Scary White Rabbit Costume Made from Scratch

This here is Leon, the albino rabbit. Tons of work went into this costume, and I overcame many difficulties with my first full head-covering mask. Making the jaw move as I talk was tricky, but the mouth moves well. Even with all the hardships, I love this costume even still. It’s just so fun to get into character!

Leon has gotten many mixed reactions, but in general people think he is creepy. That was the intention, so I’m happy. I created this costume in the mindset of scary Alice in Wonderland meets Watership Down. I think it comes across well.

Despite how it may look, this costume was actually cheap to make! Made with simple upholstery foam from Walmart, plastic canvas, polymer clay, hot glue, and cheap fur from Jo Anne’s. The tricky part is getting it to form-fit and be articulate with jaw movement.

I first started with plastic canvas strips about 1″, and fitted it to the top and back of my skull. Then I extended it out from my cheeks and nose-bridge to form a long muzzle. I created a jaw slightly shorter than the top muzzle and attached it with brads. I placed a small strip on the bottom jaw that sat right under my bottom lip for max movement.

Placing the foam was tricky. I started with the mouth of the mask, and moved up from there. The muzzle, then nose, then cheeks, then eye areas, top of head, back of head. I left room for my vision, of course. I shaved the foam down with a pair of regular ol’ scissors, looking at images of rabbits through the whole process.

The eyes and teeth were made from white polymer clay and attached with hot glue. The eyes were painted with acrylic paint, and glazed. The eyes were placed above my vision, and the eye-holes were covered with white lace (though I’d recommend buckram).

The ears were made by eye with green foam, then spray-painted white so they would not show through the thin white fur. They were then covered in the white fur, and set aside for a short time.

I covered the inside of the mouth in pink felt, and made a tongue which I attached with hot glue. Then came time to fur the head. I covered the head in fur, leaving enough space for jaw-movement. The neck was hard, but I propped the head up on the handle of a vacuum cleaner and draped the fur down (though I’d recommend making/using a pattern).

Once the head and ears were done, I attached the ears with a lot of hot glue (though I’d recommend sewing). I held them to the head for a long while until I was sure they were secure. I slightly shaved down the fur on the nose, muzzle, and “lips” of the mask and brushed it smooth.

Once the head was all put together, I dry-brush painted it with acrylic paint. Basically you water down the paint a ton and use a toothbrush to scrub it in. You must brush it while it dries though! Otherwise the paint will stiffen and you will have a crusty mask. The nose, ear-insides, and around the eyes was painted pink.

I’ve also make simple gloves for this costume. Accessories are fun too, such as a stuffed carrot.

All in all, this costume was tons of fun to make, and even more so to wear. It was a great learning experience! I can’t wait to make more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYHIX8i9Sm4

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