Harry Potter House Costume: Where the Crest Goes and How to Attach It

A house crest patch is the difference between "a person in a black robe" and a Hogwarts student. It is also the part of the costume most people get wrong, because they buy a printed iron-on transfer that cracks, or a cheap woven badge that curls at the corners by the second party. This guide covers which garment to build on, exactly where the crest goes, how to attach it to a polyester robe without ruining it, and how to sort a group of friends into four houses without buying four separate orders.

Pick a base: robe, hoodie or jacket

The robe is the classic. A plain black graduation gown or a store-bought "wizard robe" both work. Add a scarf in house colors and the crest, and you are done. Nearly every robe sold as a costume is polyester satin or polyester twill — hold that thought for the application section.

The hoodie is the costume people actually wear again. A grey, black or house-color cotton hoodie with the crest on the left chest reads as Hogwarts from across a room and still works on a Tuesday in November. Cotton takes an iron-on cleanly.

The denim jacket is the grown-up version — the crest on the chest or as one element on the back, with the scarf. Denim is the most forgiving fabric there is for iron-on patches.

Where the crest goes

• Robe: left chest, roughly over the heart, with the top of the crest about a hand's width below the shoulder seam. That is where it sits on the film costumes.
• Hoodie or jacket: same left-chest placement. If the garment has a chest pocket, center the crest on the pocket or directly above it — not overlapping the pocket edge.
• Backpack or tote: center of the front panel, or the flap. The crests are about 3.5 by 4 inches, which is the right scale for a bag panel and slightly small for the back of a jacket on its own.

The polyester problem

Costume robes are almost always polyester. Polyester will take an iron-on patch, but it is unforgiving: too much heat and the fabric glazes or puckers around the patch. Two safe routes:

1. Sew it. A simple running stitch around the border of the crest, ten minutes, and it will never come off. This is the right answer for any robe that will be worn more than once.
2. Iron on a lower setting with a pressing cloth, and test on an inside seam first. Medium heat, cotton cloth between the iron and the patch, firm pressure for 40 to 60 seconds rather than high heat for 20. Let it cool fully. Then run a few stitches at the corners anyway.

On a cotton hoodie or denim, standard iron-on instructions apply — the full guide is here, and the fabric-by-fabric table covers everything else you might be working with.

Sorting a group

Four friends going as four houses is the most common reason people write to us. The house crest set is all four crests in one order — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin — at a lower price than the singles and packed together in one package. Free tracked U.S. shipping applies when the order total is $20 or more, after discounts and before taxes. If the group is lopsided (three Slytherins and a Hufflepuff, which happens), buy the set and add singles for the extras.

For a classroom, a family with kids in different houses, or a wedding party, the same logic applies: one set per four people, singles to balance. The crests are the same embroidered patches either way.

Finishing touches that cost almost nothing

• A scarf in house colors — knit, or two strips of fleece sewn together. This plus the crest is 90% of the costume.
• A wand: a dowel, a chopstick, or a stick from the yard with hot glue dripped down it for texture and a coat of brown paint.
• A tie in house colors if you are doing the school-uniform version under the robe.
• Round glasses for the obvious one; a book under the arm for Ravenclaw; a plant for Hufflepuff if you want to be that person.

Timing

Crests are normally dispatched from Raleigh, NC within two business days, with tracking. Carrier transit times vary, and delivery by a particular date is not guaranteed. If you need patches for a specific event, contact us before ordering. Tracked U.S. shipping is $4.95 for orders under $20 and free at $20 or more, after discounts and before taxes.

See all four crests and the set in the Harry Potter house crest collection, or browse everything in Halloween costume patches.