Slotted Construction Cardboard Turtle Costume

Prices on just about everything have been rising constantly. In this economy no one wants to spend money on something that will be used only once, such as a halloween costume. This is a "green" way of re-using carboard and wont cost any money.

By using slotted construction you can make a turtle costume completely out of recycled cardboard. Slotted construction is a very useful technique that can be used for various activities. When making a costume you can use this technique using cardboard to make different pieces fit together.  Slotted construction is eco-friendly if you use recycled cardboard and won't cost any money.

This is a great project to do with the kids and serves as a great halloween costume.


I did this as a school project and each student made there own costume. We had specific guidlines and limitations. We had to make costumes out of cardboard and no adhesives. 
  I designed and created a turtle costume using only cardboard by using the technique slotted construction.
Specifications:
• fit middle school aged child
• slotted construction
• flat-pack design
• resemble a marine organism or marine related structure

Limitations:
• tri-wall, double ply or single-ply cardboard
• no adhesives- only cardboard
• able to be worn as stage costume or Halloween costume

Step 1: Prepare

supply list:
item:       material:                 QTY:            size:                                 part:
S1           CARDBOARD         1                20in by 20in                   front shell
S2           CARDBOARD         1                28in by 24in                   back shell 
S3           CARDBOARD          2                20in by 2in                     straps


tools and equipment:
item:       tool:                          use:
T1           cutting mat             To cut cardbooard on so nothing is damaged
T2           utility knife               To make cuts in cardboard to from costume
T3           ruler                         To measure cardboard
T4           pencil                      Make marks on cardboard of where to cut

part list
item:     QTY:      part name:
P1           1          Front shell
P2           1          Back shell
P3           2          Straps