I’ve been botanically witchy lately. After having so much fun making a Loblolly pine cone witch for Halloween, I decided to keep the witch costume theme going for each season. My winter witch was inspired by ice berries one might see after an ice storm, more locally to Houston is a deciduous holly (or meadow holly) that loses its leaves in the fall while keeping its berries through the winter. Here’s how I made my Winter Holly overdress and costume…
[Related: Costuming a Loblolly Pine Witch]
This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, Red Shoes. Red Wine. will earn a small commission for the referral at no cost to you. Read more about affiliates & disclaimers here. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
For my winter witch, my inspriation was red ice berries with a blue background. I have these beautiful slate blue curtains with silver twig embroidery hanging in my living room and dining room. I know what you’re thinking, and no, I didn’t kill my curtains (those that know me, know I sacrifice curtains on the regular). Lucky for my living room, I had an extra panel and ordered additional panels from eBay. I also had red silk panels a friend gave me that would be the liner for the hat and dress. And drawing on my love for McGonagall’s Yule Ball costume that I made and am immensely proud of, I designed this costume based on that aesthetic. Not wanting to make everydamnthing for this costume, I had a ruffle collared shirt, a black lace obi belt, and a bark colored walking skirt from my Barbarian costume that would be perfect. Pair these with my Bernhardt boots from American Duchess and I’m good to go!
Obi belt: Lovful Womens Lace Waist Belt Wrap Self Tie Obi Style Cinch Boho Dress Belt,Black
From the one extra curtain panel I already had, I was able to cut the witch hat from my Loblolly witch hat pattern, as well as the bodice and sleeves from the same pattern I used for McGonagall’s Yule Ball overdress (this time using the pattern’s view C sleeves instead of making the large bell sleeves). I decided to make the overdress without a collar, and I extended the bodice front line down into the skirt (that modification is shown in the McGonagall link below). While I waited for the other curtains to come in the mail, I proceeded to paint, cut, paint, and sew about 750 felt ice berries for this dress (felt painting/sewing can be found here: Making My Holly Witch Hat).
Pattern: McCall’s M6818 Women’s Gothic Vampire Costume Sewing Patterns, Sizes 12-20
McGonagall overdress modifications: Costuming McGonagall from Harry Potter
I made the holly witch hat almost exactly as I did for my Loblolly pine witch hat, and the downloadable pattern and instructions can be found in either of these posts.
Once the curtains arrived in the mail nearly a month later (not that I’m impatient or anything…), the rest of the overdress was completed in an afternoon. So fast in fact, that I didn’t take any pictures during the construction! I proceeded to hot glue (gasp!!) felt ice berries to the overdress…
It was my plan to cluster the berries at the waist, and fade them out above and below, and I’m hoping that’s how it looks to someone other than me. Above, you can see the layering of berries as I glued them onto the dress. Detail oriented that I am, towards the end/center clustering, I ran out of red dyed coral beads and used clear quartz beads for the remaining maybe 200 berries. To me they look even more icy and I love that effect. Never mind that up close, the berries kind of look like sliced chorizo (like pepperoni, but Spanish).
Quartz chip beads: UnCommon Artistry Genuine Gemstone Chips Strand 32″ Strand (Clear Quartz Crystal)
On Instagram, I ask friends and followers if I should use small or large French buttons (from Burnley & Trowbridge), and whether or not to include a faux fur stole. The response was overwhelmingly in favor of large buttons and definitely with fur…and I’m glad almost everyone agreed with the direction my brain was going, because I usually just do what I want anyway. But my thanks to everyone for making me feel less crazy in my decision making!
Fur stole: La Carrie Women’s Faux Fur Collar Scarf Wrap Cold Winter Warmer(White)
And here she is in all her fabulous (so extra) glory, my Winter Holly Witch! The day before Winter Solstice, my husband and I tried to take photos at Houston’s Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, but the harsh direct sun was coming up fast, and the park was packed with wedding parties doing professional shoots. We snuck around to the side of the water wall, not to disturb any of the wedding parties, took a few quick photos, and quickly got out of there so this cranky witch could eat breakfast. Here’s a few okayish shots below. You can almost see the look of annoyance on my face, and I guess that’s appropriate for the character. We’d like to attemt a reshoot, but winter weather being what it is in Houston (usually just wet and muddy), I can’t make any promises we’ll find ideal conditions on a day with no other shoots going on there. I do plan on wearing this costume to the Texas Renaissance Festival next year for their Celtic Christmas themed weekend, and for that, I’m really excited.
What do you think?
[Related: Making My Holly Witch Hat]
Please follow me on Instagram @redshoesredwine for almost daily updates, adventures, and stories! All tutorials, patterns, travel tips, and packing lists are provided free on my blog. I do not charge for them nor allow advertising on my site, but if you would like to donate towards my domain/hosting costs or craft supplies, consider buying me a “coffee”: https://ko-fi.com/redshoesredwine -Thank you, and cheers!