Introduction: Make a Cocooned Body for Halloween Display

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I saw a cocooned/Mummified body Halloween decoration on HSN for $90 and I figured I can do better than that.  I decided to use items that I had around the house to keep costs to a minimum.
Items that I used.

1. 1 set of old headphones.
2.  at least 20 plastic grocery bags. the more the better.
3.  Tape.  I used free tape that I ordered from the postal service / or twine
4.  Pvc Pipe. I used 1 1/2"  x 6' pipe.
5.  2 pvc 1 1/2" 90 degree pipe elbows
6. 1  pvc  1 1/2" cross connector
7. 25 ft of sewer/septic  paper. I picked this up at Home Depot. It is like a very thin fiberglass fabric.





Step 1: The Headphones!

Start with headphones.

 I used a pair of broken wireless headphones. you can find an old 70ish style set or even use a old phone headset as long as it has a sturdy  over the head  piece.

Step 2: Prepare the Head

What I did was ball up about 10 plastic bags. I also used a plastic bag that was just about the same size as the headphones. I put the headphones in the bag and then stuffed it with the plastic bags to make the shape of the head. I just took the edges of the bag to tie into a knot to close it off.

Step 3: Creating the Internal Skeleton

I have a 1 1/2" pvc pipe that is about 6ft long.  I cut it into :
1 - 4" piece
2 - 10" long pieces
1 - 4ft long piece  
(I drilled a hole through the 4ft  pipe 1" from the bottom of the body so that I could hang it upside down)

I started by connecting the cross connector and the 4ft. pipe for the spine, and then 4" piece for the neck to the top of the cross connector. After you have that completed add the 10" pieces to remaining open connector ends. Then add the elbow connectors to create the shoulders. sorry I did not get photos of the cut pipe and connectors.

Once you have the armature created attach the head. I used twine to attach the head. I pushed it down on to the pvc neck. You can move the bags to fit around the neck.  I wrapped twine around it wrapping it to the armature. You could also use tape also to connect the head to the armature.


Step 4: Giving the Body Some Bulk

 I drilled 2 holes in the bottom of the pipe and attached a cord to hang it from , and it now is the top of the body. I filled more shopping bags with even more shopping bags and tied them around the pipe to make the bulk of the body. I did not stuff these bags full because I wanted to be able to form the body and not have it too lumpy. I also used white bags on the outside so that they would not show color through the sewer paper. I also wrapped the shoulders to bulk them up and soften them.

Step 5: Wrapping the Cocoon.

Then I wrapped the pipe and bag body in septic/sewer paper from Home Depot (my favorite Store). It will give it a nice cocoon look.  I cut the fabric into about 1ft wide strips. It made it a lot easier to handle.
I started by taping an end of the septic paper to the head and started wrapping it. I continued to wrap from the head and then over the shoulders and then on to the torso. When I added on another strip after I ran out I would tuck it under the last several wraps and then I would start wrapping a few rows up and then keep working my way to the top of the pipe that is hanging,


Here is also My giant spider that has about a 10' leg span. the Body is about 4ft tall.

Step 6: Here Are Some Pictures of the 2009 Halloween Display

The cocooned body made it's debut 2009 and there was a line attached to the door knob and when the door opened the body moved. That gave it just the realistic touch to scare the kiddies.

Halloween Contest

Participated in the
Halloween Contest