How to Make a Sally Costume from the Nightmare Before Christmas

Co-authored by Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: April 5, 2021 References Approved

What's this? An easy Sally costume that you can put together for Halloween or cosplay? Skip the costume store and make a custom Sally dress with patchwork pieces of fabric. Mark the dress with black paint to look like stitches and pair your look with her iconic red hair. Sally also has recognizable pale, blue skin and black stitches along her face so have fun doing the makeup. You're sure to make everybody scream!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Sally's Dress

1
Pick a sewing pattern for a simple knee-length dress. Find one that has a V-neck and decide if you want it to have short sleeves like Sally's dress does in the movie. An A-line dress that's knee-length is the perfect pattern for Sally.^{[1]
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- Don't have the time or sewing skills to make your own dress? Don't worry! Find a knee-length dress that you don't mind turning into a costume. You can use an old dress of yours or check thrift stores for an inexpensive one. Then, just glue fabric patches onto the dress.
2
Cut the paper pattern into a handful of unique shapes. Cut out the paper pattern according to your size. Don't forget to leave a ¹⁄₂ inch (1.3 cm) seam allowance. Then, cut it even more to make unusual shapes that fit together. Don't make them any particular shape— just cut the pieces so they fit into the original shape. For guidance, you can look at a picture of Sally from the movie.^{[2]
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- You'll cut a different type of fabric for each piece of the pattern. This is what gives the dress its patchwork look.
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3
Pin the pattern pieces to different colors of fabric and cut them out. Have fun picking out a variety of fabrics to use for the dress. For example, in the movie, Sally's dress has faded yellow, faded green, and faded pink with black polka dots. Lay a pattern piece on the fabric, pin it in place, and cut it out. Do this until you have 1 fabric piece for each of your paper pattern pieces.^{[3]
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- You can add the dots, circles, stripes, and checks to the fabric with a marker, so focus on choosing fabric colors that match Sally's dress in the movie.
- This is a great project for using up fabric scraps! If you don't have extra fabric lying around, check the thrift store or remnant section at the fabric store.
4
Pin the fabric pieces together according to your pattern. Lay your fabric pieces with the wrong side of the fabric facing up and pin the edges of the pieces together following your paper pattern.^{[4]
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- If it helps, lay the pattern pieces out and stack the fabric pieces on it so they fit correctly.
5
Straight stitch the pieces together according to your sewing pattern. Set your sewing machine to make standard straight stitches and leave a ¹⁄₂ inch (1.3 cm) seam allowance as you work. You might find that it's easier to sew the patches on a single pattern piece together before you sew the patterned edges together to make the dress.^{[5]
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- Turn your dress right side out when you finish sewing and try it on so you can make any adjustments to the fit.
6
Draw lines and curls over some of the patches with black fabric marker. When you look at Sally's dress, you'll see some patches of fabric that have large black circles, straight black lines, or swirls on them. If your fabric doesn't already have these designs, take a black fabric marker and choose 3 or 4 patches to draw them onto.^{[6]
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- If you don't have a fabric marker, use a permanent marker so it doesn't wash out.
7
Squeeze black fabric paint into x's along the seams. To give Sally's dress its classic patchwork look, make the seams really visible. Take a bottle of black fabric paint and squeeze dashes and x's along the seam lines. Make them different sizes so they look handstitched. Then, let it dry for at least 4 hours before you flip the dress over and do the other side.^{[7]
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- If you don't have black fabric paint and don't feel like buying any, use a thick black permanent marker to make the stitches.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Hair and Accessories

