How to Make a Tree Porcupine Costume

Tree porcupines, or porcupines from the genera Coendou and Sphiggurus, are medium-sized rodents with long, prehensile tails. They live primarily in lowland forests in Mexico and Brazil. If your child needs to be a tree porcupine in the school play, or you want a Halloween costume that sends the message that you are not open to meeting new people, go to the craft store and party store to pick up a few inexpensive items. Making a tree porcupine costume requires only minimal sewing skills and a little patience for tedious work.

Things You'll Need

• Burlap
• Brown and white pipe cleaners
• White face paint
• White spray hair color
• Dark gloves
• Costume dog nose

Instructions

1. Make a loose tunic out of burlap. Use two yards for an average adult or one for a child. Fold the burlap in half the long way, and cut a head-sized hole in the middle. Put the burlap on the costume-wearer to decide where the side seams should be. The tunic should fit loosely, because it will be difficult to get on and off if it is form-fitting. Mark the locations of the seams, take off the burlap and start sewing up the sides. Leave enough room for generous armholes at the top. Cut away the excess material from the sides.

2. Poke the pipe cleaners through the burlap, alternating brown (or black) and white. Leave a 1/2-inch length of each pipe cleaner inside the burlap, and fold it or tie it so the pipe cleaner will not slip through the holes. Although tree porcupines are fully covered with spines, several dozen on your back and front should be enough to give the right impression. If you want to add quills to your arms, cut the pipe cleaners in half. Pin a long discarded strip of burlap to the back at the bottom for a tail. Put on the tunic carefully.

3. Spray white hair color onto the ends of your hair, and spike your hair with gel if it is short.

4. Paint your face with white streaks.

5. Put on a dog nose from a party store or costume shop. Tree porcupines have noses that look like pink dog noses with dark whiskers.

6. Put on dark gloves and shoes for the finishing touch.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear a dark brown or black long-sleeved shirt under the tunic, because the ends of the pipe cleaners will be scratchy.

• Have someone help you put on the finished costume, because it will be unwieldy. Keep your eyes closed when slipping it on, so you don't get poked.

• Don't sit down with this costume on; the pipe cleaners will jab you in the behind and get bent out of shape.

• Be careful not to walk too close to other people, or the pipe cleaners may scratch them.

References

• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web: Erethizontidae