How to Make a Chicken Costume

Reviewed by Shaelynn Haning

Last Updated: November 2, 2024

Dressing up as a chicken is surprisingly fun for babies, kids and adults. You get to wrap yourself in feathers for a day and perfect your chicken dance. Make a chicken costume by putting together a feathered body suit, a chicken hat and yellow feet.

Part 1

Part 1 of 5:

Making the Body Suit

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For a slim chicken costume, you can stick with one leotard. For a plump chicken, you will need two.
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Set one leotard aside. Wrap two to four white feather boas around the body of one leotard. Start in the center back of the neck and secure the boa to the fabric with safety pins.
- Make sure that the boas are wrapped with a few spare inches in each parallel, so that the costume can be filled with batting.
- Meanwhile, spiral the boas as closely as you can to each other so that you can get full coverage in your costume.
- For a more durable costume, sew the feather boas to the leotard.
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Choose sweater tights or lined tights so that your skin doesn't show through.
Wrap several layers of white wool batting around your torso to make a plump chicken. Then, pull the feathered leotard over the wool batting.^{[1]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 5:

Wings

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First, grab the pieces of cardboard and draw the shape of the wing on one of the cardboard pieces (examples above).
Then cut that out as well. Doing this makes sure that the two pieces are the same shape.
Grab one of the pieces of cardboard and put it on your arm to make sure the wing is facing the way you want.
Make sure you are placing them pointing in the right direction. You want the fluffy part pointed away from your arm. Place the feathers on cardboard without glue to get an idea of where you want to put them.
Do it like you did for the mask: take the hot glue gun, put a small amount of glue, and put it on the bottom of the feather. Place the feather where you want it to go, wait a minute for the glue to cool, then press it down.
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Keep doing this for the rest of the wing. Once it's done it should look like the photo above.
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Take the shirt off and place it flat on the ground. Put a hot glue line on the sleeve of the white shirt where you want the wing to lay. Then, grab one of the wings, and ensure it is the right one for that side. Glue the wing to the arm of the shirt, making sure that the shorter side of the wing is the part that is glued onto the shirt.

Part 3

Part 3 of 5:

Mask

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Start planning out where you want to put the feathers. Leave the nose spot empty without feathers. It is best to leave the short feathers on the bottom and long feathers on the top.
Take the hot glue and put a small dot on the bottom of the feather, then place it in the spot you want. Let it cool for a minute, then press down on the glue to flatten it out. Continue this process until you have filled the mask with feathers.
3
Set the mask aside for the time being. Then, grab the thin piece of cardboard. Draw the shape you see above.
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Cut that shape out of the cardboard and bend it to the shape of the nose on your mask. You can glue it to your mask after bending it to the right shape.
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Glue the yellow paper on the beak bending the paper and gluing under the beak. You just finished the mask!!

Part 4

Part 4 of 5:

Making the Chicken Hat

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You can also find and wear a novelty chicken hat in place of this homemade model.
Print a template of a chicken comb, such as the one on this site: http://luckyhensrescuenorthwest.weebly.com/fundraising-help.html You can also draw one freehand.
Trace around the template with a fabric pen. Cut through both layers of red felt around the template.
Sew the perimeter of the top edge of the comb together. Turn the shape right side out.
5
Stuff the comb with extra wool batting and pin it to the top of the cap. Sew the remaining edge shut, while sewing it onto the white pilot cap. You should attach the chicken comb from the center front to the center back of the cap, like a mohawk.
- Once attached, the wool batting will keep the comb stiff. Tuck more into the comb before you finish sewing if it falls to the side.

Part 5

Part 5 of 5:

Making the Feet

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For a child's costume, you can find a small pair. For an adult costume, you will need to find extra large rubber gloves.
They should stick straight out.
The end of the sneaker must be flush with the fingers of the glove. Converse or Keds sneakers work well for this costume.
This will prevent tripping when you wear the costume.
Pull the laces through so that you can tie them.
6
Gather the extra glove from the bottom, sides and top of the sneaker. Wrap them around each other like you are wrapping a package. Glue the pieces to each other with super glue.
- Allow the gloved shoes to dry overnight.
- Avoid gluing the rubber to your shoe, so that you can dismantle the costume later on.
Wrap your ankles with an extra piece of white feather boa and tie them securely in the back.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I make a beak?

Dean

Community Answer

Use orange construction paper taped together with tape. Add two holes in the sides with string going through them that can be fitted around the head of the person wearing it.

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Question

To make it look better, can I add more boas on to the costume?

Community Answer

Sure. It might be cheaper to buy some yarn in the color of the chicken you would like to be and then glue or sew it onto a body suit.

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If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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Things You'll Need

2 white leotards
Wool batting
3 to 4 white feather boas
Safety pins
Bright yellow tights
Red felt
Scissors
White pilot cap
Needle
Thread
Yellow rubber gloves
Small sneakers (Converse or Keds)
Super glue
White feathers
White face mask (should cover the top half of your face)
Hot glue and glue gun
Thin cardboard
Scissors
Pen or pencil
Yellow construction paper
Two pieces of cardboard - Make sure they are both long enough to go from your wrist to your elbow, and about 6–7 inches (15–18 cm) long. You can cut it to the length you want but it is best to start with a longer piece of cardboard.