DIY Halloween Costume: the Harry Potter Robe

Get ready for Halloween with this free Harry Potter Robe pattern for all sizes! And if you can find cheap fabric, you can make this wizard robe for about $10, including the patch which I got for $3 on Etsy. You know that the luxury, store-bought wizard robes are sold at $80! Let's get crafty and sew a wizard robe for this Halloween.

I have two Harry Potter fans in my house, and my husband and I have also read the books and seen all the movies :-). We went to Scotland this summer, took a ride on the Harry Potter steam train across that beautiful bridge and it triggered our children’s fascination again for the Wizarding World and the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So, they wanted to dress up as Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley or Fred Weasley and Luna Lovegood. :-) Whatever character they choose… And of course, if they go to school at Hogwarts, they need a school uniform, and the most important part of that uniform is the wizard robe! The robes are black and the lining color depends on the house the student belongs to. My kids only want to be in Gryffindor, so wine red and black are our family’s colors.

I looked around for a wizard robe pattern and with the help of a free Burda project description (the link is at the end of this post), I made you a zero-waste, Harry Potter robe pattern. Really! No printing needed. I tried to explain as clearly as possible how to measure and draw the pattern directly on your fabric in the size you need.

The pieces are really big, so I did a little work on the floor because my cutting table isn’t big enough. So if you are up for it, put on some comfy pants, clear out some space and go down. :-) You’re going to love how easy this wizard robe pattern is.

You don’t need a lot to make this Harry Potter robe pattern. I made the entire thing for about $10. Here’s what you need:

• Black synthetic lightweight fabric (polyester):
  → 2 times the length from neck to floor + 20”
  If it’s for a child, neck to floor 35” or smaller and your fabric width is 60” or more, you can manage with the length just once. For my daughter, I had enough with that. For my son I needed more fabric.

• Synthetic lightweight fabric (polyester) for the lining (wine red for Gryffindor-lovers):
  → 1 time the length from ankle to shoulder + 20”

• A fabric marker like the Erasable Fabric Marking pens & a ruler

• Matching threads, sewing machine & needle, pins

• Two black buttons and a piece of black cord or elastic (6”)

• Optional: order an embroidered iron-on or sew-on patch, I found mine on Etsy. Ebay also has Harry Potter Patches.

You need the following measurements from the person that needs the robe: The length…

1. 1. from neck to floor

   2. the shoulder, just one side

   3. the neck

   4. the arm length

   5. the upper arm width

I have another blog about taking measurements if you want to have more information on how to do this efficiently and accurately.

This Harry Potter robe pattern has four different parts:

1. The front: 2x in black fabric

2. The back: 1x on the fold in black fabric

3. The sleeves: 4x on the fold (2x in the lining fabric and 2x in black fabric)

4. The front lining stripe+hood: 2x in the lining fabric

Download the Pattern Instructions. This is not a pattern you can copy. It shows how to draw the pattern on your fabric in the size you need.

Start with the front piece. This one is the most difficult. If you can do this one, the rest will be a piece of cake… I tried to get pictures of me drawing on the fabric, but it was too hard, the measurements being too big to get clearly on camera. So, I’m drawing it step-by step on paper for you.

1. Double fold your fabric.
2. Draw a vertical line: length of person + 16” (= hood length). Mark the crossing: point 3.

• Mark point 1 at right top corner: 16”. This is the depth of the hood.
• Mark point 2 at the bottom right corner, 15 to 20”. This is the width of the robe.
• The total width of the bottom part of the wizard robe for an adult is about 40”. For my children, I adjusted the width to 30”, so my rectangle is only 15” wide.

3. Draw a vertical line 4 inches wide (----) from the bottom of the robe to the neck (where the hood and the robe come together). This is where the front lining stripe will be attached. This line is not a cutting guide!

4. For the shoulder: Where the hood and the robe come together (point 3), draw a horizontal line. This one measures: 4" (point 4) + the shoulder length. This is point 5.

5. The armhole: You need the upper arm width, divided by 2 and add 2”. If you want wider arm holes, add more inches. This is the depth. Go down from point 3 and draw point 6. From 6, draw another horizontal line for the armhole point (7) : measure 4” + shoulder width + 3".

