Make an illusion costume
Design and build an illusion costume that makes the wearer appear to float or have a double image using cardboard, fabric, and safe craft tools.
Step-by-step guide to make an illusion costume
DIY Halloween Costume Ideas For Kids
Step 1
Gather all the materials on a clear table so everything is easy to reach.
Step 2
Put on old clothes and cover the table with scrap paper to keep it tidy.
Step 3
Stand next to the cardboard and use the marker to trace a torso silhouette from your shoulders to your hips.
Step 4
Cut out the first cardboard silhouette carefully with safety scissors.
Step 5
Trace and cut a second identical cardboard silhouette for the offset double image.
Step 6
Decorate both cardboard silhouettes to match your shirt or costume using colouring materials.
Step 7
Tape two clear plastic strips vertically to the back of one silhouette to act as spacers that will hold the front piece out a few inches.
Step 8
Tape the ends of the elastic strap to the top corners of the back silhouette to make two shoulder loops that fit over your shoulders.
Step 9
Slide the decorated second silhouette onto the clear plastic strips so it sits in front and is held away from your chest.
Step 10
Drape the fabric over your shoulders and tuck or tape the edges to hide the plastic strips and tape supports.
Step 11
Put on the harness by slipping your arms through the elastic loops and standing up slowly.
Step 12
Stand in front of a mirror and slide the front silhouette along the plastic strips until the doubled image looks like a floating or double person.
Step 13
Take photos or a short video and share your finished illusion costume on DIY.org
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we can't find clear plastic strips or an elastic strap?
Use two strips cut from a clear report cover or a thin plastic cutting board for the vertical spacers (step 6) and substitute the elastic strap by taping or sewing two fabric loops or wide ribbon to the top corners of the back silhouette to make shoulder loops (step 7).
My front silhouette keeps sagging or sliding—how do I stop it?
Reinforce the taped clear plastic strips (step 6) with stronger packing tape on both sides, add a third spacer in the middle, and place small tape or Velcro stops near the ends of the strips so the front silhouette (step 9) rests securely without sliding.
How should we change the steps for younger children or older kids doing this alone?
For preschoolers have an adult do tracing and cutting (steps 3–5) and let them color and tuck the fabric (steps 8–9), while older children can cut their own cardboard, use sturdier spacers and secure the elastic harness themselves for a more durable costume (steps 6–7).
What are simple ways to improve or personalize the illusion costume?
Personalize the effect by painting the two silhouettes to match specific clothes (step 5), adding removable paper hands or props to the front silhouette to enhance the floating-person illusion (step 11), or taping small LED strips behind the front piece for dramatic photos (step 12).
Watch videos on how to make an illusion costume
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Walking Skeleton Costume Tutorial
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Facts about costume design and optical illusion techniques
📦 Corrugated fiberboard (cardboard) was first used for packaging in the 19th century and is lightweight, strong, and perfect for building costume frames.
🪡 Costume builders often hide supports, mirrors, and clever fabric folds to change how a body looks on stage — small design choices make big visual magic.
📐 Forced perspective tricks the eye by placing objects at different distances — filmmakers used it to make Hobbits look tiny in The Lord of the Rings.
🧠 Optical illusions work by fooling your brain about depth, size, or motion — sometimes a flat picture can look 3D!
🪄 Pepper's ghost is a 19th-century stage trick that uses glass and lighting to make ghostly doubles appear — it's still used in attractions like Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.
How do you make an illusion costume that makes the wearer appear to float or have a double image?
What materials do I need to build a floating or double-image illusion costume?
What ages is this illusion costume activity suitable for?
What safety tips should I follow when making and wearing an illusion costume?
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