Introduction: Ice Age Scrat and Acorn Costume
Scrat from Ice Age is one of my all time favorite movie characters. I was so excited that my little girl would wear this costume!!
This costume idea has been on my to-do list for several years.I started with the body. Using a mid weight upholstery fabric I made a bodice and matching lining. The bodice and the matching lining are sewn at the shoulders , sides and crotch areas. After the bodice and lining were sewn I placed the lining inside the bodice and hand sewed the neck opening , arm holes and leg holes together.
Step 1:
Be sure to leave a big enough slit in the middle of the back for the wearer to step into the costume.
The tail is made of a faux fur. Two pieces of fur were cut into a C shape , stuffed firmly with fiber fill stuffing and a stiff wire was added through the stuffing to keep the tail erect. The tail should is roughly as large as the body. After completing assembly of the tail , I hand sewed the tail to the bottom of the bodice.
Use a contrasting fabric and make a belly section . My belly is two matching pieces of fabric that I sewed right sides together . After sewing, I slit a hole in the middle of one side and turned the fabric right side out. This will keep your edges smooth and you will not have to hide the frayed edges of the fabric. I used a fabric glue to attach this to the front of the bodice.
The arms are a long sleeve t-shirt dyed to match the belly and lower legs.
Step 2:
The head is a bit difficult ,but with patience it will turn out beautifully.
For the inside of the head I made a tube of fabric and gathered one end together making a beanie type hat.
Next, I cut out two side pieces of fabric and one center piece. The center piece goes from the tip of the nose to the back of the head. The two side pieces are sewn to the center piece and then stuffed with fiber fill. After stuffing the head it is sewn to the beanie cap by hand .
There are two tubes of fabric that are used for the eye sockets. The tubes are folded in half and two round lids from fabric softener bottles (balls can be used) were glued inside the fabric eye sockets. Scrat has bulging eyes ,so leave a lot of the ball sticking out of the socket. the eyes were painted using acrylic craft paint. The eye sockets are hand sewn to the head.
For the nose and fangs I used .a baked polymer clay. After they pieces were baked I glued them onto the head.
Scrat's cheeks are made from scraps of fur that I formed into little pouches . They are stuffed and hand sewn to the sides of his head.
An optional piece of fabric can be sewn on for a neck.
Step 3:
Scrat has large thighs are skinny lower legs. My costume has the thigh pieces sewn directly to the leg holes .
The lower legs are stockings dyed to match the costume.
I don't have photos of making the hands and feet. My costume has hands made from leather work gloves that I cut 2 fingers off of. There is wire in the remaining fingers and clay claws glued to the tips. The wire allows for shaping the hands into a rodent shaped hand which is usually curled into a fist.
The feet are created much like the hands. I made fabric booties with very long toes that are wired and have clay claws glued on to.
Step 4:
If you are lucky , You have a cooperative youngster to model this for you. My child has gone through a major growth spurt and outgrew this a few of weeks after I completed the costume. Hopefully, her baby sister can wear it in a year or two!
Step 5:
