate. So I settled on a sandwash satin from Spotlight. They had the perfect dark blue shade that I needed but their light blue was not quite right. So I brought the white and using *this formula* on Rit’s website, dyed it to a shade I was happy with. This took three attempts because I messed the first one up by not reading the instructions all the way through.

I drafted the whole pattern myself -youtube video here- making a few mockups out of a bedsheets first until I was happy with the overall fit.

Shoes + Stockings : I started off with a pair of red and brown Jeffrey Campbell heels that honestly would have been perfect for a Durmstrang costume. I liked them because they hat the same pattern in the leather and they had a rounded toe. (I personally hate pointy toed shoes).

I removed the laces and gave them a light all over sanding to scuff up the surface and remove any finishes which makes it easier for the paint to adhere.

I mixed up some white acrylic paint with a small amount of fabric softener, I trick I learnt that turns acrylics in to fabric paint. I then did about four layers of a plain white base coat on all the red areas. Next I mixed a light blue (with fabric softener) as close as I could get to the colour of the dress. I did about three coats of that over the white. Finally, I mixed a dark blue to match the leather I’d brought for the tongue and painted three layers of it on the brown areas of the shoe and the eyelets.

I made the tassels but cutting a rectangle of leather as wide as the pre-existing tongue. I hole punched the top where the first shoelace eyelets were and where the second eyelet begun, I cut the pointed tassels in to it. I then glued the leather using shoe glue, to the top of the shoes tongue.

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