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Rain & Storm Cloud Costume (NO-SEW)

Okay, it’s October 26th, and I’m finally sharing my kids’ Halloween costumes for this year!  ACK!!!!  I mentioned earlier this week that I’ve been having some health issues that I’m dead set on figuring out….and completely ran out of time to make the costumes my kiddos were originally wanting.  So we came up with a plan for simpler costumes….and they’ve all been pretty excited about it!  Whew! :)  And even though I originally thought I’d have Chloe’s costume done first, we had a hiccup and I ended up making Ellie’s first.  This NO-SEW Rain & Storm Cloud Costume was a lot of fun to make…..and Ellie kept saying, “wow, this looks way cooler than I was thinking in my head!”  Haha…..SUCCESS!!!!

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We have had so much rain this week here in Oklahoma, which was the perfect “mood” for this costume, but terrible for taking pictures.  Since it was constantly drizzling outside I was shooting inside without any good natural light, so ignore some of the fuzziness of these images.  However, it kinda adds to the whole dreary theme of rain and a storm cloud, right? Haha!

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This rain cloud is made from polyester stuffing and worked perfectly to give it a textured look.  I added some battery powered LED lights to the cloud, that we set to the flash setting, for a “lightening” effect.

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Once you turn the lights low, this costume transforms everything into a drizzly, rainy day.

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Originally, I was going to make the rain out of fishing line…but kept thinking of all the tangled line.  I found this thick plastic cord and kept the “rain drizzles” separated a bit….and we haven’t had too much of a problem.

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Ellie can move and spin and walk around….and it does pretty well!  (I think it helps to have the beads attached, to help weigh down each line a bit.)

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But what’s a storm cloud, without rain?  It adds such a fun effect to the costume. :)

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The easiest part of this costume though—-this drape-y dress thing that we added for effect.  No sewing, no fuss, took me 3 minutes to put together……but adds to the drama of the costume!

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Oh Ellie, you are growing up so fast but are probably the MOST excited about Halloween every year.  You had the biggest desire of all the kids this year, to dress up in some sort of theme again, with your siblings.  You love to create and imagine and orchestrate great things….and I love that about you!

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And holy smokes, you make a darling little storm cloud!!!! :)

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Okay guys, this costume is very do-able!  And is a great one for those who don’t sew!  There’s not a single stitch involved!

Let’s get started!

Supplies for DIY Rain & Storm Cloud Costume:

  • Foam Board
  • Foam Hat (I found mine at Hobby Lobby for a few dollars, near the sheets of craft foam.)
  • Poly-Fil (stuffing used to fill stuffed animals or pillows)
  • Crystal-Type Beads, round and tear-drop shape (mine are plastic)
  • Clear Cord (the thicker the better, to keep the strands from tangling as badly. The stuff I bought is kinda flat and is used for making bracelets)
  • Spray Adhesive (I bought the 3M brand, high strength, picture of it down below)
  • Grey Spray Paint
  • LED twinkle lights, battery powered (I found some that have different settings, so that I could make them flash.)
  • Hot glue
  • Grey and Silver Fabrics, for draping across shoulders (I found some grey polyester that draped well and bought 4 yards of it for my daughter who is 5’5″. I also found that silver fabric that is mesh-like but had metallic in the fibers, to give some dimension.  I used smaller strips to drape over her shoulders.)

***Check out my Sewing Terms 101 post, for additional help.

Instructions:

