How to Build a Turkey Costume
Gather clothing for the Basic Costume., Fatten up your thighs., Make the wings., Make a breast plate., Make the red parts for the head., Make a hood to cover your head.Cut a double thickness from the remaining 1/4 yard of brown fleece into the...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Gather clothing for the Basic Costume.
Purchase these items: a pair of brown tights, a brown long sleeved jersey, a pair of orange or yellow socks, or the legs cut from a pair or orange or yellow tights. -
Step 2: Fatten up your thighs.
Put on the brown tights and stuff polyester batting under them in the area of the hips and thighs. Safety pin through the tights to secure the batting in a few places.
Remove the tights and baste or glue the batting in place.
Remove the safety pins. , Cut long triangles of brown felt and sew them in layers to the top side of the arms of the t-shirt.
Set it aside. , This is similar to a large, heart shaped throw pillow. Buy 3/4 yard of brown fleece.
Cut 1/2 yard of it, double thickness into a large heart shape.
Sew around all sides leaving a 6" opening to stuff it. Push fiberfill into the breastplate, getting more at the top. Sew the opening shut and pin it to the front of the brown jersey.
Tack it in place to the front of the t-shirt with basting stitches.
Set remaining 1/4 yard of fleece aside. , The names of these parts are: the wattle, which hangs down from the neck.
The snood, or a strip of red over the top of the bill or beak.
The caruncle which goes over the head and upper neck.
Use 1/2 yard of red fleece. It comes folded, double thickness.
Cut two 3" X 45" strips from the side of the fleece. These long strips will stretch if you pull them.
On the sewing machine, use a zig-zag stitch and go around each side of each strip, pulling slightly as you sew. The fabric will fall into ruffles and they will make up the red parts on the turkey's head. Set these ruffles aside. , Cut out a circle for your face to show through.
Put the hood on an assistant and drape the red ruffles to make up the hanging red parts on the turkey's head.
Pin with safety pins to place the ruffles, remove the hood and tack the ruffles into place. Remove the safety pins. , Use a standard, black marker to make parenthesis type marks around each eye. , Purchase a 6" wire, circular, wreath frame for $2.00 at the discount store, in the floral department.
Attach a 3 foot piece of brown ribbon or strips of fabric, one on each side. This lets you tie the frame securely around your waist. , For the longest layer, cut from brown tag board twenty 3" X 24" strips.
Taper one end to a point with scissors.
Use a yard stick to score a line down the center of each feather from top to bottom.
Paint an inch of white at the ends of the feathers, using tempera paint.
Follow with a black stripe beneath the white. , Taper, score and paint them as you did previously. , Crease each feather at the score mark slightly to give it dimension and insert each feather into the wire frame.
Make a row, fanning them out at the top.
At the wire base, they will overlap and begin to fit very snugly into the grid work of the frame.
Repeat with the second layer.
Tie the tail feathers around your waist and adjust them, fanning them out.
Remove the tail piece, place it flat and squeeze a generous amount of white glue into the base of the of the feathers, beneath the wire of the frame.
Turn the piece over and repeat, getting plenty of glue into the feather base.
Allow this to dry overnight. , Paint an orange, triangular beak on your nose, having it go onto your cheeks.
Outline this triangle with brown or black eyeliner pencil. , Cut triangles from felt and attach an elastic around to slip over your shoes and secure the shoe covers.
Tie a piece of felt in the same color around your ankle and glue a triangle for the spur on the back of the foot. , Put on the brown tights and jersey.
Pull on yellow socks or yellow legs cut from tights to form the leg.
Put on the hood.
With assistance, put on the tail and tie it securely around your waist.
Have helper slip the shoe covers over your shoes.
Have the assistant paint the beak over your nose and outline it.
Have helpers check you over and arrange the wattles of red on your head, around your neck and draping over one shoulder, falling onto your chest.
Fan out the tail feathers. -
Step 3: Make the wings.
-
Step 4: Make a breast plate.
-
Step 5: Make the red parts for the head.
-
Step 6: Make a hood to cover your head.Cut a double thickness from the remaining 1/4 yard of brown fleece into the shape of a hood.
