King Arthur Costume (from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail")
by RCS82 in Craft > Costumes & Cosplay
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King Arthur Costume (from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail")
I had decided to go as the Black Knight from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" this year, and my wife couldn't think of a costume. I eventually suggested she come to the party as another character from the film, and she decided that she wanted to go as King Arthur. This is how I made the costume.
Materials:
White Twin Bed Sheet
Costume Crown
Gold Spray Paint
Yellow Acrylic Paint
Brown Acrylic Paint
Costume Sword
2 Belts (One should be a bit too big)
Burlap
Costume Mesh Gloves
Leather Work Gloves
A wide art-style paint brush (about 1 x 1 inch)
A small art-style paint brush (about 1/4 x 1/8 inch)
Newspaper
4 ft of gold ribbon
Other things necessary to complete the costume:
Grey long-sleeved shirt
Black / Brown pants and socks
Materials:
White Twin Bed Sheet
Costume Crown
Gold Spray Paint
Yellow Acrylic Paint
Brown Acrylic Paint
Costume Sword
2 Belts (One should be a bit too big)
Burlap
Costume Mesh Gloves
Leather Work Gloves
A wide art-style paint brush (about 1 x 1 inch)
A small art-style paint brush (about 1/4 x 1/8 inch)
Newspaper
4 ft of gold ribbon
Other things necessary to complete the costume:
Grey long-sleeved shirt
Black / Brown pants and socks
The Tunic
The tunic was modeled on the one from the film. It was difficult to find the right amount of fabric conveniently, so what I ended up doing was buying a cheap, white twin-sized flat sheet from Wal-Mart. Due to the way it was folded into the package, we had a nice crease to work with to keep the sheet folded in half perfectly lengthwise. The sides were then sealed with glue, as with my Black Knight instructable. (Glue was used because I do not have a sewing machine and I did not want to have to sew this up by hand) By doubling up the sheet like this it adds to the opacity of the material and improves the overall look of the costume.
Once the sheet was glued, the sheet was folded in half width-wise. The center of the crease was found and a rough head hole was cut. The tunic was then tried on, and the "head hole" was adjusted for comfort and so that it sat evenly front and back. While my wife was trying it on, it was noticed that the tunic was still a bit wide, so we decided that the shoulders needed to be cut down a little bit. The front of the tunic was safety-pinned over the back on either side, while she was wearing it, and marks were made where the sheets came together and where the edge of her shoulders were. She then took off the tunic, leaving it pinned and the shoulders were cut out from the marks that were just made. The tunic was tried on again, and the fit was good.
Next, a triangular section needed to be cut out of the front of the costume to match the original from the movie. My wife left the costume on and the front was cut out roughly from the inside of the leg at the bottom to a point in the center of the front, lining up roughly with the top of the inseam of her pants. The edges left from this section being cut out, as well as the bottom of the front of the tunic were then trimmed in gold ribbon. (If I were to do this again, I would buy enough ribbon to also trim the bottom of the back of the costume) The ribbon was attached with hot glue.
Lastly, the logo needed to be painted on. Before doing this, it was important that any creases left on the sheet were eliminated. To accomplish this, the tunic was steamed, but you could use an iron if you were careful not to remelt the glue where the two sides of the sheet came together. Once the tunic was steamed, my wife, again, put on the tunic, and a pencil was used to mark out where the top, bottom, and sides of the logo should fall. The tunic was then laid out on the table, newspaper was placed inside to prevent bleed through, and I began sketching out the sun logo within the boundaries defined by the pencil marks. The reference picture I used for this was from the shield of a King Arthur action figure, found by googling "King Arthur Monty Python". The outline was sketched first, and then filled in with yellow. Then a 4 - 4.5 inch round bottom object was used to draw the outline of the face of the sun. and the face was drawn on. Don't forget the signature moustache. All of this was sketched onto the yellow paint with pencil, and then painted over with a mixture of brown and yellow paint. (It was very light brown) The edges were then, also, outlined in the yellow-brown mixture.
