Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Costume

The Halloween theme for our house this year was a haunted pumpkin patch, so I was inspired to do something related to pumpkins. I typically lean more towards gore or horror, but I wanted to do a more spooky, traditional vintage vibe. Many of the vintage costumes from the early 1900's were made of paper mache, photographed in black/white (or sepia) and naturally have a creepy feel. As in typical "Darkson Creations" fashion, I still did scary makeup for when I wasn't wearing the pumpkin head. It was a great Halloween.

1. 1 Tall Kitchen Plastic Bag
2. Large Twine Rope
3. 2 Standard Pillows Worth of Poly-Fil
4. Torn Newspaper Pieces
5. Paper Grocery Store Bags
6. Elmer’s Glue
7. Water
8. Bowl & Strainer
9. Joint Compound (non-DAP)
10. Joint Compound (Lightweight)
11. Wheat Flour
12. 2ply Toilet Paper
13. Baby Oil
14. Acrylic Paint (Orange, Brown, Black, White, Yellow, Green, Red)
15. Paint Brushes (Multiple Sizes)
16. Acrylic Gesso
17. Damp Sponge
18. 8” Plastic Pumpkin Pale
19. Cardboard/Chipboard
20. Hot Glue & Hot Glue Gun
21. Orange Long Sleeve Dress
22. Black & Orange Leggings
23. Black Boots & Socks
24. Orange Face Paint (Black Face Paint - Optional)
25. Yellow Contacts (Optional)
26. Burlap
27. Egg Crate Foam
28. Black Nylon
29. Aluminum Foil & Masking Tape
30. Utility Knife

Since a ready-made circular base was unavailable, I created a custom form using common household items. First, I stuffed a tall kitchen trash bag with poly-fil from 2 old pillows until it was full and somewhat circular. Next, I used a large piece of twine rope and tightly wrapped the stuffed bag, cinching it into eight sections to replicate the characteristic ridges of a pumpkin.

I mixed a bowl of Elmer's Glue and water to create the paper mache paste (2 parts water to 1 part glue). After cutting up multiple pieces of newspaper in various sizes, I started to layer the paper mache on top of the trash bag pumpkin form. In retrospect, the better thing would have been to rip pieces of newspaper, not cut them, as they adhere way better. Because paper mache takes 24hrs (sometimes longer) to dry, it was a tedious process putting layer after layer of paper mache down. A fan helped to speed up the drying process. Since I was in a time crunch, I eventually had to switch to a thicker material (paper grocery store bags). The bottom was exposed for a while and I eventually had to flip it upside down to do multiple layers. This would eventually end up being where the head hole would be cut.

For the stem, I used aluminum foil as an armature and then wrapped it in masking tape, paper mache and did several layers until it felt firm enough to be on it's own. After, I was able to take most of the foil out from the stem to make it more lightweight. Then I affixed it to the pumpkin with more paper mache and masking tape. Once it felt secure and hard enough (after multiple rounds of drying), I was able to cut the head hole. Before I did that, I put the pumpkin up to my head to determine approximate hole size. I used a utility knife to cut the hole at the bottom. Once I had access to the inside of the pumpkin head, I was able to cut out the rope, plastic bag and take out all of the poly-fill. I can reuse the poly-fill in the future because it was protected from the paper mache. After I pulled out everything, I put the pumpkin on my head and added some paper templates to the front to figure out the best way to layout the face and figure out where to cut the hole to see out of. Originally I thought looking out the mouth would be the best placement, but once it was on my head, I realized that was not possible, so I redesigned the face and ended up cutting out a hole where the nose was to see out of.

One of the most common ways to create that vintage Halloween vibe is to use paper mache clay to create dimension. First, to make the paper mache clay, I used the following ingredients:

1. 1-1/4 Cup of (damp) Toilet Paper Pulp
2. 3/4 Cup of Elmer's Glue
3. 1 Cup of Joint compound (non-DAP brand)
4. 1 Tablespoon of Baby Oil
5. 1 Cup of Wheat Flour

First, I prepared the paper pulp by soaking toilet paper in warm water. I waited until it separated, put it in a strainer and then squeezed out the water by hand, tearing the damp paper into small chunks. Then I mixed all the wet ingredients in a bowl. Some people use an electric mixer, but I don't have one, so I just mixed everything by hand. I added about half the flour and kept folding it in to create a clay-like consistency that was no longer sticky. I kept adding more and more flour and kneaded it until it was a workable "clay" material. Since I was using this for multiple projects, I stored it in the fridge in a zip lock bag to keep it fresh.

