How to Make a Chewbacca Costume

Creating a Chewbacca costume is an expensive and time-consuming challenge. This Star Wars character is not one to decide on only a month before Halloween. If you have the patience and this is not your first time making a Halloween costume you can use these steps to help you become a Chewbacca lookalike.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Synthetic Hair
• Brush
• Camouflage netting
• Pants
• Latch hook
• Gloves
• Upholstery foam
• Latex kit
• Canine fangs
• Contact cement

The Suit

1. Purchase the hair to make Chewbacca fur for the entire costume. You will need medium to light brown and dark gray hair. Get enough to cover the entire back in gray with a stripe of brown mixed in. The rest of the hair goes across the knees, thighs, shoulders, upper chest and back of the head.

2. Attach the hair to pants and a shirt made from Army camouflage netting. The shirt must extend past your knuckles so the hair will cover your hands. Sew the netting for the bottom to a pair of pants with a button, zipper and belt loops. Attach the hair with a latch-hook. This will make sure that it is firmly in the material and won't fall out once applied.

3. Brush the hair once all of it is attached to the suit.

Hands and Feet

1. Purchase gloves for the hands. You can get black cotton ones cheaply at a general merchandise store. These work especially well for the costume if you have the fur covering your hands.

2. Make the feet from upholstery foam. Glue the foam to the shoes you want to wear and don't mind never wearing again. Cut it into the right shape and then use several layers of liquid latex to make them appear like Chewbacca's feet. Paint them the right color after they dry.

3. Add claws by buying some replica bear claws online or making them from the same foam and latex as the feet.

Mask

1. Pick two or three friends to help you with the mask.

2. Purchase a special effects kit online. Get one that has full instructions on how to make the mask or you will have to start over again.

3. Follow the instructions exactly as the booklet or video states.

4. Get some canine-like teeth for the fangs.

5. Glue hair to the head after it is completely dry with contact cement. Once that has dried brush the hair and trim around the eye holes so you can see.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use synthetic hair from any store you want. Depending on how elaborate or accurate you want this outfit to be it can cost a lot of money. For an accurate Chewbacca costume you can buy your hair from National Fiber Technology. Make sure you have someone measure you before getting your hair so you get enough the first time.

• One person should be solely in charge of keeping the latex away from your nostrils so you can breath as it hardens.

• Shave all facial hair off before making the mask.

• Make the mask in the kitchen or other area with linoleum and have plastic bags covering everything, including yourself.

• Don't use plaster to make the face. It can cause second degree burns because it gets hot as it sets.

Resources

• Buy Chewbacca hair here.
• For help if you get stuck.
• Special effects supplies for your mask.