Stitch ~8ft

Stitch is an eight-foot-tall costume, if you include the ears, possibly taller, and a reimagination of the live-action version brought to life as realistically as possible.

1. Blue Faux Fur
2. White faux fur
3. GLue Gun
4. Pin Fabric
5. 2 plastic bounce balls
6. black nylon fabric
7. black duct tape
8. balsa wood
9. mesh basket
10. 8 in spring
11. upholstery and EVA foam
12. PVC Pipe and Tees
13. Screws and Drill
14. 
    

By far, the most detailed and noticeable part of Stitch is his head. In order to complete this, we first drew out a tracing of the head based off the live action version.

An initial frame that was made out of balsa wood with hinges was created with a mesh basket placed on top and spring in order to simulate the mouth being able to open and close. From here, cardboard was taped in cylinder patterns on the top and bottom portions of the mouth with modifications as needed in order to make it as realistic of a replication as possible.

PVC was added inside the head, as long as two spots are the ear holes, in order to attempt to make the costume as balanced as possible when wearing. You can also see a picture later that shows how it fits onto a backpack.

In order to create the eyes, we wanted to make the costume as light as possible. To achieve this, we used bouncy balls that you'll find at your local Walmart. We blew them up to approximately 33 inches in circumference and then wrapped them with black nylon that was stretched in order to eliminate any wrinkles in the eye. The balls were then placed inside the cut eye holes in the cardboard head and secured in the back with tape and plastic wrap, along with foam to keep it secure and not move.

The outline of the eyes were drawn onto the cardboard, and then the white fabric foam was glued on with careful detail, watching out for the cutout eyehole lids. This was a bit of a trial-and-error process, as the slightest difference could really change the shape of how the eyes and nose would look upon final placement.

The intention was for the nose to look lifelike and resemble that of a dog. This took many edits but finally got what was needed. It was carved out of styrofoam-like material and taped on the back, as well as using zip ties to secure it to the cardboard head frame. It was then painted and texturized in order to give a more realistic wet look.

The ears were designed with quarter of an inch PVC cardboard and wrapped with fabric. In addition, one-inch PVC connectors were attached so that they could attach and detach from the head for transferring the costume in a car. The quarter-inch PVC was thread through the cardboard ear shape in order to give it a rigid and realistic look.

I think the thing you tend to notice the most about Stitch is his oversized teeth. This was created by using foam pieces and gluing them together, and then shaving the pieces in order to get the right size. The pieces were then wrapped with the white paper towels and then painted on top of.

The teeth were then individually hot-glued onto the balsa wood frame of the mouth. Afterwards, the bridge of the mouth was painted black. And a fabric tongue was added with a cut-out hole in order for me to see.

The body involved cut-out fabric on top of foam pieces in order to give a more complete shape for stitch. The white fur on his chest was then glued on top of the blue fabric so that it would sit there with ease and not be as hot to wear.

The feet were carefully carved out cylinder foam pieces and placed as toenails with a black fabric finish to give them a more shiny look. The blue fabric was then wrapped around in a larger pattern in order to slide over tennis shoes. The hands were hot glued onto gloves in order to be able to move freely and hold things with relative ease.

This costume was all about trial and error. The early stages of it, it definitely did not resemble Stitch. However, the end result was worth it. I hope you enjoyed this costume as much as we did enjoy creating it from nothing. It was a blast to wear around throughout the holiday. And his movable mouth and proportional body seemed to be very complete. Thanks for reading about Stitch, if you made it this far. :)