(See pics for each part of the above)
Once the sheet was glued, the sheet was folded in half width-wise. The center of the crease was found and a rough head hole was cut. The tunic was then tried on, and the "head hole" was adjusted for comfort and so that it sat evenly front and back. While my wife was trying it on, it was noticed that the tunic was still a bit wide, so we decided that the shoulders needed to be cut down a little bit. The front of the tunic was safety-pinned over the back on either side, while she was wearing it, and marks were made where the sheets came together and where the edge of her shoulders were. She then took off the tunic, leaving it pinned and the shoulders were cut out from the marks that were just made. The tunic was tried on again, and the fit was good.
Next, a triangular section needed to be cut out of the front of the costume to match the original from the movie. My wife left the costume on and the front was cut out roughly from the inside of the leg at the bottom to a point in the center of the front, lining up roughly with the top of the inseam of her pants. The edges left from this section being cut out, as well as the bottom of the front of the tunic were then trimmed in gold ribbon. (If I were to do this again, I would buy enough ribbon to also trim the bottom of the back of the costume) The ribbon was attached with hot glue.
Lastly, the logo needed to be painted on. Before doing this, it was important that any creases left on the sheet were eliminated. To accomplish this, the tunic was steamed, but you could use an iron if you were careful not to remelt the glue where the two sides of the sheet came together. Once the tunic was steamed, my wife, again, put on the tunic, and a pencil was used to mark out where the top, bottom, and sides of the logo should fall. The tunic was then laid out on the table, newspaper was placed inside to prevent bleed through, and I began sketching out the sun logo within the boundaries defined by the pencil marks. The reference picture I used for this was from the shield of a King Arthur action figure, found by googling "King Arthur Monty Python". The outline was sketched first, and then filled in with yellow. Then a 4 - 4.5 inch round bottom object was used to draw the outline of the face of the sun. and the face was drawn on. Don't forget the signature moustache. All of this was sketched onto the yellow paint with pencil, and then painted over with a mixture of brown and yellow paint. (It was very light brown) The edges were then, also, outlined in the yellow-brown mixture.
(See pics for each part of the above)
Accessories
The accessories were all painted with gold paint. The effect worked better on some things than others.
The gloves were painted gold - done
One of the belts was painted gold (the smaller one) - done
The mesh gloves / sleeves were painted gold - done (although if I was to do it again, I would use cut up mesh leggings instead, so that the whole arm is covered for the full chainmail effect.
Lastly comes the chainmail for the head. This was done in two pieces, with burlap. A rough "U" shape was cut out for the shoulder bit. The "hood" was created by taking a piece of burlap approximately 36" x 7", folding it in half widthwise, and gluing down one side. A thin stream of glue was also used around any unglued edges of burlap as well (making sure not to glue them to something else) to discourage unraveling of the material. Both the shoulder bit and the "hood" were spray painted gold.
The gloves were painted gold - done
One of the belts was painted gold (the smaller one) - done
The mesh gloves / sleeves were painted gold - done (although if I was to do it again, I would use cut up mesh leggings instead, so that the whole arm is covered for the full chainmail effect.
Lastly comes the chainmail for the head. This was done in two pieces, with burlap. A rough "U" shape was cut out for the shoulder bit. The "hood" was created by taking a piece of burlap approximately 36" x 7", folding it in half widthwise, and gluing down one side. A thin stream of glue was also used around any unglued edges of burlap as well (making sure not to glue them to something else) to discourage unraveling of the material. Both the shoulder bit and the "hood" were spray painted gold.
Gather Your Knights....
Put on your tunic, and wrap your smaller (now golden) belt around you to hold it on. The larger belt should hang off you somewhat, and hold your sword. Put on your "chainmail" sleeves and "hood" and don your crown. There are monsterous bunnies to fight and Black Knights to maim!
You could even have a squire with coconuts to simulate a horse, and you wouldn't even need a swallow to bring it!
You could even have a squire with coconuts to simulate a horse, and you wouldn't even need a swallow to bring it!