6. Draw the curved armhole line from point 5 to 7.

7. Draw a straight line from point 7 to 2.

8. Draw a line from 4 to 1 and put a marking at half the neck length. This is point 8

Draw the back piece on the fold. You can copy the front piece without the hood, so cut out the front piece first.

To draw the neckline or the Harry Potter robe, draw a diagonal line from half the neckline down towards the fabric fold.

For the front lining strip, copy the hood part of the front piece and draw a 4” wide strip to it.

For the sleeves: start with the arm length, and draw this line on the fold. Start the other sleeve line 2” lower.

The sleeve is 10” to 12” wide.

For the curve, use the curve you drew for the armhole. Put a marking where the curve stops.

You need four sleeves: two in the black fabric and two with the lining. You can cut them on the fold or sew both sides together.

You need the front piece to draw the other pieces.

You’ll end up with this:

• 2 front pieces

• 1 back piece

• 2 lining strip pieces

• 4 sleeves in 2 colors, draw & cut 1 sleeve and then copy the other 3 and cut

Now, you can set up your sewing machine and serger with black and/or red thread. In step 3 to 7, you assemble the pieces.

Put the front parts together, right on right, and sew the seams marked A & B.

Don’t stitch further than point 8.

Do the same for the lining, sew the seams C & D

If you want, you can use a serger or overlock stitch to finish all the edges of the Harry Potter robe. They will be between the fabrics, so you won’t see them, but my fabric unraveled terribly, so I serged all the edges.

Take the front and the back piece. Pin the neckline (E) from the front piece to the neckline of the back piece, right sides together. Do the same for the front and back part of the shoulders (F), right on right. This one is difficult to show in a picture but with the hood already assembled, it will be clear how to put these two seams together.

Sew the shoulder and neck seams (marked E & F).

Finish with your serger or an overlock stitch.

Right on right, sew seam G. Finish with your serger or an overlock stitch.

Sew the lining along the whole front, including the hood (seam H), right on right.

Now turn, press and topstitch along the front. I changed the bobbin thread to red. I also used my edge joining foot for this job. It helps to stitch very close to the seam.

Finish the edges with your serger or an overlock stitch.

Put the sleeves together. Right on right. Sew both long seams (or just one if you cut on the fold) of both the lining and your black fabric. Don’t close your arm hole :-). Sew until the start of the curve of your armhole (you marked it in step 1.4.).

Sew together the lining and the top fabric along the opening, right sides together. Then turn, press, and topstitch along the opening.

Take the front and back pieces. I put the lining and the black fabric together. This is not the right way to do this job, but it goes faster and there is no hand sewing involved. So pin the two fabrics to the arm opening, right sides together (or black on black fabric) and sew.

Again, use your serger/overlock stitch to finish the edges.

I finished the hem on my Harry Potter robes with my serger. You can also finish the edge with a rolled hem, a double folded hem, or use an overcast foot with an overlock stitch.

• To not have the lining peek on the outside, you can attach it by hand with little stitches or use iron-on seam tape from the shoulders to the hem.
• Sew two black buttons on at breast height, one on each side, and attach a little loop on one side under one of the buttons and make a loop for the other button. For my son, I used a piece of buttonhole elastic.
  In this blog about hand-sewing buttons, Cathy explains very thoroughly how to do this the right way.
  

• Iron or sew on the badge of your house on the robe.

And... all done. Dress-up fun is guaranteed!

This was the first time I have had costumes ready more than one month before D-Day… And I know they will get a lot of use. My little cousins and some colleagues want a robe too :-) You can use this free pattern for other wizard cloaks by using different fabrics, make it shorter or longer. I think it would work for a Star Wars outfit too.

I hope you liked these Harry Potter robe pattern instructions. The first step probably looks a little complicated and intimidating, but it is totally something you can pull off if you just follow the steps. Go make yourself, or your kids, a wizard robe!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment. I'll try to get back to you!

AnSewing aficionado and keen sewing blogger/vlogger.
An is Madam Sew’s dedicated creative brain, writing and filming insightful, inspirational content for the sewing enthusiast. https://madamsew.com/blogs/sewing-blog

LINK BURDA project (you have to register to see it)

Download and Print this Harry Potter Robe Tutorial

Download and Print just the pattern drawing for the Harry Potter Robe