-
Step 7: Glue large
-
Step 8: plastic "Googly Eyes" from the craft store onto the forehead of the hood
-
Step 9: above your own eyes.
-
Step 10: Make the fan tail.
-
Step 11: Make two layers of tail feathers.
-
Step 12: For the second layer of feathers
-
Step 13: repeat as above but make them slightly narrower and shorter
-
Step 14: 2" X 22".
-
Step 15: Insert the feathers into the wire frame.
-
Step 16: Do the final touches.
-
Step 17: For feet
-
Step 18: make gold shoe covers.
-
Step 19: On the big day
-
Step 20: get dressed for fun.
Detailed Guide
Purchase these items: a pair of brown tights, a brown long sleeved jersey, a pair of orange or yellow socks, or the legs cut from a pair or orange or yellow tights.
Put on the brown tights and stuff polyester batting under them in the area of the hips and thighs. Safety pin through the tights to secure the batting in a few places.
Remove the tights and baste or glue the batting in place.
Remove the safety pins. , Cut long triangles of brown felt and sew them in layers to the top side of the arms of the t-shirt.
Set it aside. , This is similar to a large, heart shaped throw pillow. Buy 3/4 yard of brown fleece.
Cut 1/2 yard of it, double thickness into a large heart shape.
Sew around all sides leaving a 6" opening to stuff it. Push fiberfill into the breastplate, getting more at the top. Sew the opening shut and pin it to the front of the brown jersey.
Tack it in place to the front of the t-shirt with basting stitches.
Set remaining 1/4 yard of fleece aside. , The names of these parts are: the wattle, which hangs down from the neck.
The snood, or a strip of red over the top of the bill or beak.
The caruncle which goes over the head and upper neck.
Use 1/2 yard of red fleece. It comes folded, double thickness.
Cut two 3" X 45" strips from the side of the fleece. These long strips will stretch if you pull them.
On the sewing machine, use a zig-zag stitch and go around each side of each strip, pulling slightly as you sew. The fabric will fall into ruffles and they will make up the red parts on the turkey's head. Set these ruffles aside. , Cut out a circle for your face to show through.
Put the hood on an assistant and drape the red ruffles to make up the hanging red parts on the turkey's head.
Pin with safety pins to place the ruffles, remove the hood and tack the ruffles into place. Remove the safety pins. , Use a standard, black marker to make parenthesis type marks around each eye. , Purchase a 6" wire, circular, wreath frame for $2.00 at the discount store, in the floral department.
Attach a 3 foot piece of brown ribbon or strips of fabric, one on each side. This lets you tie the frame securely around your waist. , For the longest layer, cut from brown tag board twenty 3" X 24" strips.
Taper one end to a point with scissors.
Use a yard stick to score a line down the center of each feather from top to bottom.
Paint an inch of white at the ends of the feathers, using tempera paint.
Follow with a black stripe beneath the white. , Taper, score and paint them as you did previously. , Crease each feather at the score mark slightly to give it dimension and insert each feather into the wire frame.
Make a row, fanning them out at the top.
At the wire base, they will overlap and begin to fit very snugly into the grid work of the frame.
Repeat with the second layer.
Tie the tail feathers around your waist and adjust them, fanning them out.
Remove the tail piece, place it flat and squeeze a generous amount of white glue into the base of the of the feathers, beneath the wire of the frame.
Turn the piece over and repeat, getting plenty of glue into the feather base.
Allow this to dry overnight. , Paint an orange, triangular beak on your nose, having it go onto your cheeks.
Outline this triangle with brown or black eyeliner pencil. , Cut triangles from felt and attach an elastic around to slip over your shoes and secure the shoe covers.
Tie a piece of felt in the same color around your ankle and glue a triangle for the spur on the back of the foot. , Put on the brown tights and jersey.
Pull on yellow socks or yellow legs cut from tights to form the leg.
Put on the hood.
With assistance, put on the tail and tie it securely around your waist.
Have helper slip the shoe covers over your shoes.
Have the assistant paint the beak over your nose and outline it.
Have helpers check you over and arrange the wattles of red on your head, around your neck and draping over one shoulder, falling onto your chest.
Fan out the tail feathers.
About the Author
Jonathan Rodriguez
Enthusiastic about teaching cooking techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: