Introduction: Best DIY Headless Costume

This was the best costume that we have ever made. My daughter is 8 years old and she was a big helper. We went to our local thrift store and bought a couple of trench coats. They were on $2.00 each. I wasn't sure what size we would need. My daughter is small but it ended up that we needed a large adult coat. We didn't use the buttons because I thought if she tripped or fell it would be to hard to rip open. Instead we closed the coat using velcro.

Step 1: Plastic Container

We tried different size containers. The one that was big enough was a pretzel container that we got from our local grocery store. We cut the entire bottom out of it. We cut half of the back out too. We put black duct tape around all the edges so they would not scratch her.  We took the lid off and rubberband a piece of thin material around the top.  Once she wore the costume for awhile the inside would start fogging up so we decided to remove the cloth from the top and kept it open . Our daughter said it was better that way. More air flowed through.  We added cotton balls to the bottom and dripped fake blood around the bottom. 

Step 2: Fake Arms and Hands

To give the look of natural arms and hands we tried a couple of things. At first we tried using a swimming noodle.  It was too thick and wouldn't give the elbow bend that we needed. We tried a metal hanger that we straightend out. It looked ok but it was too light and it did not give the thicknest we needed. What we ended up using was plastic grocery bags. We stuffed the arms and gloves with plastic grocery bags.  It was light weight, fexible and it looks like the real thickness of an arm.  We used velcro to fasten the gloves and a few fingers to the plastic container.

Step 3: Headless Torso

This was an easy step.  We used very thick and sterdy cardboard. We cut out a "T" shape.  At the top of the "T" we used plastic tie downs to secure a wooden hanger. We tapped a metal ruler to the back of the cardboard so it would not bend backwards. We taped foam used for quilted to the top of the hanger to give the shoulder and neck look. We taped a small doll baby pillow to the bottom, at my daighters waistline.  I was afraid that a straight board against her back would be uncomfortable. Having a pillow in the small of her back was very nice she said. We hot glued some scrap material over the entire thing. It was flesh colored and it work perfectly. To secure it to my daughter we used an old elastic/velcro back brace. It fit arcross her chest and under her arms and it was wide enough to keep the enitire lower part of the "T" covered.  

Step 4: Make-up

My daughter loved this part. She did her own make-up every time.  She did her face in all white. She added purple and blues around her eyes. She dripped blood from the corners of her eye and mouth. She would walk around with her eyes half shut and her head tilted. She played the part so well. She loved this costume.

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