Made and donated teddy bear mascot to Theodore Roosevelt
Q. How did you first get into costume design?
A: I got into costume design just before Halloween of 2024 because I wanted to make a dragon costume for myself. Even before that, I had always made my Halloween costumes, but they were flimsy and made just for the one day. I didn’t really know how to sew at all before starting that project, so I got by on YouTube tutorials and trial and error. Since then I’ve made four more costumes and have improved a lot.
Q: What was the most exciting part about designing a mascot for your old elementary school?
A: Knowing that the costume will be used at assemblies and stuff is super exciting. I hope all the kids at TR will enjoy having a mascot.
Q: What was the most challenging/interesting part of the construction process?
A:The most challenging part of the project was shaving the fur on the face down in a way that looks smooth and not choppy. It’s also hard to carve the foam that the head is made of to be symmetrical. Overall, the head is definitely the most complicated and lengthy part of the process.
Q:What materials did you use to build the head and the body?
A: The structure of the head is made out of 1” and 2” upholstery foam hot glued together and carved into shape with scissors. The rest is fabric; a mix of cotton, minky and faux fur fabric that I get from a website called Howl Fabrics. In places where the fur needs to be short, it is shaved down with pet clippers.
Q: What made you decide to take on this project?
A: I love TR, it’s the elementary school I went to from kindergarten to sixth grade and I wanted to give back to them in some way. This project also completed my required service hours, which is a nice bonus.
Q: What is your biggest accomplishment among your projects so far?
A: I’d say I have multiple “biggest accomplishments.” I got second place in a Halloween costume contest at the mall last year which got me a free ticket to go to Planet Anime in Kansas City. In a time crunch, I made a whole new costume, a white tiger, to go to the convention in, and I won a floor award for it while there. I’ve had a lot of fun learning and improving my skills over the past year and a half, and I hope to continue to improve.
