A tooth costume for Halloween, a stage show or any kind of costume party is relatively quick and easy to make in any size. Start with the basic concept of a sandwich-board costume, which has matching shapes on the front and back of the body tied together at the shoulders and worn over a plain outfit. You can adapt it with your preferred materials and method.
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With cardboard or craft foam, you can put together a tooth costume in less than an hour. A soft, padded tooth costume made from fabric and stuffing requires some basic sewing skills and takes a bit more time but is more comfortable to wear. A tooth costume is especially fun as part of a couples costume paired with a tooth fairy, dentist, toothbrush or candy outfit.
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Rigid Tooth Costume
For this very easy tooth costume method, you need two poster-sized sheets of cardboard or rigid craft foam sheets. It's easiest to use white cardboard or foam sheets, but you can also paint them white if those are unavailable. First, on a large piece of paper, trace a simple tooth shape with a flat top and two leglike roots at the bottom. Make the width of the top of the tooth similar to the shoulder span of the person who will be wearing the costume and the length similar to the person's shoulder-to-hip measurement. When you're happy with the tooth shape, cut out the paper template.
Trace around the paper tooth template on both pieces of cardboard or foam sheets and then cut out the shapes with scissors or a craft knife. Use hot glue or duct tape to attach lengths of ribbon, rope or strapping material to the inside of the top edges close to the outer corners of each tooth shape. Make sure the straps are long enough to wear the costume with one tooth comfortably over the front of the body and the other over the back of the body.
Padded Tooth Costume
Create a paper tooth template in the same manner as for the cardboard or craft foam tooth costume. Place the paper template over two layers of white fabric – any type of fabric will work – and trace around it with a fabric marker. Remove the template and trace another tooth shape around the first, approximately 1/2 inch outside the first traced lines. This gives you a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Cut out the tooth shapes along the outer traced lines.
Using a sewing machine fitted with white thread or a needle and thread to sew by hand, sew a straight stitch along the first traced line, leaving a gap of 2 to 3 inches at the end of the seam. Turn the tooth shape right side out through the gap in the seam and stuff the tooth with polyester batting until it's full and squishy. Hand-sew the gap in the seam closed, turning the raw edge of fabric to the inside as you sew.
The tooth can be worn alone on the front of the body with a ribbon, rope or strapping to hang it around the neck. Alternatively, you can make a second identical stuffed tooth and attach the two together at the shoulders in the sandwich-board style.
What to Wear Under a Tooth Costume
Wear plain, tight-fitting clothing underneath the tooth costume so that the tooth is the most obvious element of the costume. This could be black leggings or slim-fitting black pants with a plain black or white long-sleeved T-shirt or turtleneck. Black tights with a black dress could also work well. If you enjoy puns, consider wearing a crown on your head.