Options & alternatives - vinyl banner halloween costume

October 18, 2024 6:41 AM

Would a vinyl banner make a good halloween costume? The idea is to cut a head hole in the middle, so half of the banner is the front of the costume and half is the back of the costume. Front and back would each be printed with a standardized test answer sheet. And where to buy?

Tween Proust wants to be a standardized test answer sheet for Halloween. They have created the design. Now we need to print it onto something wearable.

I'm thinking the best option would be to print a vinyl banner, the kind you can get from Shutterfly, Vistaprint, and many other places online.

I have questions.

* Is this a good way to make the costume? We want something that is comfortable, easy, and will look good. Would another material or printing option be better? Will this vinyl banner approach even work?

* Should I buy it online or find a local shop? If I should buy it online, can you recommend a vendor? We have a local Fedex. Would they do a good job?

* What materials would you recommend. For example, banners.com offers 13 ounce Premium Matte, 13 ounce Premium Gloss, 18 ounce Extra Heavy Duty Matte, Mesh, and Fabric. What would work best?

Online is attractive because we are busy, and going to a local shop would be another thing to do. On the other hand, a local shop would let us suss out the various materials.

Any comments, suggestions, and tips much appreciated.

posted by Winnie the Proust to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

I'm sure any of these would work and convey the point.

One thing I always think about when making a costume is, how do I get the material at hand to look like the material the true thing is made of. This suggests that printing to just the right weight paper to drape similar to a scan sheet at the larger size...

I like working with local shops for the service, but also so that I can pick up the item and not worry about shipping/porch pirates
posted by advicepig at 7:35 AM on October 18

When I think "test answer form" my brain goes automatically to the Scantron form, either the small form green or the full sheet red. Just thought I'd mention it because it gives different size options.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:16 AM on October 18

Is this a good way to make the costume? We want something that is comfortable, easy, and will look good. Would another material or printing option be better?

I actually think an old-school kind of "sandwich board" approach would be better -

1. Get two big pieces of cardboard, like torso-size. You can probably cut these out of a big amazon shipping box if you got one recently (and yay, that would be free).

2. Print out one side of the form and paste to one piece of cardboard, and then print out the other side and paste to the other piece of cardboard.

3. Get some ribbon or twine to make "shoulder straps" connecting the two pieces of cardboard, top end to top end, and you can just tape them into place with duct tape.

4. Dress all in black, throw the thing over your head, voila.

For extra fun, get a mailing tube, spray paint it yellow and then make a cone out of some paper and stick that to one end; paint the other end of the tube pink. Voila, you also have a "pencil" to go with the form (don't forget to write a big "No. 2" on the side of the tube somewhere).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:34 AM on October 18 [6 favorites]

MCAS/Question 2? Hello from across the river. I think vinyl's a pretty good material for this. Depending on the relative size between Tween Proust and the costume, you might want to factor in wind. October reliably has two very windy days, and we haven't had either, yet. On the other hand, it could also be freezing. I'd see if your local Staples or FedEx have samples on site of the materials -- or if Banners.com can send you samples -- and you can make a better choice based on that and feel comfortable ordering online. You'd want to ask if you can iron, or how to flatten out, the material because it will be sent rolled up and you might need to deal with that.

As an alternative to EmpressCallipygos' sandwich board option -- same design but different material -- here's a 24"x36" 4mm corrugated plastic outdoor sign with 2 grommets at the top from Staples (found under "Outdoor signs"). Two (different) designs will cost about $70.
posted by cocoagirl at 9:16 AM on October 18