Making a Spirit Walker Costume

We start thinking about Halloween early, and when I asked Griffin what he wanted to be back in August, he immediately said that he’d seen a “Stilts Spirit” costume on YouTube that he wanted to build. So, that’s what we did (and we’re glad that we started as early as we did… since we just barely finished it the weekend before Halloween). Check out the video below for a quick overview, and read through how we made it.

Once he had the basic idea, Griffin found a few other YouTube videos about folks who made something similar. From there, we had a general idea where to start. We also purchased the PDF “how to” available on Etsy by Mel2DaIssa to use as a general guide (it was well worth the $10). After reviewing everything, Griffin got to work designing the version he wanted to build and making a list of what we would need.

Starting things off, we went to the local fabric store, Colorado Fabrics. Griffin wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted, so we just wandered around, allowing what we found to inspire us. We ended up with a bolt of basic black (always a good bet), along with some interesting netting and a yard of absolutely amazing faux fur. (Of course, we also came away with some great, fuzzy fabric that Madelyn used to make an incredibly warm blanket… but that’s another project altogether.)

Sadly, while writing this, I just learned that Colorado Fabrics went out of business and closed down last week! What a shame… we’ve spent countless hours there over the years, picking through their amazing inventory for hundreds (thousands?) of yards of fabric for various projects. They’ll most definitely be missed… now I wish that their prices weren’t so much lower than the chain stores, I would gladly have spent more to know they’d remain in business. :(

With the basic design in mind, and the fabric in hand to guide us, we started gathering the rest of our supplies. Key to the overall look was the simple white mask which we picked up from the local Michaels. While we were there, we snagged some upholstery foam similar to what we’d seen used in previous builds (the four rolls we picked up cleared out their inventory, and we ended up going back a couple more times for more).

Then we began thinking about the stilts we would need. Rather than build our own stilts (which seemed like a daunting task), we opted to order a pair of drywall stilts and forearm crutches from Amazon. While we were at it, we upgraded the drywall stilt straps (as we’d read various reviews that said they were much better than what came with the stilts). Griffin was glad we did, as the additional support they provided turned out to be great.

When they arrived, Griffin just couldn’t wait to try them out. Before I knew it, he had them on and started wandering around. Looking back, I’m glad that he did that as it’s clear how much skill it took for him to master walking on them, and it was much easier without them being encased in the full costume. It took a while to learn how to mount them and learn how to move his extended limbs safely and, eventually, gracefully.

Once he (finally) got off of them, it was back to work on the design. Taking the inspiration from his research, he laid out the crutches and began building the basic structure around them in foam. He laid them out and started to sketch, then cut the outline for the arms. After a few false starts (early efforts didn’t result in the look he wanted), he finally had an outline he liked. Once the arms were all cut out, and following the suggestions we’d seen in Mel2DaIssa’s tutorial, the sides were sewn together using yarn anchored by buttons for strength. A similar process was followed for the legs.

Once the arms were constructed, it was back outside for another run up and down the street. Honestly, Griffin took any chance he could to get on them and strut around. It turns out that was a great idea, as each time he got back on them, the more adept and confident he became at using them.

It was also at this point that we found the upper part of the arms weren’t very stable. We had added a wire frame around the edge (the same 12 gauge galvanized wire I’d used to make Griffin’s chain mail) to provide some stability, but it wasn’t strong enough. The wind blowing that day made it clear that we needed something stronger. So, Griffin came up with the idea to insert a simple PVC frame within the arms. While it did add a bit more weight, he was much happier with the stability.

Once the arms and legs were assembled, they were spray painted with a black undercoat. From there, Griffin added some gray and moss green to give them a bit of variation. It was quite a learning curve to get a sense for what worked, but in the end it seemed that we wouldn’t need to encase the arms and legs entirely in fabric as we’d expected. His paint job looked fantastic on it’s own.

So, it was on to building the body itself. A lot of thought went into how he could get into and out of the costume easily, so we settled on building the torso onto a hoodie. That way he could attach the mask to the top of the hood, a large structure onto the back, and still be able to zip in and out of it without any trouble. Off to the local ARC thrift store and we picked up a perfect pair of hoodie and sweatpants for less than $10.

Griffin attached the mask to the top of the hood with hot glue and began to construct the framing for the back. The goal was to create something that provided bulk and didn’t just look like a kid hunched over. This is where the additional foam came in handy. It took a bit of experimentation, but the structure came to life with extensive use of clothespins. Given how heavy the faux fur would be on the top, it became clear that some sort of central support would be necessary. Once happy with the overall structure, Griffin used spray adhesive and duct tape to keep the pieces in place.

An innovation that Griffin brought to the design was the introduction of spikes down the spine of his creature. He used a heated knife to shape some basic styrofoam cones from Michaels, and painted them. The idea was to create bone-like spikes that were poking out of the fur along the creature’s spine. It took a few back-and-forth tries to get both the shape and paint job that he liked, and the end result is definitely worth the time and effort. Once complete, slits were made in the fur back for them to poke through, then everything was glued onto the hoodie.

For the legs, Griffin came up with a way to use the black fabric to extend the legs of the sweatpants so they would cover the legs. This required careful measuring, cutting, and sewing to both make them work aesthetically as well as functionally. Attaching them to the legs also meant adding tabs of velcro to various locations, sewing them carefully into place so that the entire outfit could be donned and doffed with ease.

Finally, Griffin dressed the arms and legs with netting using hot glue, and added a balaclava to cover his face. The end result was a fantastic costume that he could easily get into and out of multiple times during Halloween night. He would suit up and then go out for about 45 minutes, come back in to relax for a bit, then go back out without much effort.

It was incredibly gratifying to see all of his hard work and dedication to the project (nearly three months) pay off. He would go outside Halloween night, stand still for a few minutes, and then slowly interact with the kids coming to the door. Most of them assumed he was just a decoration until he would move his head. Then, when they’d look more closely, he would take a step forward, walking toward them in a carefully choreographed way that he felt worked for the Spirit Walker character he’d designed. The reactions ranged the gamut from surprise, to fear (with some older kids running away screaming and giggling with their friends), and usually resulting in appreciation for the obvious effort and uniqueness of the costume. Many folks even took videos and selfies with him, a clear sign that he’d made a great custome.

If you haven’t already watched it, I suggest checking out the video of this we put together. And if you’re interested in more about this fun project, let us know. In the meantime… we’ve moved on and are starting to build an inflatable playhouse for the backyard. More on that as it happens.