The Basic DIY Guide to Making and Putting on a Skeleton Costume

This is a step by step tutorial for making your own skulls and bones face mask and costume. It’s an easy project, but will take some time to make. I have included several photos of the process.

What you need:

– card stock paper (or something slightly heavier than printer paper)

– white fabric (you can use any color really)

– hot glue gun

– string or yarn

– scissors

I used card stock paper because it is slightly more sturdy than regular paper, and is easily found in the office supply section at most stores. I also used white fabric instead of black because it showed my pencil markings better for cutting out the skull pieces. You will want to use something fairly sturdy, like denim or canvas, so that you can put holes in the fabric without it ripping. For the string or yarn, I used an old shoestring that had been cut off from a pair of shoes.

This tutorial is for the basic skeleton costume, which uses the same process to make all of the bones. This is a great intro to making your own costumes, and easy enough for anyone to do.

The basic design is made from a single skull pattern that includes the jawbone. The horns, teeth and spines, as well as the shoulder blade are all made from one pattern. The ribs are made from another pattern that can be altered in length easily.

Making a skeleton costume is an easy and inexpensive way to make a unique Halloween costume. Here’s how:

You will need:

A plain white shirt

Black pants or leggings (black socks if using pants)

White gloves (optional)

White shoes or boots (or paint your own shoes or boots white)

Paper plates (2 for each side of the body – 1 arms, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 head, 2 sides of arms)

Tape (black electrical tape or black duct tape)

String (about 3 feet)

Scissors

Something to decorate your skull with (stickers, glitter glue, etc.)**

1. Choose the bones you will make your costume with. There are many different ways that you can do this. You can use black fabric and foam and bean bags, or a more realistic option is to layer black, white, and gray felt to create the effect of real bone. Another option is to use chicken wire, fabric, and plaster to create 3D bones.

2. Measure the person who will be wearing the skeleton costume from head to toe. You will want to measure from their shoulder down to their toes for an accurate body outline, including their arms so you know how wide your skeleton should be. Skeletons are generally very thin, so this doesn’t have to be a huge measurement.

3. Trace out each bone on your chosen material and cut it out with scissors (if using felt) or wire cutters (if using chicken wire). Be sure that you label which bones go where with a marker so that they don’t get mixed up.

4. Sew together each individual bone the way that it would be on a real skeleton, making sure that you only sew the sides together so that they are hinged like actual joints in the human body. If you are using chicken wire and fabric, fasten them together with hot glue or craft

In this instructable I’ll show you how to make a basic skeleton costume by painting a suit or shirt and pants with black and white fabric paint. You can use any brand of standard fabric paint, such as Tulip Soft Fabric Paint, Plaid Delta Ceramcoat, or Apple Barrel.

I’m not going to cover costuming an actual skeleton: that takes some serious prosthetics and makeup skills that are beyond the scope of this ible (but check out this cool tutorial on body painting a realistic skeleton).

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