This is the final post on this costume make. I'm showing you how I created an additional accessory that all evil scarecrows need....a rather nasty looking scythe!...plus the final put together of all the elements....
and the big reveal at the Halloween party!
The previous year I had hunted down props in the local Wilkos Halloween stock sell off...and found plastic knives and swords in a variety of shapes, from curved hand scythes to axes...all for 10p each!...yup, that's right 10p each...silly silly price! So, you guessed it, I filled the basket and took all the remaining stock! The cashiers face was quite the picture, especially as the basket also contained their entire remaining stock of plastic spiders, worms and creepy cobweb fabric too...but at those prices can you blame me. I spent about £3 in total and got dozens of useful pieces. They all go into the stash supplies box for future use....but one piece in particular was to be used for the scarecrow costume.
This is a Grim Reaper scythe...the handle was much longer on purchase, but made up of three sections that could be unscrewed apart...so I removed two lengths to make it more 'hand scythe' sized.
It's pretty naff and plastic looking...durh yeah...it is made of plastic and meant as a childs halloween prop so they obviously can't go selling realistic looking knives. But hey, that's ok because the bones of the piece were there and it just needed sprucing up a bit.
First I set about making the blade look a bit more metal like. I covered it using adhesive backed aluminium tape. This is one of my all time favourite, and much used, materials in my altered art work...you can cover practically anything that it will stick to and get a real metal surface which then takes inks, paints, rusting and distressing treatments really well.
I also added some smaller strips to the top of the handle....all added detailing!
Short lengths of twine were stuck to the top using strong carpet double sided tape, the raw cut edges set in place with wet glue then covered with a length of twine wrapped around the base of the blade.
The rest of the handle was completely wrapped in one length of twine...again using double sided tape to hold it in place.
It was then ready to age and distress. Waterbased inks and paints will not stick readily to the metal tape surface so I opted for Stazon...a solvent based ink that I use in my crafts and cardmaking.
Black ink aged and dulled the metal, Brown added a subtle rust effect, Red was used to make it look bloodied...although it did come out a bit too pink and I went back in at a later date and daubed on thick darker red acrylic paint (which started flaking off so I need to rethink what to use at a later date). For the party it held up long enough for the desired effect.
and so the costume was complete....and here is the reveal! On the night Clive applied black eyeshadow around his eyes and mouth so his own flesh tones didn't stick out too much under the mask.
Trial run of the costume...note: not wearing the gloves or has any straw hair.
The full costume worn at the party
Scarecrow Costume - Time spent
over a period of 4 days, Cost
approx £15. Suitable for
Amateur with basic sewing skills but some artistic capability. Specialist tools/materials required
Sewing machine, cotton thread and large sewing needle, plastic mask base,
straw, hessian fabric, jute twine, acrylic paints, solvent based inks, strong double sided tape, adhesive backed metal tape, hot glue gun, pva glue, stanley 'type' knife and strong leather scissors, gloves, jumper, trousers, plastic rat and scythe props.
I hope you enjoyed reading about this make...as much as I enjoyed actually making it! Next post will cover the Evil Girl Clown costume you see me wearing in the photos above.
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