Professor McGonagall

Professor McGonagall was made as part of a Harry Potter group completed for Costume-Con 37 in 2019 for my mother. I am incredibly happy with how this costume came out and it has solidified that making costumes for my mother is way more satisfying than making costumes for myself! This costume is based on a combination of the costumes worn in Parts 1 and 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Dame Maggie Smith wears what appears to be the same costume at first glance in both movies but the fit of the waist, the fabric, and the pintuck detail on the bodice differs between both movies. I also could not find a very clear shot of the cuffs and back detail of the costume so I came up with something that had drama and flair and would move beautifully when in motion.

 The underdress was made from a pinstripe cotton sateen from a pattern that I created from a basic sloper block. The bodice has a huge amount of tucks that were stitched on the bias to allow the stripes to sit diagonally. I stitched all the stripes into the fabric before I cut out the bodice and stitched in the side darts. The dress zips up the back with an invisible zipper and has really deep side pockets. I am particularly proud of the sleeve pleat and tuck detail as it took some fun engineering to construct!

The jacket has huge dramatic sleeves with pointed caps, big bell shaped hem, and lined turnbacks. It took many mockups in various sizes to finally get the sleeve shape I wanted and I cannot be happier with it! The sleeve points stay up on their own and are really easy to wear! The jacket collar was draped on my form and then perfected through a couple of mockups. The back point is boned with zip ties and was shaped with heat to keep the curve shape.

The wig is a lace front style in gray that I stitched several hand made wefts of loose gray kanekalon braid into to give it a salt and pepper look. I ended up styling the wig with lots of pins and hair spray each time my mother wears the costume to make it easier to use for other costumes.