Caterpillar - Alice in Wonderland Costume

This idea has been on my possible costume list for a long time and I finally decided to commit! I love the idea of illusion costumes, so I was determined to figure out how to create the look of sitting on a mushroom. The mushroom was made out of heavy gauge wire to shape it, with cardboard supports on the inside. Then it was covered and stuffed. I gathered material on the bottom to give the appearance of gills. I attached a skirt with drawstring to the bottom of the mushroom that would tie around my waist to help support the weight of the mushroom. The stem of the mushroom was just a white skirt that also had a drawstring waist. I made four arms and added a bit of wire in the fingers of each hand. Then I was able to manipulate the fingers to look a bit more realistic. I stitched them in place so that the arms wouldn't just flop around. The legs were a bit tricky because the gold fabric was stiff and a bit hard to sew and turn right side out. I had a few versions that didn't work out before figuring it out. The light blue front was made to open with velcro and a snap at the top to make it easier to get in and out of. The hookah was made from two plant holders, a candle holder, a wine topper and a faucet aerator. The tubing was a skipping rope with a metal straw on the end. I glued it all together and spray painted it. The face paint was by Cheek FX and I already had it in the Halloween bin! The colour matched perfectly to the fabric I bought. My husband even made an Alice costume for our dog.