How to Make a "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" Costume

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Jake the Pirate Homemade Halloween Costume

When I asked my son what he wanted to be for Halloween, he did not hesitate for one second with his reply—Jake the Pirate. If you are not familiar with this friendly and helpful pirate, he is the main character in a popular cartoon series called Jake and the Never Land Pirates on Disney Junior. I was beyond thrilled that he chose a costume that would be acceptable to wear for both trick-or-treat night and at his preschool Halloween party.

As I searched the internet, my mood changed from thrilled to utter shock that many sites wanted an average of $30–$40 for such a simple costume. I knew that I could make a homemade costume for much cheaper, and that is just what I did. By using items I already had on hand, I managed to make his Halloween costume for a little over $2.00, which was the cost of the yellow ribbon on the vest.

Read on for a list of needed supplies and step-by-step directions for creating your own homemade Jake and the Never Land Pirates costume.

Helpful Tips for the Vest

Here are some handy tips that will help you when creating the vest:

• When cutting the shape of the vest, don't worry if your lines are not absolutely perfect. The yellow ribbon that you hot glue around the edges of the vest will hide any imperfections.
• If you try to avoid sewing at all costs, go ahead and cut off the excess fabric and use the hot glue gun to reattach the fabric. As you can tell by the pictures below, I am not the world's best seamstress, but I am proud to say that I made it through my very first sewing project!
• As a way to cut costs on this costume, we used the yellow craft foam sheets to create our buttons. If you are also trying to save money and want to avoid purchasing the buttons, another budget-friendly idea would be to paint bottle caps yellow and hot glue them to the vest.

How to Make the Vest

As I started planning out this Jake the Pirate costume, my main concern was the vest. I went to several stores looking for one in navy blue but unfortunately could not find one anywhere in my son's size. Just as I was about to give up, I found an old button-up shirt in my husband's closet, which I decided to alter for this project. My original plan was to paint the edge and collar of the vest with yellow paint, but I quickly found out that paint and corduroy do not go well together. Plan B included a hot glue gun and a roll of yellow ribbon, which worked out perfectly. Below are the steps and supplies that I used to create this vest.

Supplies

• Navy blue button-up shirt
• Yellow ribbon
• Yellow craft foam sheets
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Ruler or tape measure
• Needle and thread (for alterations if needed)

Directions

1. Cut the sleeves of the shirt off, leaving approximately two inches of the shoulder intact. If you are using an adult-size shirt, use your child's measurements or a shirt in his or her size to determine how much of the length to cut off. Make any other necessary alterations by hand or sewing machine to fit your child.
2. Measure and cut pieces of yellow ribbon to outline the edges and collar of the vest. Use a hot glue gun to secure the ribbon into place.
3. Cut four circles out of yellow craft foam sheets to act as the buttons, and use the hot glue gun to attach these to the vest.

Jake the Pirate's Vest: Photo Tutorial

The supplies to make Jake the Pirate's vest

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How to Make the Shirt

After finishing the vest, I got started on the shirt to go under it. This part of the costume was so simple that it took less than ten minutes to complete. Using one of my son's white t-shirts and a black string cut from one of my old shirts, I was thrilled to already have all the items that I needed on hand. Below you will find a list of supplies and step-by-step directions to make Jake's shirt.

Supplies

• White shirt
• Black string or yarn
• Scissors
• Hole puncher

Directions

1. Cut a three-inch slit down the center of the shirt collar. Use a hole puncher to make two holes on each side of the slit.
2. Weave the black string or yarn loosely into the holes to create an X and tie a knot to secure it into place.
3. Cut several 1.5-inch slits into both sleeves to give the shirt more of a ragged pirate appearance.

Jake the Pirate's Shirt: Photo Tutorial

The supplies to make Jake the Pirate's shirt

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How to Make the Boots

The boots for this homemade costume were very easy for me considering my son already had a pair of brown, slip-on boots from his Toy Story Woody costume that he received as a gift last year. To make them look more like Jake's boots, I used a hot glue gun and yellow craft foam sheets to create the special accents. If you don't have these slip-on shoe covers, don't worry about it, as any type of brown boots will work for this costume. Below are the supplies and steps I used in creating the boots.

