Pin Grin as Pinhead
""I originally wanted to construct this costume last year but was unsure
if I could actually pull it off (the sewing and fitting)! This year I decided
I was going to go for it because I had the time and the money to do it. I started
by buying 6 yards of a soft fake leather like "Pleather". I also bought
2" wide elastic, 3/4" thick fabric backed padding, three spools of 100%
nylon sewing thread, 36" sport zipper, 1/4" cording, 36" of sew
in velcro, and a box of "T" shaped stick pins. Then I went and stole
(borrowed) my mom's sewing machine.
For the upper body pattern I used an old snug fitting black turtleneck that I had. I made sure I cut it a little larger than I needed being that you can always stitch farther in to make it tighter but you can't make it bigger. I made a vest first, slipped it on over my head. It fit pretty snug so took it off and cut it straight up the back and sewed in the zipper. next I sewed the arms into tubes and tried them on, they fit snug to so I attached them to the vest. Then I made the padded belt section with only a nice stitched bead around the outside edge of it. I then cut apart an old tough latex mask, and sewed a piece behind the stomach cut-out. Next I put on the jacket and held the belt up to my body and positioned it where the sides were just above my hips and pinned it into place. I sewed the belt to the jacket via the padded ribs in the belt. Next I constructed the chest piece with the same bead around the edge and sewed in two more pieces of latex mask behind the holes. Then I positioned the chest piece on the jacket in the same way I did with the belt, pinned it, and sewed it on. Then I trimmed off the extra material below the belt in the front, back and on the sides. Next I made a collar piece and attached it to the neck of the jacket and sewed it only to the front collar bone section of the jacket, so it would hang in front. With my mask on the collar wraps up and around the neck and fastens together in the back with hidden velcro I sewed in, to conceal my neck and the mask's neck. Next I took 3 yards of the "pleather" and layed it out on the floor flat. I started to pin the material together in pleats, 1" overlaps spaced 3" apart. Once it was all pinned together I ran two straight stitches along the top to make them permanent and then removed the pins. Next I pinned the skirt to the bottom of the jacket and sewed it on with an agressive zig-zag stitch because the skirt is a little heavy. I put the thing on and had a friend mark the material right at my toe tips while I was standing straight up. I took it off and cut the excess material off 1" below the mark. I then stitched the bottom of the skirt with a 1/2" folded edge. Next I went back around the outfit and sewed in elastic chunks where there would be a stress issue like the armpits and where neck and shoulders meet.
Now, the costume is essentially done except for painting. I painted the stomach and chest pieces with white and grey auto primer (does not brush off or crack, has been tested). My mask was very cheesy when I got it. It was a greenish color, shiny and had sick plastic pins. I painted the grid on the head with a black permanent sharpie marker, and then "DUSTED" the head with the primer, grey first then white. I then cut off the shoulder shroud that came on the mask and left the neck collar piece. Next I put 2" shiny roofing nails through the holes and backed them with 90 mph tape. The mask fits very, very snug, it's a pretty small casting and very tough, well built. Finally I painted the bloody flesh which was also latex mask, installed some dirty brass colored huge hooks, made a black chain belt and cut out some flesh manipulating tools. I also had a pair of square toed cowboy like boots that had about a 2 1/2" heal on them, so I was about 6' 2" in full costume.
This entire costume took me 2-3 hours per evening for 2 weeks, some days more than others. Overall about 40 hours of labor. I spent about $50.00 on materials and about $45.00 on the mask. Lots of beer consumed during this project also.
I wore the costume to two Halloween parties on Friday and Saturday nights. The most enjoyable part was when we arrived (my friend went with me dressed as Yoda, he's a very small guy). The place was already packed, 250-300 people roughly. The guy at the door ask me if I was going to cause any problems tonight, and jokingly said "we don't want anybody raising any hell here tonight". I laughed and proceeded to the lowerlevel. I have never heard so many people say "Holy S@#T!", "Oh my god!", "Wow!", "Check out the Hellraiser dude!", and other various comments. I couldn't believe it. I was grinning so big--thank god for the straight face of the mask. And through out both nights I think just about every person came up to me and ask me where I got the suit, how I did it, and then proceeded to touch my head and say "those are real nails!". I still have one big Halloween party to go to on Halloween night, I can't wait.
The costume does get a little bit warm like when dancing or in crowded areas but it is well worth the extra suffering. Hope everyone gets good ideas from these scrawlings."
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