  1. First it’s time to create the base of the hat, for all of the cloud fluff to sit on.  So grab your hat and place it on top of your foam board.  Draw a large circle around the brim of the hat, that you think would be an appropriate size for the person you’re making this for.  (I first started with a circle shape like shown below but in a later step, I taped more foam back to the sides and created more of an oval shaped base…..because after setting this circle shape on her head, it seems strange to have a perfect circle shaped cloud.  So looking at this picture below, I should’ve originally just extended the red line out to the sides of the rectangle, creating an oval from the beginning.)  Cut it out with scissors or a utility knife.
    Diy rain storm cloud costume 14
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  2. Then, using the hat as a guide, draw the shape of the hat opening onto the center of your foam board base.  (You don’t want the opening to be too big because you need the brim of the hat to help support the foam board.)
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  3. Cut out the center opening.
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  4. Now place the foam board onto hat.
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  5. This is when I realized that extending the sides of the base out, to be more of an oval shape, seemed like a better shape for my cloud.  I just grabbed some foam board scraps, overlapped them on top, and taped them in place. Worked great.  (Then, add hot glue to the brim of the hat, and then place the foam board back on top and press firmly in place.)
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  6. Now, onto the strands of rain.  I cut about 20-25 pieces of my clear cord that reached from the hat, down to varying lengths…..and then added about 5 inches for knotting and securing to the hat, etc.  Then I threaded a big tear-drop shaped bead onto one of the pieces of clear cord and tied a knot at the end.
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  7. Then I threaded a smaller round bead onto the cord, and threaded the tail from the previous knot inside this bead as well.
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  8. Then I added a dot of hot glue by the knot and slid the round bead down into it.  Then I trimmed away the extra tail of cord.
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  9. Then I added more round beads, randomly placed along the cord.  To keep the beads from moving, I added a blob of glue onto the cord (using my low heat setting, so it wouldn’t melt the cord), and then slid the bead down onto the glue. Now repeat with all your pieces of clear cord.
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  10. Then I placed the hat on my daughter and used tape to hang all of the cord strands to the hat.  Then, because they weren’t permanent yet, I was able to adjust the lengths and the placement of each one, until it looked visually balanced.  (Okay, you caught me, I didn’t have all the little round beads added to each of the strands yet. Haha! I had only finished 2 strands before I got carried away adding them to the hat.  But finish all of the bead work first before arranging onto the hat…..because it’ll make it easier.)
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  11. Next, because I wasn’t finished gluing the beads on and I didn’t want to lose my placement of each one, I labeled each location and then put a dot on the foam board where the hole would need to be.  I also added a line to the cord, showing me where the cord would meet the foam board (which determines the length of each cord).
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  12. Next I used a drill to make a hole for each of the cords to fit through.  (You could use scissors or a metal skewer too.)
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  13. Then I put the cord into the hole through the bottom of the hat, pulling it through until the line I marked on the cord, reached the foam board.
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  14. Turn the board over and lay the cord flat onto the board.
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  15. Tape it down.  Then fold the cord down in a different direction…
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  16. ….and then tape it down again.  (This will help it from being pulled out.)  Repeat with the rest of your cord strands.
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  17. Now it’s time for the fluffy cloud.  I did this outside and placed plastic bags down on the ground….because this adhesive is pretty sticky.  And here’s the brand I used (found it at Lowe’s) and it worked perfectly.  Anything less sticky, would’ve been frustrating, so make sure and find a heavy strength adhesive, if you can’t locate this brand.  Also, USE GLOVES WHILE USING THIS STUFF!!!  It’s a pain to get off your skin.
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  18. Spray a generous amount of your adhesive onto the board and then spread flattened sections of your stuffing.  You want as much of the fluff to touch the adhesive as you can.
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  19. Continue adding the stuffing until the base has its first layer in place. 
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  20. Continue adding more stuffing to cover the hat, making sure to use plenty of the adhesive.  Between each layer of stuffing, I’d spray more adhesive on top to kind of secure the batting in place, giving it more structure. Once you have enough layers to give your cloud some height, but feel like it needs just one more layer—–STOP!  (We’ll add the final layer after the lights are in place.)
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  21. And remember my warning up above about wearing gloves??  Yeah, I didn’t use gloves while using this the day before and it was a MONSTER to get off my skin.   So yeah, use gloves…..it’s a mess.
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  22. Once the adhesive on the top is dry, turn it over and make sure all of your strands of rain are out of the way.  Add one thin layer of batting this under side of the cloud, adding small sections at a time, so you’re not getting the glue all over the clear cords.  And keep this layer of stuffing pretty thin, otherwise it will get in the way of the face.
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  23. Once your single layer is in place, add a layer of adhesive to the top of the stuffing, to secure it all in place.  (Holding the cord up while adding the adhesive was helpful.)
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  24. Turn the cloud back over and arrange your LED lights on top.  (I kinda wish I had added some of these on the bottom side too.  But you would need to do it before you add that single layer of batting on the bottom side.  I had already added mine, so it was too late.  Oh well!)
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  25. Now, take a section of batting and spread it into a thin layer.  Spray the adhesive directly onto the stuffing.
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  26. Place the layer of stuffing (adhesive side down), right onto the lights.  This layer will stick to the stuffing that’s already there….keeping the lights in place, while also hiding them, but letting them shine through.
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  27. Continue until the lights are covered.
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  28. Now, I forgot to photograph this step, but I just lightly sprayed grey spray paint all over the cloud.  But I didn’t completely saturate it, because I wanted some depth by letting a little of the white show through in some areas.   Just play around with it.
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  29. I also didn’t photograph the dress portion of this costume…but that’s because I didn’t sew anything.  All I did was cut my 4 yards of grey fabric in half lengthwise and draped one section over her right should and the other over her left shoulder. Then I had her stand up on a chair and cut off the bottom, so that it reached her ankles. I then cut some of the metallic silver fabric and draped it over both shoulders as well.  Next I grabbed a scrap of the grey fabric  and tied it around her waist, making a belt to cinch it all in.  (I also used safety pins at the shoulders to keep the fabric in place, adding them on the inside of the black shirt. I kinda folded some of the fabric at the shoulders, so that it would stay all pinched together.)
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And that, my friends……IS IT!!!! 

Not too complicated….but such a fun costume!

Now let me know if you end up making this too!  I’d love to see your version!

-Ashley

 

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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