DIY Hamburger Costume

This hamburger costume was inspired by Bob's Burgers and was made for a group Halloween costume. Constructed primarily of high density foam and cloth this burger is light weight and easy on the shoulders. In addition to looking great and (probably) tasting terrible, this costume can be worn on any occasion! At the office or on the streets this delightful stack of discs is sure to be a hit!

Tools

• Scissors
• Box cutter / Knife
• Hot glue gun
• Fabric glue (Beacon Fabri-Tac)
• Painter's tape
• Sharpie marker
• Pencil
• Tape Measure
• String or compass

Materials

• Yellow t-shirt
• Tan fabric (bun) - approx. 2 yards
• Red fabric (tomato) - 1 yard
• Green fabric (lettuce) - 1 yard
• Brown fabric (burger) - 1 yard
• White fabric (sesame seed) - 1 square foot
• Cardboard - 24" x 60"
• 2" high density foam - 24" x 48"
• 1" high density foam - 24" x 40"
• Pillow stuffing

Begin construction by tracing two 24" circles on the cardboard using a compass or pencil attached to string. I built a makeshift compass using a scrap of wood with a pencil located 12" from a pivot screw. Use a boxcutter to cut out the cardboard circles.

Using the cardboard discs as templates trace 24" circles onto the high density foam. We will create three 24" wide foam discs total as noted below. A boxcutter with an extendable blade is useful for cutting the thicker foam pieces.

• Two 2" thick discs for the patty and bottom bun
• One 1" thick disc for the tomato slice

The top bun builds off of one of the 24" cardboard discs created in the last step. Depth and structure is added by cutting two shallow "arcs" out of cardboard approximately 24" long and 5" tall. These two arcs will overlap to form an "X" on top of the base cardboard disc. Cut notches in the cardboard arcs to allow the pieces to fit together. Attach the cardboard arcs to the base using hot glue and painter's tape as needed.

Pillow stuffing is now used to fill out the four regions formed by the overlapped arcs. Slightly overfill each region to just above the level of the arcs.

Trace a 34" circle onto a piece of the tan cloth and cut out with scissors. This cloth will be placed over the cardboard structure to form the outside face of the top bun. Make sure to center the circle on the cardboard to ensure even overhang on all sides. The cloth should overlap the back side of the cardboard disc by several inches.

Use painter's tape to temporarily secure the cloth to the back side of the bun. Adding evenly spaced folds or slits in the fabric will help eliminate bunching and wrinkles. Once in position, begin carefully gluing the cloth the cardboard one section at until the cloth is securely attached all the way around the disc. Fabric glue will give a stronger connection, however hot glue can be used in a pinch.

Trace and cut out another 34" circle of the tan cloth for the bottom bun. Stack a 24" disc of 2" high density foam on a 24" disc of cardboard (both cut in previous steps) and wrap with the tan cloth. As with the top bun, use painter's tape to position the cloth initially and then glue the cloth to the cardboard. Make sure the cardboard face is exposed, not the foam.

Cut four 1" wide x 6" long strips from the scrap tan fabric used for the buns. Fold the strips in half and apply glue to 2" of the overlapped cloth, ensuring there is a 1" (unglued) loop remaining.

Attach two of the loops approximately 11" apart on each bun with glue, allowing the unglued loop holes to overhang the buns.

The tomato slice is constructed in a similar manner as the bottom bun, however without a cardboard insert.

Trace a 32" circle of the red cloth and cut out with scissors.

Wrap the 24" wide, 1" thick foam disc with the 32" circle of red fabric. Painter's tape does not adhere well to the foam, so the glue up is a bit trickier than the buns. Work slowly and allow the glue time to dry before advancing to the next section. Small dabs of hot glue or pins could be useful during this process.

The lettuce is formed by bunching/folding strips of green fabric around the perimeter of the tomato disc.

Start with 5" wide strips, approximately 24" long, cutting more as needed. Using scissors cut a wavy pattern into the edge of the green fabric removing one of the straight edges.

Glue the folded lettuce to the tomato disc, varying the size and shape of the folds to give a more natural appearance. Allow about 1" of fabric to overhang the edge of the tomato.

Cut a 16" disc of the 1" high density foam - this smaller disc will sit on top of the tomato slice and allow room for the lettuce's folded structure.

Glue the 16" foam disc to the tomato in the middle of the lettuce ring.

Once the glue has dried between the 16" disc and the tomato, glue it to the cardboard face of the top bun. Keep in mind to only glue the inner 16" of the top bun, the lettuce does not need to be glued to the top bun.

Construction of the patty is essentially the same as the tomato, however uses a 2" foam disc.

Trace and cut a 34" circle of the brown cloth.

Cover the 24" wide, 2" thick foam disc with the brown cloth cloth.

Glue the exposed foam face of the patty to the exposed cardboard face of the bottom bun.

At this point all the pieces can be stacked to preview the final costume.

Cut two strips of the remaining tan fabric 1" wide and approximately 12" long.

Tie the two straps between the top and bottom buns creating shoulder straps.

Trim the excess strap fabric after testing fitting the costume.

Cut small seed shapes from the white cloth and arrange semi-randomly on the face of the top bun. Seeds sizes vary from 1.5" to 2" long and about 1" wide.

When you are satisfied with the final placement, glue the seeds to the top bun.

Pop on your cheesy yellow shirt and (burger) suit up! Shimmy, shake, and strut your stuff!

Congratulations! You are the proud new owner of a genuine burger costume.