Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Oogie Boogie Costume - Building the Body

Hi All,

To build the body, I started by folding three yards (if I remember correctly) of burlap in half, lengthwise, and made a simple tunic by cutting a hole in the top for my head.



I figured that the costume would best be worn by stepping into it from behind and fastening Velcro to hold it together at the base of my neck. The head would cover those seams anyway. I cut down from the back of the neck to about mid-back, until it was big enough to step into. I "hemmed"the cut with hot glue and glued on the Velcro.

After wearing the burlap like a poncho, it was quite easy to figure out where I needed to cut and hem the arms and upper body, so I pinned and cut the upper body, leaving the lower portion flared out to create the pear-like shape of Oogie Boogie (terrible picture - sorry).

I had a heck of a time trying to figure out how to create the lower body and legs so that I could walk comfortably, while maintaining the shape I wanted. I finally realized that my jeans were a perfect template. No, I didn't bother getting another pair - I just used the ones I was wearing at the time. I promise that I checked for reflective surfaces before taking this picture.

I pinned around the legs of the jeans, leaving a wide birth for the hem and my feet, and was able to create the shape of the lower body easily.



With the shaping and cutting of the main body done, I hemmed the entire costume with hot glue (and burned the holy hell out of my fingers and hands). Then I turned it right-side-out, and was very pleased with the initial results.

I wanted to make the hands as authentic as possible (pointy and closed), but needed to be able to do important things at the Halloween party, like pour beer and change music with a remote control. I cut the hands to attach just lower than my elbow, and left the back side open. That way I could pull my arm back, undo some Velcro, and put my hand through the opening.

I used finished edges of the burlap on the arms and the hands so I wouldn't have to deal with fraying or extra hemming.

With the hands done, all that was left were the feet and decorative stitching.

I put some thought into the feet. I didn't want to walk on burlap all night, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time with Velcro or pins to add them on after I put on the rest of the costume. In the end, I decided to just add some burlap to the top of a retired pair of slippers.






With the feet done, I took the same thread I used around the eyes and mouth of the mask, and added decorative stitching to the entire body, and finished up with the mask.

So, how did it turn out when I put the whole thing together? Let's just say that I got some compliments on it. :)
I am the shadow on the moon at night...

-Nick

11 comments:

  1. Thanks! It was a fun costume to make.

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  2. I really wanted to thank you for sharing how you made this. It helped me a lot with making a costume for my husband this year.

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  3. No problem at all - glad that it helped. How did your husband's costume turn out?

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  4. It turned out really well. Different, but good! Here's some pictures:
    http://anginet.com/archives/14172
    Again...thank you SOOOOO much!

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  5. Oh wow - all of your costumes turned out really well! Great work! :)

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  6. I am making this for this year. you rock!

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    1. Fantastic! Good luck, and have a great time!

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  7. Hey there Nick! I made an Oogie Boogie costume this year for my Tim Burton-themed Halloween Party. I needed to send out a big thank you as I could not have done it without you. Thanks!

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/135712891@N02/

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    1. Your costume turned out great! Glad that you found these posts helpful. :)

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  8. Thank you for posting this costume. My cousin and I just finished making it!!
    Happy Halloween!!

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