Beit Issie Shapiro and The Holon Institute of Technology are excited to share a series of DIY Costume tutorials so parents of children with disabilities can create costume magic for their children who use wheelchairs and walkers that involve their mobility aid
Below, you will find 4 video tutorials of adaptive costumes, specially made for wheelchairs and walkers, along with written instructions and design patterns so you can easily and affordably create costumes for your children.
We encourage you to be creative and make it special and unique to your child. With a few simple tweaks, can make an original costume that will fulfill your child’s dress-up fantasy!
HAVE FUN CREATING AND DRESSING UP!
Butterfly Costume for a Walker
MATERIALS:
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Hot Glue Gun
- Craft Glue
- Pencil
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Craft Saw (or a serrated kitchen knife)
- Large Foam Poster Board - Black
- Felt – Assorted Colors
- Pipe Cleaners - Black or Assorted Colors
- Thick Cardboard Roll (Paper Towel or Plastic Wrap)
- Construction Paper – Black
- Velcro Strips – Black
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Hot Glue Gun
- Craft Glue
- Pencil
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Craft Saw (or a serrated kitchen knife)
- Large Foam Poster Board - Black
- Felt – Assorted Colors
- Pipe Cleaners - Black or Assorted Colors
- Thick Cardboard Roll (Paper Towel or Plastic Wrap)
- Construction Paper – Black
- Velcro Strips – Black
This costume is customizable. You may choose your own colors. Make it special and unique to you! Be creative! With simple changes, a butterfly can turn into a bumble bee, fairy, angel or other ideas.
PREPARATIONS:
Print patterns and files – this can be done at home or at a professional printer
Files included for this costume:
CREATING YOUR COSTUME:
Use a tape measure to measure the walker: the back of the walker, the width between the walker side rods and the wheel dimensions
** Every walker is sized differently. It is important to measure accurately to ensure the costume fits your specific walker. You can adjust the sizes on the patterns accordingly.
- Use a pencil to trace PATTERN 1 and PATTERN 2 onto the black foam poster board
- Use a utility knife to cut out the butterfly wings
- Trace the wing decoration onto the felt, using PATTERN 1A and PATTERN 2A
- Use scissors to cut the wing decorations
- Use craft glue to attach the wing decorations onto the wings, placing them as depicted on the pattern in grey
- Create folds on the wings: run a closed-blade utility knife along the edges of the wings’ center, marked on the pattern in red, to create indentations. Fold the wings along the indents. Use a hot glue gun to set the folds in place. Wait for the glue to dry.
- Use a craft saw to cut the cardboard roll into a 10cm piece
- Use a craft saw to cut a 3cm opening along the length of the 10cm cardboard roll
- Wrap the cardboard roll in construction paper, leaving the 3cm opening exposed
- Glue the construction paper in place
- Use a hot glue gun to attach two Velcro strips onto the roll
- Use a hot glue gun to attach the roll onto the lower center of the butterfly wings
- Use a scissors to poke two holes at the top of the center of the butterfly wings, as illustrated on the pattern
- Thread a pipe cleaner through each hole.
- Poke two holes at the center of each butterfly wing, as illustrated on the pattern
- Thread a pipe cleaner through the holes.
- Using a pencil, trace PATTERN 3 twice onto felt to create two flowers
- Use scissors to cut the flower
- Use the scissors to cut a plus sign in the middle of each flower, as illustrated on the pattern
- Attach the large butterfly wings onto the back of the walker by placing the cardboard roll on the bottom walker rod, securing with the Velcro strips. Use the two pipe cleaners to fasten the wings onto the top rod of the walker.
- Attach the small butterfly wings on the sides of the walker using the pipe cleaners to secure in place
- Place the felt flowers on the walker’s wheels by inserting the wheel center into the cut plus-sign at the flower’s center
**All costume elements have been designed so you can easily attach, detach and reuse the costume on the walker.
YOUR COSTUME IS COMPLETE! HAVE FUN DRESSING UP!
Airplane Pilot Costume for a Wheelchair
MATERIALS:
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Craft Glue
- Electrical Tape- Colorful
- 4 Cardboard Sheets
- 2 packs of Velcro Strips
- 3 Paper Fasteners
- Foam Poster Board
- Stickers for Printing
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Craft Glue
- Electrical Tape- Colorful
- 4 Cardboard Sheets
- 2 packs of Velcro Strips
- 3 Paper Fasteners
- Foam Poster Board
- Stickers for Printing
This costume is customizable. You may choose your own colors. Make it special and unique to you! Be creative! With simple changes, this costume can become a car, fighter jet or other ideas.
INSTRUCTIONS:
PREPARATIONS:
Print patterns and files – this can be done at home or at a professional printer
Files included for this costume:
- COSTUME ELEMENTS- A breakdown of each costume element including dimensions, for home printing and free-handed drawing
- STICKERS FOR PRINTING – For home printing, on sticker paper or plain paper to adhere with glue
- TO SCALE PATTERNS – For professional printing if wish to trace the pattern
You can customize this costume with own writings, symbols and patterns on the stickers
PREPARATIONS:
Using measuring tape, measure the diameter of the wheelchair’s inner wheels, chair length, chair width, chair height and the handle length
Every wheelchair is sized differently. It is important to measure accurately to ensure the costume fits your specific chair. You can adjust the sizes on the patterns accordingly.
