Buzz
Do you want to create a mummy costume to scare everyone this Halloween? Mummy outfits are easy to make – you only need a few basic materials that you probably already have at home, or you can find at a thrift store for very little money. Follow these simple steps below to craft the perfect mummy costume for this Halloween season.
Steps
Cut and Age the Fabric Strips
Find some white fabric. If you have an old bedsheet, that's perfect, but you can also buy inexpensive fabric at a fabric store. If you don’t have anything suitable at home, try visiting a thrift shop – there are plenty of cheap items there that will work.
- You’ll cut these fabrics into strips – obviously – so it doesn’t matter if you need to buy several pieces of fabric (as long as you have enough).
Spread out the fabric. Use scissors to cut strips about 5 - 7.5 cm wide along the horizontal length of the fabric. You don’t need to use a ruler – uneven cuts are perfectly fine. The more ragged and imperfect the mummy looks, the better.
Tear the fabric strips along the length of the fabric. This will create frayed strips that give the classic mummy look for wrapping.
- Once again, don’t worry if the strips aren’t perfectly straight. If you need to straighten them, you can use scissors to guide the tear and then tear again as needed.
Stain the fabric. To create the look of ancient, dirty mummy wrappings, you’ll need to dye the fabric with tea bags!
- Fill a large pot with water, about two-thirds full, and bring it to a boil.
- Add a handful of tea bags to the water. The larger the mummy costume, the more fabric you’ll need, and therefore more tea bags. For a child’s costume, just a few bags will do. For an adult-sized costume, you’ll need a good handful.
- If you don’t have tea bags, you can use brewed coffee instead.
- Place the fabric in the pot and stir, letting it soak for about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Remove the fabric and hang it to dry. If you like, you can use black face paint to randomly add streaks to the fabric. For a quicker drying process, you can place the strips inside a pillowcase and toss them into the dryer.
- The pillowcase will keep everything from flying around in the dryer. Don’t skip this step if you decide to use a dryer!
Sew with a sewing machine
Place the fabric strips across the front of a white turtleneck or long-sleeved shirt. While you don’t need to wrap the strips (they won’t stay in place anyway), you do want to ensure they’re long enough to wrap around the shirt. Just place them loosely; after all, you're not trying to be the most polished character at the party! Start from the bottom and stop when you reach the chest area.
- Thermal underwear might look better than regular loose clothes, at least in terms of appearance. But if you don’t have any on hand, don’t worry about spending extra money. You can use the two-piece loose clothing this way instead.
Sew the strips across the front and back of the shirt. This step takes the longest. Fortunately, the more haphazardly and unevenly the strips are sewn, the better. Leave a few strips hanging loosely, with some shorter and some longer. After all, it’s a mummy costume – perfection is not the goal!
Cut along the inner seam of both sleeves. This cut will open up the sleeves, allowing you to lay them flat on a table. This way, you can sew the strips on without having to twist the sleeves as you sew.
- Just go ahead and do it! Lay the shirt flat. Cut several strips long enough to wrap around each sleeve and sew them in, layer by layer. Continue sewing the strips until both sleeves are done.
Turn the shirt inside out and sew up the sleeves. Remember to sew on the inside so the stitching is hidden. You want it to look like you just raided a pyramid tomb for the materials. (Who’s to say you didn’t?)
Cut along the inner seam of the pants all the way to the crotch. Lay the pants flat and cut fabric strips long enough to cover the pants. Sew them on in the same messy, “don’t-care” style as the shirt.
Start from the pant hems and sew fabric strips on both pant legs. You can stop once you reach the crotch area since the shirt will cover the rest, but if you want to be sure, go ahead and add a few more strips. A strong gust of wind or a sudden move in a dance contest could expose the rest of the costume.
Turn the pants inside out and sew up both pant legs. If the stitches aren't straight, that's fine! Just leave them as they are! After all, no one will see them, right?
Try on the costume. Wait, is that you in the mirror? Phew, it works! But what about your hands and feet? Just wrap a few strips here and there (around your gloves and socks), and you're good to go! Scroll down for the next steps to complete the mummy's head.
Use knots
Tie 4-5 strips together. The knots will add texture to your mummy costume and make it look stylish – definitely not like you just grabbed stuff randomly from around the house!
Wear long underwear or white clothing. Any long-sleeve white shirt and white pants will work perfectly for this costume. However, baggy items like cargo pants aren't the best choice.
- Don't forget a pair of thick wool socks!
