This costume is lots of fun, very easy and you do not even have to know how to sew to be able to create it.
Supplies:
- Bra
- Jazz pants
- Stretchy white material
- Textured white material
- Scissors
- Straight Pins
- Safety Pins
- Tailor’s chalk or a small piece of soap
Directions:
- Choosing Your Materials
We used stretchy material for our demonstration to make it more comfortable but it is not necessary. If you are using this as a dance costume, you will definitely want the material to be stretchy. You may not be able to get textured material that stretches.
Choose a bra that is comfortable and has removable straps. The best choice would be a bra that was solid white with no decorations.
- Cutting Material
First, you will want to cut a number of strips – some thinner and some thicker.
You will need a couple of very thick strips (i.e., to cover the bra) and several thick strips and thin strips.
Cutting the Thick Strips
To cut larger strips of fabric, match the ends and then fold it in half, then fold it in half again, and then again. At this point, start cutting thick strips that are perpendicular to the length of the fabric. They will not be perfectly straight but that is perfect. They should not be perfect. The easiest way to measure the width of the strips is to lay the palm of your hand on the fabric and use it as a gauge to determine how wide they should be. Continue cutting the fabric until you have several strips. Is strips as wide as the palm of your hand.
Cutting the Thin Strips
Cut the thin strips the same as cutting the thick strips but use something like the width of a yardstick as a guide. Stretch the thin strips so they do not look so perfect.
- Covering the Bra
With this particular mummy costume, we will start out with a bra as the base and white funky (textured) material to cover it. We use a stretchy material for comfort but that is not necessary. You could even use an old sheet. However, if you are using it as a character dance costume, you would definitely want to use a stretchy material like Lycra.
When using the bra as a base – we are going to start with the funky or textured fabric. This can be a sew or no sew costume. Lay a very long, thick strip of the funky fabric across the bra and then using a short, thin strip of fabric, wrap it around the center of the bra (between the cups) and tie it off. Cut the ends short and then cut the ends of the strip into several smaller strips – kind of shred the end so that is kind of ragged. Remove the straps from the bra. Using one of the long, thin strips, feed it through the little loop where you would usually hook the strap. Feed the strip by attaching a safety pin to the end of the strip and feed it through the loop. Cut a small hole in the funky fabric laying over the bra corresponding with the loops in the top of the bra and then feed this thin strip through the hole in the fabric. Feed the strip so that both ends of the strip are almost even. Do the same thing on the other side above the cup.
This process covers the bra without having to sew it together. Make sure the strip wide enough to cover the bra and long enough to cover the sides of the bra and tie it off in the back. Use the ends of the long texture strip over the bra to tie it in the back. From the ends of the strip, make cuts in towards the bra. Do not make them even in width or length. You just want to have loose ends that you can tie together. Set the top aside.
- Cover the Front of Torso
Cut a very large, long acute triangle out of the funky material. The wide part of this triangle will attach to the bottom right of the bra and angle down towards the left hip. Take the top of the widest end of the triangle and put a hole in that top corner. Put a corresponding hole in the bottom right of the bra and the textured fabric. Using the safety pin, feed one of the thin little strips through the holes in fabric laying across the top of the bra, the bra and the fabric triangle under the bra and tie the strip holding the three pieces together. Remember, do not make them perfect. Make them messy. Now we have the triangle attached to the bra.
- Preparing the Pants
You first need to decide which leg you want shorter. This side will appear
“heavier.” In our demonstration, the top is heavier on the right because of the triangle attached on the right. Consequently, we decided to make the leg on the left shorter, or “heavier.” In other words, we decided to make the left leg shorter and cut slits in the right.
Left Leg
Cut the left leg off at about the knee. Then make slicing cuts of different lengths from the outside of the leg into the inner thigh. Be careful that you do not cut all the way through the leg. You want the leg to stay together a few inches at front and back sides of the inner seam. Be careful as you are making cuts too high on the leg. You do not want to have the butt hanging out. At the outside seam just above the cut closest to the leg, create a little hole and feed a small, thin strip through the hole. Then pull the strip under to the slice below grabbing that cut piece of the leg and bring the strip bring it back up tying the strip together so as to stabilize that first cut piece to the solid part of the leg above it. Move over to the other leg.
Take one of the thicker strips and cut the width in half. Take one of those strips and tie it to the last slice on the left leg. Fold it in half down the length and tie one of the pieces to the bottom strip of the leg so that it can later be wound down the dancer’s bare leg. The other strip you just cut, tie it on the other side of the leg on the strip second from the bottom of the leg. This allows you to wind both strips around the bare part of the leg crossing them as you.
Right Leg
Remember what we said about making sure the bottom does not hang out. Smooth out the leg, fold it in half lengthwise and put the seams of the leg together. Cut slices into the leg from the fold towards the seams leaving a 2 – 3 inches intact from the seams. Make the cuts uneven. Make the slice cuts at different angles – some straight, some up and some down. Remember, you do not want to cut through the seams on either side of the leg. If you were to cut through on either side, the leg would droop down and you could easily trip on them. About half way down the leg, unfold the leg, cut a hole in the leg a couple of inches from the seam and make a slice down to the other seam. Move your scissors an inch or two back and cut a slice down the pant leg in the other direction. Again, move your scissors over an inch or two and cut down in the other direction. Then you will have some pieces hanging down without slicing through the seams. Repeat this technique again but instead of cutting down in a sort of a Z shape, repeat that with making extra slices perpendicular to the first cut. This is not a drop dead direction. Be a little creative.
- Putting on Costume
Carefully put the pants on. Wind the strips on the left leg down the leg. Wind the strips down the bare part of the leg crossing the strips as you go. As you cross the strips, twist the strips so that they will not tighten up as you walk. Continue winding the strips down the leg.
Once you have put the pants and bra on, tie the thin point of the triangle to the left side of the jazz pants. Make two little holes next to each other near the waist or hip of the left side of the jazz pants and a another hole in the thin point of the triangle. Feed a thin strip through the two holes in the pants and the hole in the triangle and tie the strip off. Shred the ends of the strip.
And there you go, a Mummy Costume.
