Make a Rabbit Costume
A rabbit costume is such a versatile costume; it can be used for the whole family. Men can opt to be the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland or the Easter Bunny. Women can tailor a Playboy Bunny Rabbit costume or an Energizer bunny. Children can be flop-eared rabbits, hares or Bugs Bunny.
Contents
[hide]Steps
Fleece Rabbit Costume
Making the suit
- Choose the color you want your rabbit costume to be. Bunny rabbits are usually white, pink, grey, but they can also be black and brown. If you are recreating a character like the Energizer Bunny, you will want to match your color to an image on the Internet.
- Purchase several yards of fleece in the color of your choice if you want to make a fuzzy body suit. You can also repurpose a fleece sweat suit into an adult costume, or turn a large fleece sweatshirt into a bodysuit for a child.
- Fleece is an excellent material for costumes because it’s synthetic material and doesn’t fray.
- In place of a fuzzy body rabbit costume, you can find a solid colored sweat suit in pink, white or grey.
- In place of a fuzzy rabbit costume, you can also do ballet tights, a tutu and a ballet leotard for a little girl. Then, you can add a tail and ears.
- Fold the section of fleece in half lengthwise. Cut out a small hole for your head by cutting a semi-circle halfway through the folded edge. Turn it inside out and slip it over your head to measure the rest of the suit.
- Keep your cuts conservative. You can always cut more, but you can’t cut less.
- Pinch where the fleece gathers on either side and pin it with safety pins. The “pinch and pin” tailoring method is a fast way to tailor a costume to the exact measurements of your body. You can make it as loose or tight as you want.
- Cut the fleece just below your trunk for an easy rabbit tunic. If you have more fabric, you can continue pinching and pinning around the legs to make a full body suit.
- Take the suit off. Sew along the pin line with a sewing machine. Use a thread that matches the body suit. Turn the suit right side out and try it on.
- Consider making a round tummy section in a different color. Cut out a circle of satin, felt or fleece in a contrasting shade of white, grey or pink. Glue it to the center of the suit, from your chest to your waist.
- Reserve some of this colored fabric for the inside of your rabbit ears.
- Find tights, socks, shoes and gloves in the same color to match your bunny suit. If possible, cover all the skin except your face to make a convincing fur coat.
Making the ears
- Find a headband to use for your rabbit ears. Attach sturdy wire to the top of the ears by wrapping it around the headband once. The excess wire should continue up about six inches to give form to your bunny ears.
- Measure your rabbit ears out of your remaining fleece scraps. You can use the template at http://d7nsd3m1z2har.cloudfront.net/Bunny%20Ears.pdf to draw perfect oval ears. Measure out four pieces for the front and back of the ears.
- Stick two fleece oval ears together. Press the outside of the fabric together. Sew around the perimeter, and then turn the ear inside out. Repeat with the other ear.
- Cut out two inside ear oval shapes on the contrasting color of fleece using the template above. Affix them to the outside of the ears with sewing pins.
- Sew around the perimeter of the inside ear using a coordinating thread. Make sure you don’t go too far inside the inner ear, or you will not leave enough space to fit your wire.
- Repeat with the opposite ear.
- Slide the ears over the wire atop your headband. Bend one ear halfway down, if you want to be a lop-eared rabbit.
- Glue the fabric at the bottom of the headband to the headband. Use a strong craft or fabric glue.
- Curl scraps of fleece around the headband. Glue as you wrap it to secure it well.
- Find some face paint to draw a pink circle over the nose and some white rabbit whiskers across the face.
Making the Tail
- Purchase a large feather boa in a color that matches your suit, belly section or inner ear section. Marabou boas are available in craft stores.
- You can also attach batting from a pillow to the back of your costume for an easy puffy tail.
- Glue it in a spiral pattern to the back of your fleece bodysuit or sweat suit. Leave it to dry overnight before using.
- Pin the boa through the back of the suit for extra durability. Stick safety pins from the inside of the suit. Catch some of the boa in the pin before you pull it back inside the fabric.
Leotard Rabbit Costume
This is very basic but the beauty of it is that it's no-sew and can be put together very quickly from next-to-nothing items in the house (provided you have the leotard already).
- Find a suitably sized leotard. If not, use a one-piece swimsuit. Choose a "rabbit" color.
- Choose a pair of tights in the color of choice. Again, choose a "rabbit" color.
- Choose a pair of flat shoes to match the tights and leotard.
- Make a bunny tail.
- Cut out a piece of cardboard in the shape of a circle. The circle should be the breadth you'd like the tail to be.
- Glue a Velcro backing on one side of the circle. Attach the other side of the backing to the tail end of the leotard. You can either sew or glue it in place.
- Stick a bunch of cotton balls on the other side of the circle. Stick as many as will fit and look good, aiming for a nice bulge to make it seem more realistic.
- Make the bunny ears.
- Find a suitable headband. Wrap the band in wide ribbon in a color that matches the outfit, or in white.
- Fashion ears from pipe cleaners, wrapping the pipe cleaners around the headband to keep them in place and shaping the cleaners as they extend upward like bunny ears. These are only the holders for the ear shapes, which you'll make next.
- Cut out bunny ear shapes from white cardboard. Cut four ears, two for the front and two for the back.
- Tape, staple or glue the ears either side of the pipe cleaner ear holders that you've already added to the headband.
- Use a marker to draw "inner" ears on the front side of the ears. Alternatively, cut the inner ears from pink cardboard and glue or tape in place.
- Make a bunny face. Draw on the child's face using face paint. Don't forget the whiskers.
- Carry a carrot. This might be a toy carrot, a real carrot or a carrot cut out of cardboard.
- Hop off on your bunny adventures!
Tips
- For a Bugs Bunny costume, make a mask with large white teeth and carry a stuffed carrot.
- For an Easter Bunny costume, find a basket and fill it with candy, eggs and grass.
- For a Playboy bunny costume, replace the fleece with satin and wear a corset, skirt and fishnet tights in the color of your choice.
- For a white rabbit costume from Alice in Wonderland, wear a suit vest over your white rabbit suit. Add a timepiece, an umbrella and some white cotton gloves.
Things You'll Need
- 2 yards (1.8m) of white, pink or grey fleece
- 1/2 to 1 yard (0.5 to 0.9m) of contrasting fleece
- Fleece sweat suit (optional)
- Safety pins
- Fabric scissors
- Sewing machine
- Wire
- Headband
- Craft glue
- Thread
- Marabou boa
- White/pink face paint