Supplies

• Brown boots
• Yellow craft foam sheets
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Directions

1. Cut out two ovals from the yellow craft foam sheets and secure them to the top of each boot with a hot glue gun.
2. Cut out two Js and attach these to the inner part of each boot with hot glue. The right boot will have a J the correct way, and the left boot will have a backwards J.

Jake the Pirate's Boots: Photo Tutorial

Cut two yellow ovals and the letter "J" out of craft foam sheets.

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Pants and Other Accessories for Jake the Pirate

Here are a few other items you will need to complete this homemade Jake and the Never Land Pirates costume:

• Royal Blue Pants: For our pants, we simply used a pair of royal blue pajama pants. You could also use blue athletic pants or a pair of blue jeans to complete your costume.
• Wide Black Belt: We used a wide black belt that came with a dress I bought several years ago. Since it was elastic, it happened to fit my son perfectly. If you don't have one of these belts, cut up a stretchy black t-shirt into a long strip of fabric to tie around your child's waist.
• Red Headband: Our red headband came from an old red ninja costume that we already had in our dress-up drawer. You could also use a red bandana or cut up a stretchy red t-shirt into a long strip of fabric to tie around your child's head.
• Pirate Sword: Although my son won't be able to carry his pirate sword with him to his preschool Halloween party, he will add one to his costume that night when he goes trick-or-treating. If you don't already have one, try stores like the Dollar Tree for cheap pirate accessories.

Easy Halloween Costume

As with any new project I start, the hardest part of this costume was figuring out what supplies I needed and how to make each part of Jake's outfit. Once I found my way through a little trial and error, this homemade costume ended up being a breeze to create and saved me so much money in the process. So if your little one is a big fan of Jake and the Never Land Pirates, go on and give this easy Halloween costume a try!

After reading this article, I hope you feel inspired to make a homemade Jake the Pirate costume for your child. If you have any questions or comments about this easy-to-make Halloween costume, feel free to leave these in the comment section below.

Comments

Alissa Roberts (author) from Normandy, TN on October 25, 2013:

So awesome to hear this one came in handy! Appreciate you stopping by Robin!

Robin on October 18, 2013:

I have been looking for weeks for a Jake costume but couldn't find one. Thank you for this Great information on making this costume. It came out Great.

Alissa Roberts (author) from Normandy, TN on October 04, 2012:

Thanks so much Doc! I totally agree on the costume prices - ridiculous! This was my first year making homemade costumes so I really appreciate your kind comments and for the votes :)

Glen Nunes from Cape Cod, Massachusetts on October 03, 2012:

Great costume, Alissa. It's ridiculous what kid's halloween costumes can cost. When my boys were young, my wife made their costumes, and, like yours, they were way better than what what in the stores. Nice hub, voted up and useful.

Alissa Roberts (author) from Normandy, TN on October 01, 2012:

Thanks so much Brittany! I have to admit I was a little nervous about making a homemade costume but I was really pleased with the way it turned out and my son loved it which made me so happy :) Appreciate you stopping by and for all your kind words!

Brittany Kennedy from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on September 30, 2012:

Oh, this is just adorable, Alissa! I know I've said this on one of your hubs before, but I just wish I had kids so I could make clothes for them like this. Great work on writing and also making the costume. What a fun hub.

Alissa Roberts (author) from Normandy, TN on September 27, 2012:

Thanks so much Marisa! I hope your co-workers will find the ideas helpful! Appreciate the vote up and for sharing this one :)

Marisa Hammond Olivares from Texas on September 27, 2012:

Alissa, this is so cute! You did a beautiful job describing the steps and your photos are amazing. I am sharing this with a few co-workers that were looking for this particular pirate costume. Voted up and shared.

Alissa Roberts (author) from Normandy, TN on September 25, 2012:

Thanks so much thebookmom! Happy to hear the instructions are easy to follow :) Appreciate you stopping by and for adding your sweet comments!

thebookmom from Nebraska on September 25, 2012:

Darling costume! Your hub is well written and easy to follow. Great job.