Call this one a Thriller Werewolf or Pretween Wolf costume. Either way, isn't it terrifyingly adorable? I did it with duct tape and under $20!
Here are a few tips to help anyone who might want to flex their crafty bones and give this costume a try. I freehand everything, so no stencils or measuring! I like to live my craft life on the edge! Keep reading for tips...
The Materials
Here's all you'll need:
- Red long-sleeved tee shirt one size too big (or sweatshirt if you live in places that actually have cold weather during Halloween)
- Plaid shirt (from Goodwill)
- Mask
- Craft fur material (2 sheets)
- A piece of black felt
- A Sharpie
- Red duct tape
- Yellow duct tape (standard and trim size roll)
- Wolf fangs
- Strong fabric glue
- Safety pins
- Stapler (I don't sew, so...)
- Elastic
The Mask
I found the idea for the hairy wolf mask here. Her instructions are pretty cleat and she has pictures of her process. Your mask will be unique depending on the type of mask you use. I chose one that has a nose bridge and cheek bones for a more dramatic mask.
When cutting this material, turn it fabric side up and only snip the fabric. You want the mask to be natural looking and fury, so avoid bluntly cutting the actual fur.
Try the mask on before you glue anything. I had to cut the holes on the mask larger to make it more comfortable for my son to wear. You may need to cut more fur away from the eye holes after your initial cut. If you have a white mask (most craft masks are white), then blacken the areas around the eye spaces so the white won't show through if you end up having to remove more of the fur fabric after you've glued the mask and tried it on.
The Letterman Jacket
Biggest tip here is to use a thermos or tumbler to stretch the arm cuffs of the shirt before wrapping the duct tape around it. Duct tape does not stretch, and you want to make sure hands can fit through the finished costume. Also, don't worry about lining up the duct tape at the shoulders. pay more attention to keeping the line at the cuff as straight as possible. Once the arms are covered with the yellow duct tape, you can trim the taps around the shoulder areas using the shirt seam as a guide. It's very easy.
Fury Wolf Parts
For the tail, just cut a rectangle the length of the piece of fabric and staple it. If you're the fancy Martha Stewart type, you might want to sew it. Cut a whole in the end, string a bit of elastic trough the holes and tie it to the back belt loop of a pair of jeans, or use a large safety pin to secure it.
For the feet, again with the rectangles (long enough to cover top of shoed foot) and the cutting holes and the tying elastic strips. These will slip on like a sock, so cut the holes so that one elastic will rest around the ankle and the other under the bottom of the shoe. See pic at the top of this section for how these should look when they are done.
I used a pretty strong fabric glue for the gloves, but it didn't work. I even pressed each pinger down with an inserted Sharpie and it still didn't work. I ended up having to use safety pins to keep the fur attached to the glove. You might want to consider using super glue maybe, or just fashioning something similar to the foot covers for the hands.
Cut the sleeves off the shirt. The jacket will go on easier and the costume will be less bulky. This came in handy when my son wanted to play--he could just take off the jacket (see grey tee he wore underneath in pic at top of this section) and still had his fury paws, mask and tail on, rendering a more Pretween Wolf look than MJ from Thriller, but he was still in costume.
Now you or your little one are ready to wolf out!
If you ever try to make this costume, please come back and let us know how it turned out, or tag me when you post pics on social media. I'm @homegirlblog everywhere.
Happy Making!
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