DIY PaperBag Princess Costume

The classic feminist fairy tale The PaperBag Princess by Robert Munch was always one of my favourites as a child. She was so different from all of the other princess books and it was a good message that perhaps planted the seed to me studying gender studies at university – but maybe that’s a stretch.  Anyways, it is such a great kids story so I made my own DIY Paperbag Princess costume.

This usually is an easy, straightforward costume to create – a square bag with a hole for your head and arms and a yellow construction paper crown. Of course, I wasn’t going to do a normal version of this costume, I wanted create a haute couture version of the dress. See instructions on how to create your own fancy DIY Paperbag Princess dress below! As a bonus this costume is CHEAP to make – since most of the material is brown paper bags.

Paperbag Princess Supplies

Dress

• Brown paper bags – lots of them!
• Glue gun and glue
• Elastic (to make a skirt waistband)
• Duct Tape (to secure the bags on the backside of skirt)
• Mini dragon stuffed animal

Crown

• Gold wire
• Gold coloured crystals

Make-up

• Regular make-up routine and,
• Brown eyeshadow to make your face look dirty.

Accessories (optional)

• Boyfriend to be your Prince Ronald
• Cover your shoes with brown paper bags

Instructions

Paperbag Skirt

1. Cut an elastic band a length slightly smaller than your waist (approximately 1-2 inches). Sew in place
2. Cut bags apart to create flat rectangles
3. Lay them flat and cut the corners off the top part which will loop around the elastic.
4. Loop the top part over the elastic and secure with glue – SCRUNCH the bottom part of the bag
5. Create multiple layers of bags under the first layer until you receive the desired length and fullness. Tape the layers into place with duct tape (glue may also work)
6. Scrunch the bags to get the a puffy crinoline look

Note: You need to wear something under this dress; especially in case it rains (which it did when I wore it – hence the costume did not survive a second Halloween).

Paperbag Shirt

1. Tape multiple bags together until it can reach around your chest
2. Tape closure on the back or side while you wear the shirt
3. Play with accordion folds to make the strap more interesting
4. Add a dragon!

Crown

1. Make a circle with the gold wire
2. Loop five triangular points around the circle. As you make the points add a gold crystal at the top, twist the wire to secure the bead and create the next point.
3. Once the points are complete add a thin wire with a gold bead above the first circle; twist around the points to secure it.
4. The crown doesn’t have to be perfect, being bent adds to the look.

I hope you liked my DIY Paperbag princess costume, if you did check out my Effie Trinket costume.

Full disclosure if you purchase this book through the link I would get a small payment. But I love this book and I think all kids should read it!