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Original Pirate Costumes – Make Your Own This Halloween

Bring home the loot on Halloween night when you suit up in an original pirate costume that you’ve made (mostly) with your own two hands. With just a few snips and stitches, you can have a pirate costume ready to go quicker than you can hum “ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.”  Whether you’re inspired by historical pirates such as Blackbeard or Long John Silver or fictional pirates like Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate costume can be made with a mixture of items you’ve gathered from around the house and some great costume accessories.

Start your pirate costume off with a simple white shirt. The shirt can be as plain as a white undershirt or as elaborate as a puffy-sleeved, billowy peasant-style blouse. Even a cast-off white button-down shirt can be used if you roll up the sleeves and cut the edges off with jagged snips. Add a layered lace scarf at the neck to create an impromptu jabot, common neckware of the early pirate era. For the pants, a pair of black sweat style pants will work great if you whack them off below the knee and cut the hem in strips or zig-zags.

To hide the elastic waist band and add a flash of color, tie a sash in red, purple or even bold stripes. If you cut your sash from non-ravel fabric, like felt or polar fleece, you won’t have to worry about fraying. Over the shirt, top off your swashbuckling style with a weathered looking leather vest or a 19^th century inspired frock coat – the dandier a pirate you want to be, the flashier your coat must become.

Boots should be tall leather numbers that extend up over the knee and cuff downward, you might have to pick these up from a costume shop. In a bind, you can wear long black socks and black shoes instead. For headwear, there are several options that range from a three-point tricorne hat (with or without Jolly Rodger scull and crossbones) to a colorful scarf over a wig of dreadlocks. Other accessories include flashy faux jewelry, big hoop earrings, a hook hand, an eye patch, prop bottles of rum and, of course, swords. The sword of choice for any self-respecting pirate is a long, curved cutlass. Make your own by covering a cardboard cutout with aluminum foil and gluing plastic gemstones on the handle.

Another spin on a do-it-yourself pirate costume is the female pirate or pirate wench. Her costume would be similar in style to the male counterpoint, but with high heel boots and often a short mini-skirt instead of the cropped pants. Online costume shops have many great examples and accessories for you to draw inspiration from. However your pirate costume turns out, you are sure to be a one-of-a-kind at your next Halloween party.