How to Make a Troll Costume

Trolls are often thought of as scary, mean characters, but anyone who owned a troll doll knew that trolls weren't scary at all. In fact, they came with navel gems that you could rub and make wishes. Troll dolls were very popular in the 1960s, with spurts of renewed interest after that. If you want to bring your favorite childhood toy back to life, create a troll costume for your next big costume party or Halloween occasion.

Things You'll Need

• Skin-colored leotard
• Thick, flat piece of cardboard
• Scissors
• Foam board (any color)
• Glitter
• Troll wig (if not using your real hair)
• Tall, wide cup
• Rubber bands or hair ties
• Hairspray
• Towel or barber cloth
• Temporary hair color spray (any color)
• Skin-colored tights
• Skin-colored flats
• Elf ears (optional)

Instructions

Costume

1. Lay your leotard on a clean, flat work surface. Stick a thick, flat piece of cardboard inside the leotard so that the glue will not leak through to the other side (you may need to trim it to fit inside). Set aside.

2. Draw a shape on the foam board with a pencil. The shape should be about three inches in height and width. Shapes usually include hearts, diamonds, stars and circles, but you may use any shape you desire.

3. Cut out the shape in the foam board for the troll stomach gem. Flip it over so that the pencil marks are not showing.

4. Lay the foam board cut-out on a clean work area. Cover the foam board in fabric glue and sprinkle your choice of glitter on the glue. Shake off excess glitter. Set aside to dry.

5. Glue the foam board cut-out onto the navel area of the leotard, being sure that the cardboard is blocking the glue from reaching the other side of the leotard. Set aside to dry.

6. Tie up your hair on top of your head with a hair band or put it into a hairnet. Put on your troll wig. If you are using your real hair instead, see Section 2.

Hair

1. Start your hair at least three hours before the event as it will take quite a while to get your hair to stand up.

2. Place a tall, wide cup on top of your head. Wrap your hair around the cup, bringing it to the top of your head. Secure your hair around the cup with a rubber band or hair tie (you may need to secure your hair in more than one spot to keep the cup in place).

3. Flip your head upside down and begin spraying with hairspray. Spray up, down and around. Your hair will become very stiff. Two bottles of hairspray should be enough for just-below-shoulder-length hair. For longer hair, you may need more. Continue until your hair is completely stiff and stands on its own after removing the hair tie (you may choose to leave the hair tie in if desired).

4. Wrap a towel or barber cloth around your neck and shoulders. Spray your hair with the temporary hair color. Like the hairspray, this may take more than two bottles depending on your hair length. Give your hair about 15 minutes to dry.

Finishing Touches

1. Pull on your skin-colored tights.

2. Remove the cardboard from the inside of the leotard. Put the leotard on.

3. Pull on your skin-colored flats.

4. Put your make-up on (if desired). Basic make-up is ideal for this costume. Add elf ears for extra effect.

References

• Coolest Homemade Costumes: Coolest Homemade Naked Troll Doll Costume
• Coolest Homemade Costumes: Troll Dolls Group Costume
• Coolest Homemade Costumes: Coolest Troll Dolls Costume
• Anytime Costumes: Homemade Treasure Doll Halloween Costume