Oh E Oh E O OH! Everyone remember’s that chant from the Wizard of Oz! After my son was selected to be a Winkie Guard in his school play, I took it upon myself to help with the 19 guard costumes needed for the play. I started by researching exactly what the guards in the movie looked like and then set out to find material similar to that used in the construction of the costumes in the movie. This was the most enjoyable part of the making of this costume! I thoroughly enjoyed searching websites for just the right material (and trying to stay within my budget!). This costume used many different materials (PVC, foam, fabric, felt, buttons….even some steel!)
The hats was made with a foam mold covered in dark grey faux mink fur. I bought a sheet of 1″ thick polyurethane foam and cut 10 pieces of 7″ ID x 9″ OD rings. I then glued the 10 pieces on top of each other forming a tube shape. I then cut a 9″ circle out of the remaining sheet and glued that on one end of the tube to make the top of the hat. I then sewed the cover and rolled it over the top securing the bottom of the cover to the foam with push pins.
The upper vest was made from a grey vinyl faux leather. I cut one large piece, cut a head hole in the center and then sewed overlapping strips (3) starting from the bottom and working my way up so the stitching was covered. I sewed sections of faux mink fur to the shoulders. We made the red tassels out of yarn and sewed the on. The addition of buttons on each flap set off the vest.
The arm guards were made out of the same material. I cut out a half a cone shape and sewed Velcro to each long side so that they could be taken on and off easily. The skirt was made from a white bed sheet. An elastic band was installed at the waste. The outer shell of the skirt was made from two different shades of material. The two hanging sashes on the front of the skirt were made by drawing a pattern on red felt, cutting that out and then gluing/sewing them on white fabric.
The Winkie guard shaft was made from 1 1/4″ OD PVC pipe cut to 5 feet tall and painted red. I cut out the Winkie guard blade out of wood on my band saw, painted it red and installed it with the end secured inside the PVC pipe.
I accompanied the costume with black boots and white gloves. Last Sunday my son and his two sisters (who dressed as Dorothy and the Wicked Witch from the West) entered a local costume contest and took 1st prize in the “group” category! They won $10.00 and a candy bar! Worth it? Heck yea!!
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