Start wrapping one pant leg. You can overlap the fabric strips to secure the end or tie a new knot (it will blend in with the other knots on the costume). Whether you wrap in a straight line, crosswise, or any other style, make sure it’s tight. Repeat this for the other pant leg and your hips. Once you reach the end of a strip, you can tie the strips together, knot them with the wrapped part, or simply tuck them in.
- Take the fabric from one pant leg and wrap it around your pelvis. Don’t wrap higher than the waistband—those Halloween drinks will soon have you making a beeline for the bathroom. That would be a disaster!
Wrap from the waist to the shoulder. The easiest way is to form an X shape above your sternum, then loop it over your shoulder like a strap. Be sure to overlap the fabric strips a bit for a tighter fit. If you run out of fabric, just tie another strip or knot it and start wrapping a new one.
Wrap your arms. If you've ever wrapped your wrist for boxing or any other sport, use the same technique to weave the fabric strips between your fingers. If you’ve never done that before, simply weave the strips between your fingers, wrap them around your thumb, and continue up your forearm. If you run out of fabric, start at your fingers and work your way up to your shoulder.
Finish with the final details
Cover your face with fabric strips. If you want to look extra terrifying, cover your face completely. For a more cute, harmless, and cheerful mummy look, just wrap from your chin up to your head, leaving part of your forehead exposed. But if you want to frighten your neighbors to death, cover your face entirely, leaving just enough space to see and breathe.
- Get a friend to help you. You can wrap the fabric by yourself, but tightening the knots is tricky, especially if your vision is limited.
- If you have a ski mask and want full facial coverage, you can use it as a base for the fabric strips.
- Safety pins, hairpins, or similar items are also useful. Just hide them under another layer of fabric to keep them out of sight.
Nếu bạn để mặt hở, hãy hoá trang một chút. Bạn sẽ muốn có cặp mắt trũng sâu và đôi má hóp. Một chút màu trắng làm nền và màu đen xung quanh hai gò má và dưới mắt sẽ cho bạn vẻ rùng rợn hơn. Thêm một chút phấn rôm em bé lên người để tạo hiệu ứng xác ướp lâu năm, và thế là bạn đã sẵn sàng!!
- Dùng gel chấm loang lổ trên mặt để tạo vẻ sần sùi và mục rữa. Kéo vài sợi tóc ra và đánh rối lên cho thêm kinh dị.
Đi ghẹo hàng xóm trong bộ đồ hoá trang mới. Hay là bạn cứ ngồi trên hàng hiên chờ lũ trẻ đến, nhớ ngồi im như tượng rồi đợi đến khi chúng ít ngờ đến nhất thì nhảy bổ ra! Ha HA!
Lời khuyên
- Giữ lại các tấm ga trải giường cũ không còn dùng nữa để làm các bộ đồ hoá trang tương tự.
- Nếu bạn dùng phương pháp thắt nút, nhớ thắt cho chặt!
- Nếu bạn không có trà hay cà phê thì đất cát lúc nào cũng có đấy!
- Nếu còn thừa các dải băng vải, bạn có thể dùng để quấn thú nhồi bông để làm xác ướp bày trong nhà. “Xác ướp gấu bông” sẽ là món trưng bày cửa sổ rất ấn tượng.
- Sơn màu nâu, xám và đỏ cũng có thể dùng để nhuộm màu cho vải. Màu đỏ để làm máu.
Cảnh báo
- Nếu bạn quấn người bằng phương pháp thắt nút, bạn có rủi ro bị bung băng vải và cả đêm cứ phải sửa lại bộ đồ xác ướp. Nếu đang dự tiệc, bạn nên tránh các động tác mạnh. Hãy nhảy như xác ướp nhảy vậy – thật là một cái cớ hoàn hảo để giữ tinh cách của nhân vật!
Những thứ bạn cần
Phương pháp 1: Dùng máy khâu
- Nhiều vải trắng (hoặc ga trải giường)
- 3-12 túi trà
- Nồi và nước nóng để pha trà
- Vỏ gối (tuỳ ý)
- Kéo
- Dụng cụ may (cây gỡ chỉ, máy may, v.v…)
- Áo dài tay và quần dài màu trắng
Phương pháp 2: Thắt nút
- Lots of white fabric (or old bed sheets)
- 3-12 tea bags
- A pot and hot water for brewing tea
- Pillowcase (optional)
- Scissors
Additional Details
- Safety pins or other pinning tools (optional)
- Baby powder
- White and black face paint (black can also be used to dye fabric)
- Ski mask (optional)
- Gel (optional)
