How to Make a Prison Costume from Clothes at Home

Wide masking tape

Black acrylic stencil paint

Stencil brush

newspaper

plastic coffee can lid

1 old white shirt (long or short sleeved) or a white sweat shirt.

1 pair old white pants, jeans or sweat pants.

1 set of stencil numbers (about 2 inches, or as large as you want to have your numbers)

2 squares of black felt

about 12 to 15 inches of plastic chain links

1 medium size lightweight ball (paint it black)

tacky glue

1 black bandanna or black piece of fabric (large enough to be able to tie around your child or adults head)

2 pieces of Velcro

Take the pants and lay them on either your ironing board or a table. Put an old towel under the pants.

Take the wide masking tape and start from the waste down and start ripping the masking tape the wide of the front of the waist all the way down to where the legs start. leave about the same width of masking tape empty between 2 strips of masking tape. You want to do this all the way down each leg. Once you have it all taped. Take a piece of poster board or cardboard and put it inside the pants, and also cut some to fit down the legs, as you do not want the paint to go through to the backside of the fabric, and through the pants legs to the back. Pour some of the black paint onto your coffee can lid. Then dip your paint brush in the paint, then dab off any excess paint on the newspaper (this is called dry brushing). When painting you want to make paint strokes back and forth the length of the tape. Keep painting until your are finished with the front and down the legs. Then you can start pulling the masking tape off, start at the waist, and work your way down. As at the waist the paint will already be dry. Once you have all the tape off, turn the pants over and repeat the same taping and painting. Once you are done, remove the paint, and hang the pants on a hanger.

Now it is time to do the top. First start on the back of the top. You want take your masking tape and put 2 strips down right next to each other in the shape of a rectangle (this is where you will put the numbers when you are done with the stripes). Now start taping the shirt like you did the pants only use strips all the way across the top. If there is a pocket, you will want to tape that also. Cut some poster board and put it inside the shirt and sleeves. Then start to paint, making sure you are dabbing off all excess paint. The paint does not have to be real dark black. Now once you are done with the back you will flip it over and do the front, and the sleeves. After that is all done, paint and then remove the tape.

Now it is time for the numbers. Pick the numbers you want to use. You can use about 5 or 6 numbers, line them up in the square that is left white and tape them in place. Taking your stencil brush and dab off all excess paint, start painting your numbers in. Start from the outside of the numbers and work your way inwards. Let sit and dry for a good 15 minutes and then remove the stencils and wash them off if they are plastic.

Now take the ball and paint it black. Take a about a 4 inch square and glue one end of it to the ball, let it dry, and then glue the other end, now you want the other end glued right next to the other piece that is glued, this will make a loop for your chain. Take about 4 inches of felt (about 4 x 2 inches) and loop it through the chain, and then through the loop on the ball, gluing one end over the other. Then take and measure the persons ankle and then cut the felt about 3 inches longer (so you might have 9 inches by 4 inches) 4 inches is the width of the band that will go around the ankle. Take the Velcro and put it on one piece of the ankle band, and then over lap the felt to see where you will place the other piece. You will want to use the kind you can glue, and then glue one piece at a time with the tacky glue and let dry for a day, and then glue the other piece of Velcro and let dry for a day.

There now you have a prison costume. Have Fun.