This Pop Diva costume was designed to be worn by an adorable shih tzu named Fiona for Artbeads.com's Halloween pet fashion show. Fiona's costume was inspired by a denim outfit that pop star Lady Gaga sported onstage for a performance but feel free to take inspiration from your favorite pop diva.
Step one: To create this costume, we purchased a child's dress from a second hand store as well as tulle, a mask and Mod Podge from a craft store. To save time with the alterations, try to find a dress that is close to the size of your dog. We sewed most of this costume but, depending on your sewing skills, you may choose to simply use hot glue instead. First, shorten the length of the dress to fit and cut a scoop into the front of the dress to leave room for your dog's legs to move freely. Save the leftover fabric, you will use it to make additions to the costume.
Step two: Use leftover fabric to construct the wings. Cut two triangle-shaped pieces, for each wing, and sew two sides together. Stuff the wings with batting and sew them shut. Next, sew the wings onto the back of the dress. Cut haphazard pieces of leftover fabric and glue them over the seams where the wings connect to the dress.
Step three: To create the mask, cut more haphazard pieces of leftover fabric. Paint a layer of Mod Podge over the mask and cover the mask with the fabric pieces. Paint another layer of Mod Podge over the fabric and allow it to dry. Trim any fabric that obstructs the eye-holes. For the ties, punch two holes, on each side of the mask. You will want the ties to be positioned in front of and behind each ear. String a 20-inch piece of 3/8-inch white organza ribbon through both holes on each side. Next, fold a 20x4-inch piece of tulle in half. Gather the tulle along one edge and sew or glue it to a piece of ribbon. Glue the ribbon onto the back of the mask, near the left edge.
Step four: We used a jewel setter and Gem-Tac permanent adhesive to glue the rhinestones to both the dress and mask. Our dress had buttons down the front which we covered with 14mm Swarovski chessboard circle crystal flatbacks. We also covered a logo on the front of the dress with fabric scraps and a flower design made of four 8mm Swarovski teardrop crystal flatbacks alternating with four 10mm Swarovski rhombus crystal flatbacks with a 14mm chessboard circle flatback in the middle. We glued a wide variety of Swarovski crystal flatbacks on the shoulders and back of the dress as well as on the wings and along the bottom hem of the dress. We also glued several rhinestones in an interlocking fashion to cover one half of the mask. We used the following styles of Swarovski flatbacks in crystal: chessboard circle, rose, teardrop, cosmic baguette, cosmic delta, wing, rhombus and square.
