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Coolest Homemade Cage Illusion Costume Ideas

Take a look at these cool homemade Cage Illusion costume ideas shared with us by costume enthusiasts from around the world. Along with the costumes here, you’ll also find loads of homemade costume ideas and DIY Halloween costume inspiration for your next costume project. Enjoy!

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Cage Illusion costume by Amy G., Knoxville, TN

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I made this cage illusion costume for my eight-year-old son who wanted a costume that nobody else had. One of the Halloween ideas I remembered I had seen was an old picture of a gorilla holding his trainer costume. But I wanted something a little scarier. So I searched all over the Internet for different Halloween ideas and directions until I came up with this. It took all weekend to do but it was worth it. He loved it and so did everybody else!

For this cage illusion costume you’ll need:

Old baby bed with at least 20 vertical rails the same size (one you don’t care to destroy), 5 or 6 yards of black fabric, silver spray paint, black and green craft paint, green medical gloves, 2 large pieces of cardboard, wood screws, 18 in. balloon, sandpaper, wrapping paper cylinder, hot glue gun and sticks, old pair of sweat pants, old pair of socks, newspaper, 2 cups boiling water, 2 cups cold water, 3 tablespoons sugar, hospital gown, toilet paper.

1. Take the side rail from baby bed remove vertical rails with jigsaw or hand saw. You will need 20 rails.

2. Sand all 20 rails and spray paint silver. Let dry at least 1 hour.

3. Blow up balloon as big as you want the alien head. Prepare papier-mache by combining 1/2-cup flour, 2 cups cold water, 2 cups boiling water and 3 tablespoons of sugar and allow it to cool and thicken.

4. Tear newspaper into strips and papier-mache one layer at a time to balloon let dry completely before applying next layer continue until you have 8 to 10 layers. Tape wrapping paper cylinder to bottom and papier-mache over it also connecting it.

5. Paint papier-mache balloon and cylinder with green paint and let dry when dry use black craft-paint to paint eyes.

6. Construct two squares from the painted rails with wood screws. You may have to pre-drill the holes before using the screws.

7. Connect the squares together at each corner making a cube.

8. Space out the remaining rails to make the bars of the cage; two on each side of the cube.

9. Trace the top and bottom of the cage onto the two large pieces of cardboard. Cut the cardboard to size. Spray the cardboard silver and screw to the top and bottom of cage.

10. Cut a hole in the bottom of the cage toward the rear big enough for child to slide in and out of.

11. Connect alien head and neck to back of cage with screws at the bottom of the neck. Make sure the head is above cage.

12. Take black material and cut two thick strips to later be used as the straps and set aside.

13. Put child in cage and mark where the child’s shoulders are on the two middle bars of the back of the cage. Put a screw about 2 in. below that shoulder mark on the outside of both bars just screwing them in half way.

14. Take the two strips and tie them to the bottom rail below the shoulder marks. Now when finished you use these straps like the straps of a backpack going on the child shoulders and tied to the screws below the shoulder marks.

15. With the remaining fabric drape over the alien head and hot glue in place like a hood. Hot glue the sides together to hide the lower part of the neck.

16. Take green medical gloves and stuff with toilet paper. Hot glue the openings shut. Position the gloves on the side rails as if the alien was holding the cage and hot glue in place with fingers wrapped around rail.

17. Grab a piece of fabric from sides and pull up to gloves cut slit in fabric and place around gloves; hot glue in place.

18. Take the sweat pants and stuff loosely with newspaper. Stuff the socks tightly with toilet paper. Place the stuffed socks inside the feet of the sweat pants; hot glue in place.

19. Arrange pants in bottom of cage with waistline near the opening in the bottom (you can put them in any position you like but I found it was a lot easier and more realistic with legs crossed); hot glue in place.

20. When child is ready to get in just put the hospital gown on once inside and arrange so that the child’s back or lap can’t be seen. The child can wear either a long black skirt or a black pair of pants to hide their legs. Don’t forget to cut any extra fabric that might be dragging the ground so that they don’t trip.

I hope you enjoy my cage illusion costume ideas helpful!

Cage Illusion costume by Diana K., Lake George

Optical Illusions - Funny Halloween Costume Ideas

My son wanted to wear something different so we had to think of funny Halloween costume ideas.

I made the gorilla suit for his legs and stuffed the top for the gorilla with cotton. We hooked the gorilla’s head to the cage with fishing line. We stuffed a pair of cargo pants with cotton and attached them to the inside of the cage.

The cage was made out of plastic pipe and cardboard. I had so much fun making this costume and my son had fun wearing it!!

Total Spent: $30

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