- Using a pencil, mark all costume elements on the cardboard according to the costume patterns
- Use a utility knife to cut the costume elements on the black lines
- Use electrical tape to tape along the edges of each of the airplane parts: body of the airplane, airplane wings and airplane tail
KEY for using the patterns:
BLACK LINE- fully cut the cardboard
RED DASH LINE – fold the cardboard, with the help of a closed-blade utility knife
- Use a closed-blade utility knife to create indentations for folding according to the red dash lines on the pattern
- Fold the cardboard along the indents
- Use electrical tape to enclose and connect the front of the body of the airplane
- Stick the windshield and dashboard stickers onto their relevant cardboard pieces, as depicted on the pattern in grey
- CREATE DIALS:
- Draw and cut 3 strips from poster board
- Attach each strip to a paper fastener, securing with glue
- Poke a hole in the center of each gauge on the dashboard
- Insert the paper fastener into the hole and clasp secure shut
- Use glue to attach the windshield to the dashboard- facing back-to-back
- Attach the cockpit, with the windshield facing outward and the dashboard inward, by inserting the bottom grooves into the slits cut on the body of the airplane. Secure with electrical tape at the bottom.
Place the relevant stickers to decorate the wheels and wings, as depicted on the pattern in grey
You can personalize your costume and write your child’s name on the airplane tail by using stencils or printed letters.
- For the airplane wheels and tail- use electrical tape to attach two 10 cm Velcro strips on each element, placing in desired location for attachment
- For the airplane wings – attach two 10 cm Velcro strips by threading through the slits cut in the cardboard
- AIRPLANE WINGS- attach the Velcro around the wheelchair armrests on each side of the chair
- AIRPLANE BODY- use electrical tape to attach one side of the body of the airplane to the airplane wings. For the second side, attach using Velcro to allow for easy opening and closing of the costume.
- WHEELS – use Velcro strips to attach onto the wheelchair’s wheels. Carefully placed to not interfere with the function of the wheelchair’s movement.
- AIRPLANE TAIL- attach the Velcro to the wheelchair’s push handles.
YOUR COSTUME IS COMPLETE! HAVE FUN DRESSING UP!
DJ Costume for a Motorized Wheelchair
MATERIALS:
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Pencil / Marker
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun
- Glue Stick
- Electrical Tape
- Black Paint + Paint Roller
- 4 Thick Cardboard Sheets
- Cellophane – Assorted Colors
- Pipe Cleaners
- Broomstick (length - 55 cm, diameter - 3 cm)
- 10 Plastic Bottle Caps
- CDs / Records
- Stickers for Printing
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Pencil / Marker
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun
- Glue Stick
- Electrical Tape
- Black Paint + Paint Roller
- 4 Thick Cardboard Sheets
- Cellophane – Assorted Colors
- Pipe Cleaners
- Broomstick (length - 55 cm, diameter - 3 cm)
- 10 Plastic Bottle Caps
- CDs / Records
- Stickers for Printing
This costume is customizable. You may choose your own colors. Make it special and unique to you! Be creative!
INSTRUCTIONS:
PREPARATIONS:
Print patterns and files – this can be done at home or at a professional printer
Files included for this costume:
- COSTUME ELEMENTS- A breakdown of each costume element including dimensions
- STICKERS – For home printing on sticker paper or regular paper
- TO SCALE PATTERNS – For professional printing if wish to trace the pattern
CREATING YOUR COSTUME:
Use a tape measure to measure the wheelchair: diameter of the wheels, chair height, chair width, distance between the back push-handles and the diameter of the table attachment
Every wheelchair is sized differently. It is important to measure accurately to ensure the costume fits your specific chair. You can adjust the sizes on the patterns accordingly.
- Use a pencil to trace the patterns of the costume elements (Turntable, Speakers, Decorative Background) onto the cardboard, adjusted according to the wheelchair measurements
- Use a utility knife the cut out the costume elements
**KEY for using the patterns:
BLACK LINE- fully cut the cardboard
RED DASH LINE – fold the cardboard, with the help of a closed-blade utility knife.
- Use a closed-bade utility knife to create indentations along the red dotted lines indicated in the pattern
- Fold along the indents to form the boxes for the turntable and speakers
- Secure the boxes along the folded lines with electrical tape.
- Using a paint roller, paint all the cardboard costume elements
- Allow to dry
TURNTABLE:
- Cut the turntable stickers and attach according to the pattern using the sticker adhesive or glue
- Use glue to attach the bottle caps and the record/CD as indicated on the sticker
SPEAKERS:
- Cut the speaker stickers and attach according to the pattern using the sticker adhesive or glue
DECORATIVE BACKGROUND:
- Cut colorful cellophane strips
- Use a glue stick to attach the cellophane strips, alternating colors to create a pattern, along the cut-outs on the inside panel of the decorative background
- Use a hot glue gun to attach the front and the back of the decorative background, painted side facing outward.
