Maleficent Doll Costume

Here's an update with a project I've been working on: transforming Elphaba into Maleficent.

This tutorial for a Maleficent cosplay was helpful: http://www.breannacooke.com/how-to-make-maleficent-horns/

I still had a lot of fabric from about a year and a half ago, when I got this sparkly, scaly black cloth for Elphie’s Gamora costume. 

I thought it suited Maleficent nicely.
I made a robe that fastens in the front with Velcro. For the ragged purple trim, I cut up strips of fabric and touched the edges with FrayCheck.


The more challenging part was the headdress. The route I took was a helmet. Here I followed the lead of Evil Ted Smith's video "How to Make a Foam Helmet Tutorial." Here's Elphaba in the midst of having her template constructed.


After getting that template, I put together a simple helmet of craft foam and tape. The horns were made of foam.

One of the tutorials I looked at used electrical tape to cover the horns and get that textured look of the lines on Maleficent's horns in the Disney cartoon. However, I wasn’t able to get good electrical tape and so I decided to go for papier mache.
I was not sure if the soft, floppy foam helmet would hold its shape while I was applying the paper strips, so I pressed Elphaba into service as a model.

Very carefully. With layers of a towel, cling wrap, and tinfoil.



She survived.

While all that was going on, I thought of adding a felt inner layer to the helmet. I used the helmet patterns to quickly sew up an inner cap.
Since Elphie was busy, Larkin modeled it.


Once the paint was complete, I glued the inner cap to the inside of the helmet. And voila.


 She is the mistress of all evil!




As a result of the stiff papier-mache and the skullcap, the helmet is a little tight, but that snugness also means that it stays well on Elphie's head.


All she needs now is a staff and possibly a raven. As we're going towards Halloween, I'm hoping to see some little ravens I can pick up at a dollar store or craft store. I also want to find a stone or bead that will look perfect for her staff.

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