"General Grievous Costume"

Costume Instructions

Costume Materials
BODY:
black leggings and black long sleeve shirt (both fitted)
2 pairs of soccer shin guards (sizes for a 3 year old and the 5 year old in photo)
one set hockey shoulder pads (to fit child)
child's knee pads
one adult size soft padded sport cup (black)
one pair child's black skeleton palm stretch mittens
black socks
3- 12" X 18" sheets of gray craft foam
black sharpie
industrial strength craft glue
black electrical tape
about 1 1/2 yards of dark gray and red cotton fabric
2 one inch strips of self adhesive Velcro (heavy duty)

MASK:
one baseball catcher's mask (mine was adult size)
3 or 4 feet of wire for hanging framed art
some stiff cardboard for the ears
masking tape
papier mache (strips of newspaper dipped in a mixture of water, flour, and Elmer's glue)
acrylic craft paints (gray, beige, red, yellow, and black)
four toothpicks to split the eyes

Costume Instructions
The BODY of this costume is quite simple to make:
1)Using the gray foam sheets, cut out two long diamond shapes for Grievous’ forearms; the length should cover from approximately the wrist to just past the elbow.
2)Cut out a narrow slit in the middle of the diamond and draw detail lines with a black sharpie. (Slit will widen when attached to the curve of the shin guard).
3)Either glue or tape them to the smaller shin guards that will be worn on the forearms (I taped mine because little brother needs his shin guards after Halloween)
4)From another foam sheet, cut out shape and glue it to the padded sport cup. Draw detail lines with black sharpie. Tip: you can pin up or sew the elastic band to fit properly around your child
5)Finally, use another foam sheet to cover up any white or logos that may be visible on the hockey shoulder/chest pads. In my case I cut out an hourglass shape, glued it in the middle and drew lines with a black sharpie. I also covered the strip on the back.
6)Use foam cut outs or black electrical tape to cover up any logos that remain on the shin guards and knee pads.
7)Make the cape by sewing a piece of dark gray and red fabric together. If you don’t sew, you can use iron on no-sew hem to “tape” them together.
8)Attach the cape to underside of shoulder pads using Velcro strips.
9)Make sure gloves are worn palm side out over the shin guards.

Mask:
1)Use wire to bridge any gaps wider than one inch apart across the face of the catcher’s mask. Simply wrap wire around existing frame. This gives the papier mache something to adhere to. Also use wire to frame the eyes as you’d like.
2)Cut out ear shapes out of cardboard and tape them to the ear guards.
3)Use about 4 toothpicks to separate the eyes.
4)Make any necessary adjustments to the straps for fit prior to applying papier mache. I had to pin the top elastic to shorten it so that it would not slide down my son’s head.
5)To make papier mache, mix equal parts flour and Elmer’s glue. Add enough water so that you have a smooth, drippy, “soupy” consistency. It does not have to be thick and the mix is very forgiving.
6)Dip long strips of newspaper in mixture, slide off excess between your fingers, and cover entire mask and ears about ¼ of an inch thick. Do not cover the straps (obviously).
7)If you live in a dry climate this can be left out overnight (or so) to dry. I live in humid Texas so I helped the process along by giving it 25 minutes in my clothes dryer (I have a shoe rack so that the mask doesn’t tumble around). I did this a few times over about three days.
8)When mask is completely dry, paint it to look like General Grievous. Tip: I created the illusion of Grievous’ narrow chin and high cheek bones by painting the sides black.