Making My DIY Clawdeen Wolf from Monster High Cosplay

Clawdeen Wolf was a fun cosplay challenge I took on as a request from my friend, Mina! I was originally searching for Frankies outfit, but ended up finding more items for Clawdeen so I guess it was meant to be! Honestly, I had no idea how much fun making this cosplay would be and how much I would learn from making each piece--especially the boots! I've never made shoes like that before and i'm still so impressed that I MADE THEM. FROM MY HANDS! Just one of the reasons why I love making cosplays, i'm forced to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.

For most of my cosplays, I always search the thrift stores for anything I can upcycle first because it can save time drafting/sewing, it can save money, the materials sometimes look better than buying new fabric, and good for the environment! There's so many textiles in thrift stores that can be given a second life, so why not upcycle before adding onto everything that's already out there?

Here are all the thrifted items I found for Clawdeen, along with my plans for them:

1. Black and Pink Zebra Print towel - This was the first item I found and I couldn't pass on the opportunity to turn it into Clawdeen's Top

2. Purple curtain panels - For Clawdeen's Skirt

3. Plain Black Jacket - For Clawdeen's Fur Jacket

4. Wedge heels - For Clawdeen's Boots

THE TOP

Materials used:

• Thrifted zebra print towel

• Grommets

• Ribbon to lace up the corset

• Satin Fabric for the ruffle

• Bias Tape

• Gold and silver sequins

• Boning

The first piece I decided to make was Clawdeen's top which is probably a stretchy zebra print tank top but since I'm dealing with a towel material, I designed a corset instead so it can hug my body. In the short process video I shared, some people were wondering why I didn't line the corset and were concerned about the towel irritating the skin so to answer those questions:

1. I didn't line the corset because originally I did line it with the purple curtain fabric and it didn't work out. Some materials are just not meant to be turned into certain items. Curtains are just meant to drape and hang, not to be pulled against the body. Because I was making a corset, there was a lot of stress on the fabric and the material tore at the seams. I undid the the two bodice layers and decided to continue the corset without a lining.

2. No, the towel material was not irritating against my skin. It was quite comfy!

I purchased additional magenta satin fabric to create the ruffling along the top of the corset and then covered the raw edges along the top, body, and center back with matching bias tape. To close up the center back of the corset, I added some grommets and laced it up with a matching ribbon. Lastly, I hand-sewed gold and silver sequins all over the corset to add some sparkle!

THE JACKET

Materials used:

1. Thrifted black jacket

2. Purple fur - from Joann

3. Purple stretch velvet - from Joann

4. Elastic for the cuffs and waistband

The next piece from Clawdeen's look is her cropped fur jacket and I created it by first cropping the black jacket I thrifted. The zipper is no longer functional which i'm ok with cus I don't plan to zip it up, but if you want your zipper to work, I would remove the entire zipper and re-install it at the end. Then using stretchy purple velvet fabric, I added a new waistband and cuffs to the jacket. And to finish it all off I added purple fur along the collar and hand-sewed it on. You can probably sew on your machine, but I didn't want to flatten the fur so I did it by hand.

THE SKIRT

Materials used:

1. Thrifted purple curtain panel

2. Black stiff tulle from Joann

3. Zipper from Joann

4. Interfacing

Next is her low-waist mini skirt which brought me back to my middle school days! It was all about the low-waist back then (circa 2005). I was nervous to make the skirt out of the curtain fabric because like I mentioned earlier, it ripped under pressure. After sewing some test seams, I learned that if I cut the curtain on the crossgrain it's stronger. Plus the skirt isn't as tight as the corset so it should be fine! I knew I had to create a mini waistband for the skirt but I couldn't decide what style skirt to attach to it. Was it a gathered skirt? A pleated skirt? A gathered flared skirt? In the end I went with a straight gathered skirt and it worked out fine! Next time I would actually like to try the other options thought!

Underneath the skirt I added some stiff black tulle, and made sure to extend it a little longer so it shows under the skirt just like Clawdeen's. I closed up the back of her skirt with a tiny zipper, and i'm finished!

THE BOOTS

Materials used:

1. Wedged heels

2. Masking Tape

3. Scrap fabric to go under the masking tape

4. Sew-foam

5. Faux Leather - from Joann

6. Spray Adhesive

7. Zipper - from Joann

8. Purple Poly webbing

9. Gold buckles

10. Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint in Black and White

11. Nails

The next most important piece was her purple strappy boots! My first thought was to find some black boots and just add the straps to them but I really wanted the heel part to be wedges like Clawdeen's so I thrifted some wedge heels to transform. To create the boot covers, I created a pattern by having my husband wrap my leg in tape. I drew the shape of the boots on the tape and then we cut the tape off, down the center back.

I finalized the boots pattern on paper, and then cut them out of sew-foam. I covered the each foam piece with black faux leather by spraying it with spray adhesive, and then I sewed the center front of the boots together.

Before closing up the back of the boots, I added an inner leg zipper to easily get in and out of it, and then I also added the purple straps. I thought it would be the simplest to just use poly webbing as the straps, that way I can get gold buckles that fit the same size. I measured each strap to fit around the boots and topstitched them on each side, next to the zipper.

Once the straps were all sewn in place, I painted the wedge heels a grey color with angelus acrylic leather paint. Then marked the shape of the heels onto the bottom of the boot covers, and trimmed the boot covers to be a similar shape. All that's left to do is attach the boot covers to the heels, and my first thought was to hot glue it together but it didn't hold up at all. Luckily my husband suggested nailing the boot covers into the wedges, and it ended up working out perfectly! It was so easy to do and made the boots super sturdy to wear. We used short length flat head nails.

There's one strap that I didn't add and it was the ankle/heel strap, and that's because realistically the strap doesn't sit on the ankles the same way it does on Clawdeen's ankles. I tried it and it didn't work for me so I decided not to force it.

THE ACCESSORIES

Materials used:

1. Choker necklace

2. Thrifted belt

3. Big Gems for belt

4. Small Gems for choker

5. Gem glue

6. Gold beads - from Beads Factory

7. Purple gem pendant - from Joann

8. Necklace making supplies - wire, lobster claw, crimp beads and tool

9. Pink mesh sequin fabric

10. Wig

11. Ears

12. Earrings

13. Yellow contact lenses - from Moco Queen

All that's left are Clawdeen's accessories which include her belt, chocker, necklace, and stockings which was quick to do. For the belt, I purchased some big size gems and glued them on with gem glue. For the choker I used smaller gems in the same color and glued them on. For the necklace I made it using gold beads and a purple gem pendant. And to create the stockings, I found some pink mesh sequin fabric and removed the big sequins so it looks more similar to Clawdeen's stockings. I sewed little leg warmers that were only big enough to cover my knees and that's it!

ALL DONE! Here is the final video and some photos!

Hope you have a freaky fabulous day! Thanks for stopping by :) - April