How to Make Martha's Queen of Halloween Costume

Halloween has been one of Martha's favorite holidays since she was a young girl. Over the years, she has dressed up as dozens of characters, from a Bo Peep-inspired outfit fashioned by her mother to a Bloody Nurse costume (which won her first place at a Halloween party!). But surprisingly, one role she's never dressed the part of is queen—until now. This year, Martha transformed into a character we already lovingly know her as: The Queen of Halloween.

Martha's costume was largely inspired by Queen Elizabeth I. In her coronation portrait, the Queen dons a beautiful gold cape, an ermine capelet, and a ruff collar, which are the three main components of Martha's costume. For the cape, costume designer Jenny Peet used gold muslin fabric to make a stripped-down version of an opera coat. She topped the coat with faux fur and black chandelier crystals to mimic the look of ermine. The ruff is made from lace and polyester organza, which is backed with tulle and nylon horsehair braid.

What really brought the Queen of Halloween costume to life was the Elizabethan era-inspired accessories: a crown, chain of office, scepter, and orb. To make these pieces, former decorvow Living staffer Lauren Dumler relied heavily on faux jewel beads, ribbon, and glue. She made the scepter from a repurposed curtain rod and transformed a plastic ornament and pumpkin into an orb. Both accessories were spray-painted gold and decorated with gems. Her majesty's crown (from Amazon no less) was elevated with faux diamonds and pearl beads.

While the costume may seem detailed, mostly everything Martha is wearing can be made from items found at craft and fabric stores. What's more, many of the pieces can be ordered online and jazzed up at home with faux rhinestones and pearls. If you're up to the task, we're sharing a detailed step-by-step tutorial that will show you how to make Martha's entire costume at home.

How to Make the Cape

By printing and assembling the above templates, you can make the exact cape, capelet, and ruff Martha is wearing as the Queen of Halloween. The design was inspired by oversized opera coats because they have no tricky sleeves to sew. Alternatively, you can buy an opera coat or similar style cape online in lieu of making your own.

Materials

• Basic sewing supplies
• Sewing machine
• Fabric shears
• 8 yards of gold fabric, preferably 54 inches wide
• 1 yard white faux fur fabric
• 4 yards white lace with a scalloped edge on both sides
• 2 yards pale yellow polyester organza
• 2 yards stiff tulle
• 9 yards 3/8-inch soft nylon horsehair braid
• 1 spool 14-gauge aluminum craft wire
• Wire cutters
• 40 to 50 black replacement chandelier crystals
• 2 spools of matching gold thread
• 1 spool white thread
• Bias tape
• Safety pins
• 4 large-size hooks & eyes

Steps

1. Print and assemble templates above.
2. Cut gold base cape: Line up the grainline on the pattern with the long edge of your gold fabric. Make sure that all your pattern pieces will fit on your fabric before you cut it out. Finish the raw edges of your cape pieces by zig-zag or overlock stitching them.
3. Sew gold base cape together: Using gold thread, stay stitch the neckline and curve of the shoulder seam to keep them from stretching. Stitch the side front piece to the front piece, leaving the space between the two notches open for the arm hole. Stitch the center back seams. Stitch the front and back shoulder seams together.
4. Let the cape hang, then hem: Let the cape hang overnight to let the sides stretch out before hemming. While the cape is hanging, finish off the outer edges of the back and front facings with a zig-zag or overlock stitch, and stitch the facing pieces together at the shoulders and back. Once the cape body is hung out, finish off your neck edge and front opening edge with the facing pieces. Understitch, then hem the cape, either by hand or using the blind hem stitch on the sewing machine.
5. Cut the fur capelet: To cut faux fur, avoid cutting the "hairs" of the fabric. Either slide your fabric shears underneath the hair to cut or use a straight razor to cut only the backing portion of the fur. Cut a layer of lining. (Peet used gold cape fabric, but you can also use a different lining fabric.)
6. Sew the fur capelet together: Using white thread, stay stitch the neckline to keep it from stretching. Stitch the shoulder seams of the fur, then stitch the shoulder seams of the lining. Then stitch the lining to the fur, leaving a 6-inch opening at the center back hem for turning. Trim out the fur from the seam allowance in the inside of the capelet so they lie flat. 
7. Sew on the crystals: Arrange the chandelier crystals all over the fur and stitch them on by hand with white thread. Close the opening at the center back hem of the capelet with a slipstitch by hand.
8. Attach the two capes together: Sew the capes together by hand at the center back, shoulder, and center front neck edges.
9. Cut the ruff: Cut the lace, organza, and tulle into 11-inch strips. Using white thread, sew the strips together to make one long strip of each fabric, making sure the eyelet of the lace is all on one side.
10. Sew the ruff: Stitch the nylon horsehair braid to the long edge of the tulle, matching raw edges. Then stitch the long edge of the tulle to the long edge of the organza. Turn and press, so the seam allowance and the nylon horsehair braid are on the inside. Then stitch that finished edge of organza and tulle to the scallop edge of the lace. Stitch all layers together again 1 inch from the raw edge, and again in the middle to marry them all together. Fold this long strip in half to find your center back point. Pleat the long strip, pinning as you go. Pleats should face your center back point. Each pleat has a 5-inch intake, and the fold of each pleat should be a 3/4-inch away from the next. 
11. Make the wire bonding for the ruff: Make a long tube that finishes at 3/8-inch out of the organza. This will be the casing for the wire. Cut one long 18-inch casing, and two shorter 11-inch casings. Cut three pieces of aluminum wire double the length of the casings. Turn back the tips of the cut edges of the wire. Fold each piece of wire in half and twist it. These will be the bones holding the ruff up. Stitch the one long casing down the center back of the ruff by hand, letting it extend past the raw edges. Position the other two casings at roughly the shoulder level. Use the Ruff Template to help you place where the wire casings should go. Insert the twisted wire, and sew the casings shut. 
12. Arrange the ruff: Use the Ruff Template to arrange your pleated down strip into a crescent shape that can be inserted into the neckline of your cape. With the help of a friend, put the cape on and arrange the pleats of the ruff to your satisfaction. Baste. Trim away the excess material. Cut a long piece of 3-inch wide bias tape. Bind the edge of the ruff with the bias. Tack the folds of the pleats down with long, loose running stitches across the back of the ruff. Safety pin it as desired, then stitch the ruff in at the neck edge by hand. Stitch the long backbone casing to the center back seam of the cape.
    

