Cousin Itt

by Terrie aka Hot Glue In My Coffee

This awesome Halloween prop costs less than two venti Pumpkin Spice Lattes!
I have seen the crafters' version of Cousin Itt a few times online and I loved him! He reminds me of my youth and I can't look at a picture of him and not smile.
As much as I tried I couldn't find a step by step tutorial. I read something about tomato cages, styrofoam ball for the head, but I wasn't satisfied. So, here's my own Cousin Itt Tutorial! This project is so easy to make, give him a try, everyone needs a Cousin Itt in their family tree.

cousin itt, crafts, halloween decorations, seasonal holiday decor

Supplies:

Cardboard

Packing tape

Hat

Sunglasses

Grass skirts (I used 8)

Hot Glue

Weight (optional)

Newspaper for the weight

Tools:

Knife

Scissors

Glue Gun

Step 1

Cutting the cardboard

-I suggest finding a box the same height that you want Itt. The cardboard should be all one piece in order for it to be sturdy so don't go splicing several pieces together. You will need two separate pieces, one for his hat to sit on and the other one forms his shoulders.

-Cut one piece 42"x4

-Cut the second piece 30'x4

IMPORTANT: These pieces must have at least one straight edge to sit on.

Step 2

The Inner Core

-Roll the cardboard into a cylinder and with the grain. You want it tight enough that the hat fits on the top snugly. Remember that the grass skirt will help it fit even tighter and you can glue it on as well.

-Add tape to the top and the bottom of the cylinder and make sure that the top and bottom of the cylinder are the same size and flat.

-At one end, wrap a piece of tape around the cylinder twice then go around it like you're wrapping a candy cane. When you get to the bottom wrap the tape around the twice.

-If you want to add weight, wrap a brick or rock in newspaper. Put it inside the bottom of the cylinder and pack newspaper around it. Use enough newspaper so that tight it doesn't move around. (See all the images at www.hotglueinmycoffee.com)

42" Tall! That's like a kilogram in metric.

Step 3

The Body

Roll the second piece of cardboard like the first except in an oval shape. Add tape at the top and bottom to hold it in place and then tape from the top to the bottom and back three or four times to secure it.

wow... cool graphics!!!

WOW!!!!! :O

Step 4

The Hair

Okay, this looks like a no brainer but it is actually very important. So that his hair looks more natural and not like you used a bunch of grass skirts, I developed this technique.

-To make sure that the cardboard is covered at the bottom, position the first skirt so that it is about an inch too long. The skirts I used had an elastic waistband... pretty highfaultin for coming from the dollar store! I made a slit in the waistband and pulled it together in the back and glued the edges. I then glued the waistband to the body every 2-3 inches making sure that I kept it level.

-Next, cut another skirt into 3 inch chunks and glue each chunk about 3 inches apart. We'll call this the "Terrie Technique" Keep working with one skirt at a time, not all skirts are the same size and you may need fewer that I did.

-Continue doing this one skirt at a time. When you get to the top of the shoulders continue the same way up the inner core. Stop when you know the hat will cover the highest level. I took my last chunks and glued them to the tape on the top of his head.

-My hat fit snuggly on his head so I didn't glue it down. Also, I can change hats if I want to. The same with the sunglasses. Cousin Itt had lots of cool sunglasses, I wanted to leave my options open by not making them a permanent look.

For all the images and more Halloween fun head on over to:

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2 of 18 comments

Laurene57 on Oct 16, 2015
When I was a kid years ago my Mom had a hula skirt and I used it to be cousin it for Halloween.

1 Reply
Joy Lynn on Oct 16, 2015
So clever! Awesome!

1 Reply