- Cut the decorative stickers, the cellphones and wheels
- Cut cardboard according to the sticker size
- Attach the stickers to the cardboard, using the sticker adhesive or a glue stick
Use electrical tape to attach the broomstick to the back of the turntable
Use electrical tape to attach pipe cleaners onto the back of each of the remaining costume elements: speakers, background, wheels and the cellphones
- Attach the TURNTABLE by inserting the broomstick into the hollow table attachment rod next to the armrest. If your chair does not have this, you can attach the turntable using pipe cleaners and wrapping around the armrest
- Attach the rest of the elements by twisting pipe cleaners on the chair
- When attaching the wheels, carefully placed to not interfere with the function of the wheelchair’s movement
- Attach the cellphones on the sides of the wheelchair, below the armrest
- Attach the decorative background onto the back of the chair, adhering the pipe cleaners to the wheelchair push-handles
- Attach the speaker onto the lower back of the wheelchair; wrapping the pipe cleaners onto the lower part of the chair
** All costume elements have been designed so you can easily attach, detach and reuse the costume on the wheelchair.
YOUR COSTUME IS COMPLETE! HAVE FUN DRESSING UP!
Candy Shop Costume for a Stroller
MATERIALS:
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun
- Electrical Tape - White
- Cardboard – White (400 g)
- Foam Poster Board (10 mm)
- Pipe Cleaners – Red
- Cellophane – Red
- Contact Paper – Red
- Felt – Assorted Colors
- String / Twine
- Styrofoam Balls (4 cm diameter)
- Disposable Cups
- Assorted Candies
- Measuring Tape
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun
- Electrical Tape - White
- Cardboard – White (400 g)
- Foam Poster Board (10 mm)
- Pipe Cleaners – Red
- Cellophane – Red
- Contact Paper – Red
- Felt – Assorted Colors
- String / Twine
- Styrofoam Balls (4 cm diameter)
- Disposable Cups
- Assorted Candies
This costume is customizable. You may choose your own colors. Make it special and unique to you! Be creative! With simple changes, a candy stand can turn into an ice cream shop or other ideas.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Print patterns and files – this can be done at home or at a professional printer
Files included for this costume:
- COSTUME ELEMENTS- A breakdown of each costume element including dimensions
- SMALL PATTERNS – For home printing or free-handed drawing
- TO SCALE PATTERNS – For professional printing if wish to trace the pattern
PREPARATIONS:
Using measuring tape, measure: the diameter of the stroller’s back wheel, stroller height, length, width and the stroller’s canopy (As depicted in the instructional video)
** This costume was created according to the dimensions of a “Circle Hamilton” stroller. It is important to measure the stroller you will be using and if needed, adapt the pattern dimensions accordingly.
- Using a pencil and ruler, draw a rectangle on the white cardboard, according to the pattern and stroller measurements
- Cut the rectangle using a utility knife, with the help of a ruler
- Using a pencil, mark all elements on the white cardboard (Candy Stand Walls, Front Tray Wall, Side Tray Shelves) according to the pattern and stroller measurements. To mark the rounded-edges, use PATTERN 1.
- Cut the elements using a ruler and utility knife
- Cut the contact paper into strips and stick onto the cut out cardboard elements, according to the grey markings on the costume element description
Using a hot glue gun, attach the sides of the candy tray (Front Tray Wall, 2 Side Tray Shelves) onto the rectangular cardboard base.
Using electrical tape, attach pipe cleaners on the bottom of the tray. Place tape in the middle of each pipe cleaner. These pipe cleaners will be used to attach the tray to the stroller.
- Cut cellophane into strips
- Wrap each Styrofoam ball in a cellophane strip, twisting a pipe cleaner at each end to seal the candies
- Using a hot glue gun, attach disposable cups onto the candy tray
- Fill the cups with the candies created in Step 5
- Stick lollipops and other candies you desire onto the tray
- Using PATTERN 2 or according to the stroller wheel measurements, use a pencil to draw circles onto the white cardboard
- Use a utility knife to cut out the cardboard circles
- Using PATTERN 2, draw a circle divided into triangles onto the colored felt
- Use a scissor to cut out the triangles
- Use a hot glue gun to attach different colored triangles onto the circle cardboard pieces, filling the circle with colorful triangles
- Using PATTERN 1, mark flags on white and red felt (creating 6 flags on each color)
- Use a scissors to cut the flags
- Cut twine, according to the measurements of the canopy
- Use the hot glue gun to attach the flags onto the string
- Attach all costume elements onto the stroller, wrapping the pipe cleaners around the stroller points and twisting to secure
- Attach the Candy Tray to the front of the stroller
- Attach the Candy Stand Walls to the sides of the stroller
- Attach the Candy Wheel Covers onto the stroller’s back wheels
- Tie the string of flags onto the stroller canopy
- You can add candy (created in STEP 5) to decorate the stroller
All costume elements have been designed so you can easily attach, detach and reuse the costume on the stroller
YOUR COSTUME IS COMPLETE! HAVE FUN DRESSING UP!
