Pitt Students Craft Handmade Halloween Costumes from Scratch

University of Pittsburgh students are spending the final week of October crafting unique components for their Halloween outfits. Rather than buying pre-made garments, many are repurposing materials and learning new skills to create specific costume elements. This approach has led to a variety of original pieces, ranging from cartoon characters to popular internet memes.

Will Lowell, a senior psychology major, spent four weeks crocheting a full head, paws, and tail for his Star Trek fursona. He began the project in late July to avoid the rush of final exams. Lowell purchased a foam base for the head and had to learn how to crochet in three dimensions. He took notes throughout the process and glued the finished fabric onto the base.

Lowell described the green dog character as a reflection of his personality, noting that he also has green hair and loves dogs. He plans to wear the handmade costume to show off his creativity. The project required him to master new techniques, including freehand crochet work that took several weeks to complete.

Mckenna Smith, a first-year biochemistry major, incorporated her wig styling skills into her Misa Amane costume. She cut synthetic hair with scissors and used an eyebrow razor for layers. To achieve the right style, she heated the hair with a straightener and held it into shape while it cooled. Smith also used the Hillman Text & conText Lab to bind a book for her outfit.

Smith cut paper with a guillotine and folded sheets into signatures using a scoring bone. She punctured the pages with a large needle and sewed them together with waxed thread. The finished book, painted to resemble the Death Note, took her about a week and a half to create. She decorated the cover by hand to match the character's prop.

Ally McAdams, a junior in law and criminal justice, is preparing three different costumes for the holiday. She is crafting a bib for a Toy Chica outfit by drawing on a t-shirt with markers. For her Catwoman look, she cut and hand-sewed a beanie with cat ears. McAdams estimated that these specific crafting tasks took a couple of hours to complete.

Laura Wolf, a first-year psychology major, learned to sew for her costume based on the album cover of Sorry for Party Rocking. She is attaching zebra print fabric to fold over shorts. Lindsey Letran, a first-year in public policy and economics, is gluing pipe cleaners onto headbands to create antennae for a butterfly costume and ears for a Paddington Bear look. Letran noted that the pieces do not need to be perfect because they will be viewed in the dark.

Ava Wahler, a first-year on the pre-physical therapy track, has spent close to $300 on her Frankie Stein, Poison Ivy, and Lava Girl costumes. She bought most of the parts but is creating the Lava Girl outfit herself. Wahler is using orange tape on a pink top and bottoms to create the appearance of broken lava. She is focusing on the placement of the tape to achieve the right visual effect.

Karleigh Sage, a junior history and psychology major, relied on thrift stores for most of her three costumes. She is making her own hennin, a large cone-like hat, for a medieval princess look. Sage bent a cardboard box into shape, covered it with paper, and added fabric and lace. She is most excited about her costume based on the dog with a propeller hat meme, which includes a large lollipop prop.