All Hallows Eve
Every October I make Halloween costumes for my kids. Through past costume builds I have learned two main things: eyesight is very important and keep the feet free to easily conquer sidewalks, uneven yards, and stairs. To ensure the night of trick-or-treating is a treat, keep the costumes light and comfortable!
The youngest (eight years old at the time) wanted to be Frankenstein’s Monster. For his costume I wanted the head and hands to be over-sized like a caricature, as we were going more for funny and fun instead of realistic and frightening.
Making the Big Hands
I started with cheap cotton work gloves, PVC pipe, PVC 45 degree bend connectors, and scrap foam (sponges would work too).
Cut the pipe into small segments so they fill the ends of the large work glove fingers.
Attach the 45 degree connectors (I just pushed them together and didn’t mess with any PVC cement).
Glue foam to the ends to round out the fingers and fill the tips of the glove.
Fit all the PVC fingers into the large work glove.
Tests with and without the smaller glove were tried and we concluded the small ones weren’t needed.
I did glue thin pieces of foam to the palm ends of the 45 degree connectors to make them a bit more comfortable.
Rinse and Repeat for the other hand.
Making the Big Foam Head
The foam I used was 1/4 inch poly-foam found at most fabric stores.
Estimate the height of the head and test-wrap the foam around your child’s head.
Mark height and length and cut out the large rectangle of foam (off and away from your child’s head!).
I use hot glue to adhere all the foam pieces. There are many contact cements that can also be used.
Glue the edges of the seam to create the tall tube.
Test fit and mark where eye and nose holes need to be.
Cut out holes for the eyes and nose.
Cut new shapes to form the chin/lower lip, a nose, and the brow. You will also need to cut a circle that will be the top part of the monster’s flat head. Trace the end of the tube to get an approximate size.
Glue the foam circle into the top of the tube.
I formed the rounded brow and nose by bending and pinching the foam into shapes and gluing on the back side.
Test fit again. It is important for the wearer to be as comfortable as possible. Make any adjustments as needed.
I trimmed around the back and bottom part of the tube for better fit around the shoulders.
Final Touches
Use a white spray primer on the hands if the gloves are a dark color.
Spray paint the whole head and both gloves to match. I used olive green Krylon.
After the paint is dry I used a Sharpie marker to draw on the eyebrows and hair.
The neck bolts are simply short pieces of pipe insulation spray painted silver. You could also just roll up pieces of left over foam.
Putting It All Together
I bought a cheap suit coat at a thrift store. Size is not too important here as you can just cut the jacket and sleeves to length in short ragged snips.
I used a darker brown spray paint to dirty up the coat.
Have your monster performer wear drab clothes for shirt and pants (mine chose a skull printed shirt and jeans. Remember the comfort tip!)
Put on the coat, then the hands, and finally the head.
Walk with stiff limbs and IT’S ALIIIIVE!
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