To add dimension on the pumpkin, first I traced the eyes, eyebrows, teeth and cheeks using the paper templates I created in Step 3. Then I rolled out the clay and gently pressed it to the pumpkin head where I traced and used a tiny bit of water for it to adhere better. For the cheeks, I built the clay very thick to make them look rounded. I ended up adding the clay to the teeth gaps as well to make them more pronounced.

Once the paper mache clay dried, I added lightweight joint compound to the pumpkin head, spreading it very thinly across the entire pumpkin surface. I allowed it to dry and then sanded it with a wet sponge to smooth it out. Once that dried, I painted over the entire pumpkin head with acrylic gesso. This would allow me to see the spots necessary to patch with either more joint compound or the clay, as well as help the acrylic paint to adhere better. Once I did more patching (and waiting to dry), I did another layer of acrylic gesso just on those spots.

First I painted the stem brown with some black paint mixed in. Waited for it to be dry to the touch, then continued to paint the pumpkin a solid orange. I added black to the eyes & in between the teeth, brown to the eye brows and added the red/rosey cheeks. To emphasize the pumpkin segments and give it a dirty look, I made a paint wash mixing a small amount of brown and black paint with water until it was thin. I applied it generously from the stem to the base. The watery mixture settled naturally into the indentations, making the pumpkin's ridges more pronounced.

To fit the mask, I had to tear up an old foam eggcrate so that the pumpkin head would fit securely on my head. I tried it on without the foam, and it didn't sit right, and my neck was not showing. I couldn't see out the nose either. I slowly added piece by piece until it felt comfortable and I could see out of the nose. I used hot glue with a hot glue gun to secure each foam piece. To hide my face, I cut a piece of black nylons and hot glued it over the nose on the inside of the mask. Once I fit it on my head, I was so excited because I finally felt like the costume was coming together! I did a happy dance.

I ordered a plain orange long sleeve dress from Amazon. It had pockets, so that was a plus. To make it feel more authentic, I cut pieces of burlap and hot glued them to the dress. I started with the bottom of the dress, then did the sleeves. The sleeve material was stretchy, so I didn't want to make them too tight, so I stuck a roll of masking tape into each end to stretch it out before I glued the burlap down. It worked out perfectly once I removed the roll of tape. I added burlap to the neck opening to cover the buttons, and then cut out patches of burlap, and randomly placed them. To dirty up the outfit, I used the same paint wash method that I reviewed in Step 6.

A vintage pumpkin costume is not complete without a vintage candy bucket. Every trick or treater either has a candy bag or bucket. I purchased an 8" plastic pumpkin bucket at a local store. In order to visualize what it would look like, I cut out pieces of a cereal box (chipboard material) and taped it on the bucket. Once it looked how I envisioned, I applied the paper mache clay over the ears first and then on the entire bucket. This is the same clay that I made in Step 4. I waited for it to dry, and then traced the paper template of the eyes, nose and mouth with a pen so it would be easier to lay out the clay to create the dimension. Once it dried, I painted the entire bucket with acrylic gesso. When the acrylic gesso dried, I painted the cat almost entirely black (including the bottom and inside of the bucket). I left the eyes, nose, mouth and eyebrows unpainted until I could figure out what color to make them. I used orange, yellow, green, red and white acrylic paint. The eyes were painted on the cereal box chipboard and then super glued in place. It looked a lot cleaner than painting directly over the paper mache. I also used tiny pieces of white printer paper to create the small "wisps" of hair on the forehead and next to the eyes.

If you decide to make this costume, this step is almost entirely optional. I would recommend painting your hands, neck and upper chest orange, so that it blends in with the pumpkin, but you don't have to actually paint your face. I only did it because it made it more scary when I wasn't wearing my pumpkin head mask. I grabbed some yellow contacts and a cheap black hat as well. When I was standing around the fire/candles and some cool lighting I definitely looked way more creepy! I outlined everything first, then filled in with black and then added the orange. I added black highlights to mimic the pumpkin segments.

The best part of the night was showing off my costume masterpiece alongside friends who share the same love for Halloween. Wearing my homemade vintage pumpkin head, the whole night felt cozy and old-fashioned, a perfect match for the spirit of my costume. We spent the night laughing, giving out candy to Trick or Treaters and just enjoying our favorite holiday.