Harry Potter Party Revisit Part 2 – Diagon Alley

I’m continuing on with the Harry Potter party revisits today.

For our party, I chose to provide cloaks, hats and wands, all which came from Diagon Alley. Instead of going to Diagon Alley, our student’s packages were delivered “by owl” during the party! The children received a cloak, student hat, and cauldron when they enter the door, all wrapped in brown paper and string, with labels from the appropriate Diagon Alley stores: Ollivander’s, Madam Malkin’s, etc.

Student Uniform:

Cloak

1 – 1 ½ yards of inexpensive black fabric per cloak
20” – 24” elastic for each cloak (depending on age of the child)
black or gold decorative button

Hem fabric at each end, making one of the hems wide enough to slide the elastic through. Add a Hogwarts or House crest to the left front of the cloak using the stencil. The crest can be stenciled, made of felt, painted, embroidered, or a printable iron on transfer. Commercially available patches are available from Whimsic Alley.

Pull elastic through one of the hemmed ends, stitch together ends. Tack the two side of the fabric together so they will stay closed. Add decorative button on top.

The children that attended our party were 5 – 10 years old. The cloaks were all approximately the same size, but I did ask for height measurements and made them to measure.

Wizard Hat

Black Felt
hat that fits and holds it’s shape without stretching too much (like a fleece hat)
paper large enough for pattern (freezer paper works well)

On paper, trace around hat. Extend top to a point. Cut out template. Cut out two pieces of felt in the same shape. Stitch, trim & turn inside out. Test the hat first, to make sure it fits before making the rest in case you need to make adjustments.

Wands

12” dowel rods (available pre-cut at craft stores)
sand paper
acrylic craft paint
clear acrylic sealant
foam brush
egg carton

Gently sand the dowels to make sure they’re smooth. Poke a holes into the bottom of the inverted egg carton. Inset the dowels into the holes. Paint each dowel a different color. When dry, flip and paint the other end. Repeat with sealant.

Optional: before sanding, trim dowels to different lengths, sanding the rough edges off of the ends.

Sample Wand Names:

Unicorn Hair, Willow, 10 inches
Unicorn Hair, Yew, 11 inches
Phoenix Feather, Maple, 11 1/2 inches
Dragon Heartstring, Cedar, 11 3/4 inches
Dragon Heartstring, Ash, 10 3/4 inches
Phoenix Feather, Redwood, 12 inches

Include wand names on an Ollivander’s label, printed on parchment and attached by string to the brown paper package. Cut and paste to make your own labels!

Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC

Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same.You will never get such good results with another wizard’s wand. (from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

The kids chose their wrapped wands from a cauldron , or rather their wands chose them! Each wand was unique, which made it easier for them to keep track of during the party.

Cauldrons

You can purchase black plastic cauldrons from your local party store and many grocery stores during Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day. If your party is during a different time of year, try searching online for a party supply store. Cauldrons are great for decorations or party favors. We had one for each child. This is where they stored all their things from the party when it was time for them to leave. They also had a great time using their imaginations making potions once we were done with our “classes.”

Also see: Part 1, Invitations and Decorations

As always, if you make any pattern or craft from Sewhooked you can share your photos by adding them to the Sewhooked flickr group!

Happy crafting