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DIY Mad Hatter Costume

After watching Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, I became slightly very obsessed with all things ‘Wonderland’. I love all Tim Burton’s style, so just before the movie was released in 2011 I attempted making a DIY Mad Hatter costume for Carnival.

DIY Mad Hatter Costume

DIY Mad Hatter Hat

Let’s start off with the most important part of the costume, the Mad Hatter’s hat. I purchased a clown hat from a costume shop, which had a blue half wig attached. This was because I didn’t want to wear a separate wig and hat. I sprayed the blue wig with an orange fun coloured hairspray and I found some old lace to cover the hat and make it look less ‘clowny’.

DIY Mad Hatter Hat and Costume

I dabbed black shoe polish onto the lace to stain it, allowed it to dry then hot glued and stapled it all over the hat. I think this really toned it down and added more of a Mad Hatter vibe to it.

For hat pins, I borrowed 2 of my Mum’s old knitting needles and attached 2 fancy buttons onto the ends. The 10/6 card was made from white card glued onto cardboard. The orange sash was one I already had and it fitted nicely round the base of the hat. I found a large feather for the other side of the hat and hot glued that in. You can buy a Mad Hatter Hat on Amazon if you don’t feel like making your own.

DIY Mad Hatter Costume

Onto the clothes, I found this tweed looking jacket at the local market, it was about 3€ and I just loved the arrows on the lapels. I had loads of lace left over from the hat, so I asked dear Mum to sew some ‘frilly bits’ onto the cuffs of the jacket. Prior to this we dyed them in a bowl of water and old teabags.

DIY Mad Hatter Costume Ideas


The shirt was from Next, the oversized bow was from a costume shop. You can’t see in the photo but I wore some old grey/brown office trousers.

I made the cotton spool bandolier from my Mum’s old spools. I used ribbon to attach them all together and then tied that around me once the rest of the costume was on. If you don’t have the supplies, you can buy a Mad Hatter Bandolier on Amazon.

I found a vintage Hermes handkerchief in my local second hand shop, which was attached to one pocket and strips of ribbons where attached to the other.

RELATED: 5 Awesome Halloween Costumes

Mad Hatter Makeup

The Mad Hatter’s face is very pale, so for the base I painted on white Snazaroo face paint with a brush. To set it I used a white eyeshadow all over my face. You can see I used my brightest pinks and blues on my eyes and an orange liquid eyeliner was used on my eyebrows to make them look really bushy.

DIY Mad Hatter Makeup

On my lips I used a pinky/purple lipstick and enhanced the cupids bow. I took it a step further and used a black liquid eyeliner on my front teeth to create a tooth gap. This wore off quickly, but was good for photo purposes. If you are looking for a more toned down version of the Mad Hatter’s makeup, check out this Wearable in Wonderland makeup tutorial.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Mad Hatter costume and if you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them.

DIY Mad Hatter Costume Alice in Wonderland

What are you going to be this Halloween?