DIY Mummy costumeClassic monsters are so much fun! They’re easily recognizable and quick to create costumes for. Due to original source images generally being from very old movies, and having been portrayed in so many forms over the years, they allow for some artistic freedom. While everyone can recognize that this is a mummy costume, no one is going to hassle you about the specifics. Assuming you care about such things.

mummy hand wrapping and nail polish

Materials used to outfit a 6’2" individual: Gauze (about 8 yards minimum), black tea, underclothes (several yards cotton muslin fabric + elastic), pair of socks, Halloween makeup kit, black nail polish.

tea dying the mummy shroud After purchasing (off the bolt, not pre-packaged) yards of gauze from Joann fabric store, the first step was to dye them in black tea to give them an aged look. Simply brew up a strong batch of black tea, wait until it cools, and dip your gauze in it. The color soaks up immediately so there isn’t much need to let it sit around. Wring the gauze out and let it air dry completely. Give it another dip if you want darker color, and/or drizzle some of the tea over a few areas so that the color isn’t so uniform.

mummy underclothes Since the gauze is rather, well, gauzy, we need a layer of clothing underneath. I chose the quickest and cheapest method, second only to buying underclothing at a thrift store. Using beige cotton muslin fabric (terribly inexpensive stuff) I made a pair of elastic waist pants that were as form fitting as possible, given that muslin has no stretch to it. The tunic top is cut sort of like a muscle shirt but one of the sides has several bits of elastic so that you can slip into it. I thought this would be easier than using a zipper or buttons and smoother than using ties, and would also allow for some more movement. I didn’t use patterns, but if you’re an unsure sewer than you can find simple pants and top patterns at any fabric store. Look for pajama, medical scrubs, or Halloween costume patterns. A white thermal top was worn underneath this for added warmth and coverage. The pants have a few layers of gauze sewn on with large basting stitches. Just enough to cover the entire sides of the pants and the front and back to just past the knee. easy mummy feet coverings This gives a good amount of coverage but allows for movement and doesn’t use much gauze. I did some strategic tearing of the hanging gauze so it didn’t look so new and geometric. If you wanted to be really quick about this and don’t mind spending more money, a pair of white sweat pants and a thermal top could be dyed with brown fabric dye. To cover shoes we used a pair of beige socks and cut a slit on the bottom. Not the prettiest, but it works!

lower mummy viewWrapping the gauze over the underclothes takes patience and experimentation. We started with the head, then the arms, hands, midsection, and shoulders, trying to cover all the gaps inbetween sections. The more gauze you have, the easier this will be and the better it will look. This is probably the bare minimum you could get away with and not have a crappy looking mummy. Makeup came from a Halloween makeup kit containing green and yellow. We started with a layer of yellow on all exposed areas of the face except for the eyelid and directly around the eyes. We lightly filled those in with dark brown eye shadow and put on a smudgy line of charcoal eyeliner on top. Finally, highlights of green were added around the eye sockets and black nail polish was applied. Isn’t Sean the prettiest, most gentle mummy you have ever seen?

mummy winning the costume contest Grown ups really don’t try that hard when making their costumes, so it was no surprise when Sean the Mummy (aka Sean of the Dead) won first place in the costume contest at his work. pretty mummy enjoying a flower At the time he worked for a large company (about 200 peeps at that location) and everyone loved his getup. $50 prize money paid for the costume supplies and then some. He said driving to work was particularly fun because it made so many people look twice and children were quite surprised to see a mummy driving an old Plymouth down the 405 freeway. He also spent the day in character, answering mostly with variations of “RAAAAAR!” and “Mummy go on break” type broken English. One of the most frequent questions he got was “how do you go to the bathroom”, because I guess everyone assumed he was actually all wrapped up. If you sewed guaze onto the pants like we did then all you have to do is unwrap the layer of guaze that goes around your waist, do your bidness, and easily rewarap. Anyway, I hope the instructions were helpful and that all you prospective mummies have a great DIY Halloween!

If you’d rather just go for a readymade mummy costume, here’s a few cool ones:
Mummy Adult Costume Mummy King Adult CostumeMummy Bride Adult CostumeMummy Queen Adult