DIY LAB COAT

One Halloween I tried this no-sew Do-It-Yourself lab coat for my daughter. It was fairly simple and took less than an hour to make. Even better - it is low cost! The whole look only cost around $10. I already had a zombie wig and Harry Potter glasses from previous Halloweens, so I added these to the costume and it was perfect for a mad scientist look.

This lab coat design is based on one I found from Michael's craft store.

Supplies:

1 roll white duct tape (use this only if you do not want to draw directly on the shirt and want to make a real pocket)

1 black Sharpie marker

1 peel-n-stick fabric fuse roll

1 youth white t-shirt

Procedure (These steps were taken directly from the Michael's website):

STEP 1: To make the lab coat “opening”, smooth out the T-shirt on a flat surface. If necessary, iron to remove any wrinkles. Cut a strip of white tape that’s almost as long as the front of the T-shirt from collar to bottom hem. Place the strip onto the right side of the T-shirt, halfway between the center front and side seam of the shirt. The strip should run vertically from the bottom hem to a spot just under the lowest point of the collar, as shown in the project image. Tuck the excess tape under the bottom hem of the shirt. 

STEP 2: Cut a second strip of tape that’s only about 4"-5" long. Place this strip so that it runs from the collar of the shirt diagonally to the topmost point of the longer strip of tape. Tuck excess tape under the collar on one side, and trim it with scissors to meet exactly with the longer strip of tape on the other side. 

STEP 3: To make a mock opening: use a black Sharpie® marker to draw a line straight down the middle of the two pieces of tape. Use a ruler to keep the line nice and straight. Draw buttons on one side of the line, as shown in the project image.  

STEP 4: To make the lab coat pocket, cut several strips of white tape, each about 7" long. Place them upside down on a surface, parallel to each other and overlapping slightly, to create a solid sheet that’s approximately 6"x7". Cover the exposed adhesive side with more strips of tape, so that the outside of the tape shows on both sides. Trim the sheet of tape slightly into a rectangle with a pointed bottom, as shown in the image. The finished rectangle should be about 5" wide by 6" tall for a small T-shirt, and slightly larger for a larger T-shirt. Use the black Sharpie® marker to outline the shape of the pocket. Draw a second line about 1½" below the top horizontal line to make a pocket cuff, and add a stitch line just above this second line. Below the cuff line, draw a rectangle for an ID tag. Write your mad scientist’s name inside the rectangle. Add strips of Peel n Stick™ on the underside of the pocket, but only along the pocket sides and bottom. Remove the backing, and press the pocket down onto the left upper side of the shirt, as shown in the image. Add pens, syringes, and more to the pocket. 

Finally, complete your look with fun hair, gloves, and glasses to go for the "mad scientist" look, or make it your own! 

I also used this pattern to make lab coats for my Girl Scout troop when they were earning their Citizen Scientist badge. For these, I drew directly on the t-shirts, placing a magazine inside the shirt to limit color bleeding through to the back of the shirt. This way was far easier and only took ~ 5 - 10 minutes per shirt. I let the girls color the shirts on their own and they had fun adding colorful decorations and making them their own.