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Easy Ms. Frizzle Costume for Halloween or Comic Con

October 16, 2018 2 Comments

Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.
A couple years ago, when I was still working as a Teen Services Librarian, I took my teens on a field trip to Chicago’s C2E2 comic con. And as you do when you’re a librarian taking over a dozen middle and high schoolers to their first comic con, you whip up a quick take on the most iconic field trip leader of all time: Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus! I’ve been sitting on this finished costume for awhile because it never felt like the right time to share, but you know what? Halloween is coming up! This costume takes advantage of yarn wigs (one of my favorite things to make in the history of ever), and it doesn’t require a huge amount of skill to complete. Plus, even though this outfit isn’t the most impressive thing I’ve ever made, I got stopped right and left at comic con for photos, and everyone knew exactly who I was. That’s a successful costume in my book! ;)

Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.

How To Make an Easy Ms. Frizzle Costume

Supplies for the wig
-wig base (pick one of the following, see this yarn wig tutorial for more details): worn out pair of tights, wig cap, or stocking cap
-bright orange yarn
-light orange yarn
-bobby pins
-rubber band
-scissors
-tapestry (yarn) needle

Supplies for the dress
-blue dress (you can make or buy one)
-light blue, light green, brown & white felt
-washable markers or chalk for marking felt
-tacky glue
-scissors

Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.

Wig directions

Make your wig according to the directions in my yarn wig tutorial, specifically following the instructions for how to make a long wig. The key to getting The Frizz’s hair right is to give her wig a center part (securing your yarn bundles all in a row down the center of the wig). Another key is to use a lighter shade of orange yarn for the front couple rows of hair, versus a darker, bright orange yarn for the rest of the wig. The wig construction for Ms. Frizzle is so easy because once you make yourself a center part, long-haired wig, you simply style the wig into a big bun with a rubber band & bobby pins, and trim a few flyaway “hairs” for effect.

Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.
Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.

Dress directions

I based my easy take on Ms. Frizzle specifically on a 2001 computer game called Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure, largely because I knew volcanoes and globes would be pretty easy to draw and cut out! :D There are so many different Ms. Frizzle outfits out there, and there are even a lot of science-print dressed to choose from if you want to stick to DIYing just the wig. If you’ve got the orange hair and a space print dress, folks will know who you’re supposed to be, AND cute little kids might even want to give you a hug or two. Speaking from my comic con experience of such kid behavior, it’s super adorable! 

Step one for the dress situation is to make or buy a blue dress. I used the Decades of Style ESP Dress pattern because it was beginner sewing-friendly and adding long sleeves with an elastic cuff was a simple modification.

Once you’ve got your dress base sorted, it’s time to get drawing! Grab your brown felt and place it right side down on your work surface. On the wrong side of your felt, draw several volcano shapes that are about 5 inches tall and cut them out. Using the volcano shapes as a guide, cut some white felt for each volcano: specifically, some smoke for the tops of your volcanoes, and some additional felt for the tops of your volcanoes, as shown in the photos. I freehanded most of them to give the dress a bit of variety (and save some time). In total, my dress had 8 volcanoes, and they all have smoke save for the two on the sleeves. Glue your cut-out volcanoes together using tacky glue and let dry.

Meanwhile, grab your light blue and green felt. With the right side of your blue felt facing down and using a small plate or lid as a stencil, trace seven circles onto your felt and cut them out. With your green felt, cut out several land mass-esque shapes to represent continents. Again, free handing will save you time if you don’t want to go for perfect accuracy. Just like with the volcanoes, glue your globes together using tacky glue and let dry.

To finish your dress, simply use tacky glue to stick your globes and volcanoes to your dress. Let dry completely before wearing. For bonus points, you could also make yourself a set of volcano earrings and shoe clips to round out the costume. In the end, just remember to have fun, and don’t forget Ms. Frizzle’s catch phrase, “Take chances; make mistakes; get messy!”

Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.
Make a quick and easy Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. Perfect for Halloween or comic con! No sewing, knitting or crocheting skills required. Click through for the how-to.

