How to Make a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Costume

Though Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hit the peak of their popularity around 1990, fans still love the four crime-fighting, martial arts-master turtles. With some green clothing, a bandana and a few other items, you can easily make a costume that looks good and is inexpensive.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Yellow posterboard or bristol board (optional)
• Green posterboard or bristol board (optional)
• Markers or poster paint
• Rope or string
• Snow disc and paint for plastic (optional)
• Solid color bandana or fabric for headband
• Green sweatsuit or t-shirt and leggings
• Brown socks and shoes
• Green face paint

Make the Shells

1. Buy yellow and green posterboard or bristol board. Cut an oval from the green sheet for the back of the turtle shell. Cut a smaller oval from the yellow sheet for the front shell.
2. Decorate the shells by drawing or painting a turtle-shell pattern on them. You can use markers or poster paint to do this, or another medium that works with paper.
3. Punch a hole on both the left and the right at the top of each shell. Also, punch one in the right and left sides of each shell. Tie them together loosely with rope or string. You'll be wearing the shells over your green sweatsuit in a "sandwich" fashion.
4. Use a snow disc for the back turtle shell as another option. Use paint that works on plastic to paint it green with a turtle shell pattern. Cut holes in the sides of it to put string or rope through and then tie it around you to wear it. For the front shell, you can paint on the green clothing you'll be wearing, or glue blocks of yellow fabric to it.

Make the Headband

5. Decide which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle you want to be. Make a headband in the appropriate color: Red for Raphael, orange for Michaelangelo, blue for Leonardo and purple for Donatello.
6. Roll up a bandana in the color you choose and tie it around your head like the Ninja Turtles do.
7. Cut a strip from a T-shirt in your turtle's color to make a headband, or use some scrap fabric if you have any. Just tie it across your forehead the same way. This is an alternative to wearing a bandana.

Put Together Your DIY Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Costume

8. Wear a green T-shirt and leggings or a green sweatsuit as the main part of the costume. Then, put on brown socks and shoes as well as your headband.
9. Paint your face green with green face paint. There really is no other makeup that is necessary--the turtles' faces are all green.
10. Put the shell over you like a sandwich board and you have just become Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello or Leonardo.

Tips & Warnings

• If you wish to add weapons to your costume, head to a dollar store, toy store or costume store for accessories. You'll be able to find fake swords there.