Okay, so I’ve been wanting to make an Orioles mascot costume for a while now, and I finally took the plunge! It was… an experience, to say the least. Let me tell you about it.
Getting Started (And Feeling Overwhelmed)
First, I scoured the internet for reference pictures. I needed to get a good look at the Oriole Bird from all angles. I wanted this thing to be as accurate as possible. This part wasn’t too bad, lots of photos of that goofy bird online!
The Head – My First Big Hurdle
The head was definitely the most intimidating part. I decided to use a big foam sphere as the base. I figured that would be light and easy(ish) to work with. “Easy” is a relative term, apparently.
- I cut and shaped the foam, trying to get that signature Oriole Bird beak right. It took a few tries, and let’s just say there was a lot of foam dust everywhere.
- Then came covering it with orange and black felt. This was tricky! Getting the felt to lay smoothly over the curves was a real pain. I used a ton of hot glue and pins, and I definitely burned myself a few times.
- The eyes were another challenge. I ended up using some plastic half-spheres that I painted. Attaching them to the head and making them look… not creepy… was harder than I expected.
The Body – Sewing Woes
Next up was the body. I’m not exactly a master seamstress, so this part was a bit rough. I found a simple bird costume pattern online and modified it to fit what I needed. (Mostly, I just made it bigger!)
- I chose a bright orange fabric for the main body, and some black and white for the wings and tail feathers.
- Sewing everything together was… well, let’s just say my sewing machine and I had a few disagreements. There were some crooked seams and a few ripped sections, but I managed to get it all (mostly) in one piece.
- I added some stuffing to give the costume some shape. Trying to get the stuffing even was a surprisingly difficult task!
The Finish line!
The end of the road! After I put on the finishing touches, such as the feet, the gloves, etc., I stepped back to look at my own handwork, and it was not bad. It’s not exactly professional quality, but for a homemade mascot costume,I think it is okay.