1
Buy a long red wig made of synthetic hair or red yarn. If you're going for a realistic-looking Sally, pick out a red wig made of synthetic hair that's at least 18 inches (46 cm) long. Want to give your Sally more of a rag doll style? Look for a long red wig that's made of yarn. You might see them sold as rag doll costume wigs.^{[8]
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- The shade of red is totally up to you, but bright red is a good choice. Rust-colored red hair can make your Sally appear darker or moodier.
2
Sew custom gloves out of a pair of light blue tights to get Sally's blue arms. Trace your hand on a piece of cardboard and cut it out. Stick it inside the foot portion of a pair of tights and zigzag stitch around the cardboard to make spaces for your fingers. Take out the cardboard and trim off the excess fabric between the fingers. Repeat this for the other side and cut a 4 in (10 cm) hole in the crotch so you can stick your head through.
- To wear the tights, slide each of your hands through them and into the fingers you sewed. Then, pull the hole that you cut over your head and down along your shoulders.^{[9]
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- Want to save time or don't want to sew? That's fine— just buy a pair of long light blue gloves or skip the blue tights for the legs and the arms altogether.
3
Wear a matching pair of light blue tights on your legs. Pick the same color of tights in your dress size and wear them under your dress. You might wear a size medium on your legs and a size small on your arms, for instance.^{[10]
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- Matching the tights with the tights on your arms makes it look like your Sally's skin is pale blue.
4
Pop on a pair of plain black shoes to finish dressing your Sally. In the movie, Sally wears simple black shoes that have a slight heel and closed toes. Don't like wearing heels? Don't worry! You can wear plain, black flats or any comfortable pair of black, closed-toed shoes.^{[11]
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- Try black oxford or mary jane shoes, for instance.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Makeup

1
Spread a light blue cream makeup all over your face and neck. You can buy a cream makeup in light blue or blend a little blue eyeshadow into a white cream-based makeup. Then, brush the makeup onto your face. Don't forget to get your eyelids, ears, chin line, and neck. Let it dry completely before you put more makeup on.^{[12]
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- If you put on the makeup before you get into the dress, make sure you apply makeup wherever your skin will be visible once you put the dress on.
2
Put dark blue eyeshadow around your eyes to make them look sunken. Take an eyebrow pencil and brush it into dark blue eyeshadow. Tap it into a little black eyeshadow to darken the color. Pat it onto the hood of your eyelid and brush it along the length of your eyelid. Then, apply white eyeshadow along your lower lashline to make your eye look bigger.^{[13]
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- You can also brush dark blue eyeshadow into your eyebrow to give it the appearance of a bone.
3
Brush dark blue and white eyeshadow over your face to make a patchy skin tone. Give your Sally her unique look by brushing or dabbing dark blue eyeshadow along your temples, your cheeks, and the sides of your nose. Then, go in with a white highlighter and brush along the top of your nose, below your eyes, and along your chin.^{[14]
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- If you're short on time, you can skip this step, but it makes your character look a little more interesting.
4
Apply dark red lipstick. If you want a really dark, moody look, choose a rich, burgundy color that really stains your lips. For more of a doll look or for a kid Sally, pick a brighter shade of red.^{[15]
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- Choose a matte lipstick since Sally's lips aren't glossy or shiny in the movie.
5
Attach long, black false eyelashes to give Sally a doll-like appearance. Sally's eyes are extremely large and fake eyelashes can make your eyes look bigger than they are. Buy a package of false eyelashes with extra-long lashes and follow the package instructions to attach them to your lashline.^{[16]
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- Want the eyelashes to be even more noticeable? Brush black mascara over them or apply 2 layers of fake lashes to each eye.
6
Draw stitch lines on your face and body using black liquid eyeliner. To complete Sally's makeup, take a bottle of black liquid eyeliner and use it to draw a long curved line on her forehead above her right eye. Then, draw a line coming from each end of her mouth and make it curve up like she's smiling. Draw dashes and x's along the lines to make individual stitch marks.^{[17]
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- You can draw lines and stitches on your legs, arms, and anywhere else you've got exposed skin. Do this freehand or look at a reference photo of Sally if you want to place the stitches and lines in the exact same spots.

Community Q&A

Question

How would I act like her?

Community Answer

Sally is shy and hasn't really been out in the world since the guy who made her keeps her inside. You should pretend to be a little shy, but exited and adventurous.