How to Make the Chain of Office

A chain of office, also known as a livery collar, serves as a symbol of prominence and status. Martha's was made by adhering large gemstones and pearl beads to a length of gold ribbon.

Materials

• Ribbon
• Large filigrees
• Large gemstones
• Drop-shaped pearl beads
• Round pearl beads
• Head pins
• Large and small pearl cabochons
• E600 glue
• Rhinestone cabochon setting
• Needle
• Gold thread
• Ribbon crimp end clasps
• Jump rings
• Chain necklace end chain
• Lobster clasp
• Pliers

Steps

1. Measure length around shoulders where the chain of office would lay over the fur capelet.
2. Cut ribbon to length.
3. Using glue, adhere the large gemstones to the large filigrees.
4. Adhere the large pearl cabochon to rhinestone cabochon setting.
5. String medium drop-shaped pearl and pearl bead onto a head pin.
6. String large drop-shaped pearls onto head pins.
7. String small drop-shaped pearls onto head pins.
8. Glue the headpins with pearls to the back of filigrees.
9. Glue small pearl cabochons to large filigrees.
10. Sew outer edges of large filigrees to ribbon every 3 inches.
11. Adhere pearl and rhinestone setting to ribbon in between large filigrees.
12. Crimp ribbon end clasp onto ends of ribbon.
13. Attach a jump ring and lobster clasp to one end.
14. Attach a jump ring and end chain to other end.

How to Make the Scepter

Another status symbol, a scepter is an ornamental staff carried by rulers as an emblem of authority. Martha's scepter was made from a decorative curtain rod with crystal finials. It was spray-painted gold and adorned with faux pearls and gemstones for an opulent finish.

Materials

• One curtain rod with crystal finials
• Ribbon
• Faux gemstones
• Gold spray paint
• Flat backed pearls
• Large metallic bead
• E6000 glue

Steps

1. Use painter's tape to cover crystal finials on curtain rod.
2. Spray paint the rod with gold spray paint.
3. Once the spray paint is dry, glue ribbon around both ends of the rod.
4. Glue flat-backed pearls around the ribbon.
5. Glue a metallic bead to top of the crystal finial.
6. Glue a flat-backed pearl onto the top of the metallic bead.

How to Make the Orb

The orb, which royals carried as a reference to the universe, completed Martha's costume. Traditionally, orbs are often surmounted with a cross, but Martha's forgoes this symbol for an on-theme gold pumpkin. The orb itself is essentially a big plastic ornament, which you can order online. Choose one that can be unscrewed and fill it with candy to give to trick-or-treaters.

Materials

• Giant fillable ornament (available on Amazon)
• Large faux gemstones
• Gold spray paint
• Rhinestone cabochon setting
• Large pearl cabochons
• E6000 glue
• Mini plastic pumpkin
• Ribbon
• Large filigree

Steps

1. Spray paint interior and exterior of ornament.
2. Spray paint fake pumpkin.
3. Cut ribbon and glue it around the center of the ornament so the seam is covered.
4. Cut another piece of ribbon and lay it over the top of the ornament so it's perpendicular to the other piece of ribbon. Secure with glue.
5. Glue gems and pearls along the ribbon.
6. Glue large filigree on top of the orb so it's center.
7. Glue pumpkin on top of the large filigree.