Filed Under: Halloween, Yarn Crafts Tagged With: comic con, cosplay, costume tutorial, halloween, halloween costume, magic school bus, ms frizzle, yarn wig

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Connie

    October 8, 2019 at 11:24 pm

    You saved my cosplay. There are no good Miss frizzle wigs out there for sale. This is genius I would of never thought of using yarn. I wish I learn about this for all my littles cosplays. I do have one question though did you do her bun? Is it a standard twist or a different way?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 10, 2019 at 10:36 am

      Good question! I just used actual rubber bands (because yarn is stronger than human hair, ha!) to make a bun, but the yarn is so thick and voluminous, getting the bun to balance and last all day/night is the one tricky bit. I actually was wearing this costume at C2E2 a couple years ago and went to the bathroom around lunchtime to tszuj my hair. Using my phone as a mirror to see the back of my head, a lady came up to me and started screaming in my face that a bathroom isn’t an appropriate place to take pictures. I tried to explain that I was fixing my hair, but she was was like, “YEAH RIGHT!” Again, with the face screaming. 🙄

      She wasn’t there for comic con, and luckily other cosplayers were very nice to me when she stomped out of the bathroom in a huff, asking if I was okay and stuff. At least I learned that a women’s comic con bathroom is filled with folks with lots of nostalgia for the Magic School Bus who are ready to throw down over a yarn wig confrontation. 😂

      Thank you for listening to my ted talk about styling a yarn wig. Feel free to email me if you want to keep talkin’ yarn wigs: heidi-at-handsoccupied-dot-com.

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the S Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest. Thank you. 🙏🏻❤️ If you love this pattern & didn’t know already, we are going to be doing a knit along (KAL) from October 1-29 featuring this spooky sweater vest & lots of tutorials, especially for the intarsia part. 
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Later today my newsletter will be coming out with additional Knit Along details, so if you’re not already signed up, now is a great time - the 🔗 is in my b1o. 
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Pictured: My Spiral Hill Sweater Vest pattern from the new Nightmare Before Christmas knitting book by @tanisknits. Model is wearing size 1 with 2” of positive ease, knit in @brooklyntweed Imbue Worsted. Vest images via @insighteditions 
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#spiralhillsweatervest #handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook
At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, my contribution to the new book Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town, out now! 🎃💀 
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I’m hosting a knit along (KAL) October 1-29 for anyone who’d like to knit this vest along with a group & learn a little about intarsia while we’re at it. I’ve got weekly tutorials planned to help you knit this worsted weight sweater vest, and there’s a prize package giveaway at the end for KAL participants too. Details are on my site - you know where to find the 🔗 I think. 😉
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Book by @tanisknits 
Publisher @insighteditions 
Yarn @brooklyntweed Imbue 
Find it wherever fine books are sold. 
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#handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmas #intarsia #sweatervest #knittingpattern #knittingbook #spiralhill #knitting_inspiration #knitting
Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs closet after this weekend’s quick tutorial, here are few. ✂️ The tutorial is one post back in my feed as a video.
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As you can see, I didn’t worry about the wire hangers all being perfectly uniform, but it doesn’t matter to me. Also, this closet holds a lot! Despite that, it is already at capacity. Since the hanging bags don’t appear to be recyclable, I want to reuse them as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be a way to limit my WIPs? 😅
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P.s. In the third photo you can see how I use this system to store the original swatches, scraps, yarn ball bands, & notes from a design project all together. 
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#handsoccupied #wips #craftstorage #yarnstorage #yarncrafts #knitting_inspiration #craftstudio #craftroom #craftcloset
How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with jus How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with just a few supplies ✂️
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When I was a librarian, we would use these hanging bags to circulate books with audiobook CDs. They came to mind when I wanted to develop a filing cabinet-like system for my differently-sized WIPs. To fit in my studio closet, a standard bedroom closet, they just needed custom hangers. 🤙🏻 
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HOW TO MAKE THE HANGERS
1. Carefully cut approx. a 9” (23 cm) length of flexible 3 mm aluminum wire.
2. Near the end of a large knitting needle or dowel, wrap the wire around it as you would a twist tie. 
3. Bend the other end into a hook shape, perpendicular to the circle shape you just created. 
4. Hang like a hanger in a closet, as shown. 
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It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! T It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! This go around, get to know two new sister yarns from @manosyarnsusa, Marla and Sami, and enter to win a skein of each to try for yourself. 
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What makes these yarns sisters is that, while dyed differently, they’re the same weight and come in intentionally coordinating color palettes. For my review, I opted for a sky-inspired combo of Sami in Natural and Marla in Nube. 🌧️ 
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Check out the full review & enter the giveaway at the link in my bio. 
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