How to Make an Elf Costume

Guide Note Delight-- rather than fright-- your friends this Halloween with an elf costume inspired by your choice of fantasy worlds. Or if you're a forward-thinker who wants to spread Christmas cheer in October, then this page is for you! We'll show you the steps to construct fabulous sylvan duds out of ordinary human materials.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Santa's Elves
• Elves from the Big Screen
• Elves from Fantasy Games
• Elf Ears
• Conclusion
• References

Elf Costume Tips

1. Elves are almost always recognized by their pointed ears.
2. Elves are popular creatures in movies, computer games and literature.
3. Depending on the type of elf, the length of the ear can vary.
4. Costumes also differ depending on the type of elf.
5. Elf ears can be made from a variety of materials.

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• by Darcy Logan

Introduction

• Once the product of European mythology, today elves do everything from bake cookies in trees to do battle against evil forces. Although they may share the same name and pointed ears, they do not look or dress alike. For that reason, this page will describe some of the more popular elves before going into how to make elf ears.

Santa's Elves

• Santa's Elves: Santa Claus's elves are almost as elusive as the big man himself. Hollywood has given us a few clues. They are often have pointed ears and are usually short. For some examples of elves, check out any of the following movies: Santa Claus: The Movie, The Santa Clause, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and Elf.

• For clothing, anything red and green will usually work. If you are looking to sew your own costume, here are a few links that will help you out:
  1. Simplicity: Elf Costume
  2. McCall: Pattern M5729
  3. About.com: Free Pattern and Directions to Sew Elf Costume Shoes  

• Expert Village: How to Dress for Christmas Elf Costume (Time: 1:22)

Elves from the Big Screen

Harry Potter's House Elves

• Elves first make an appearance in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In the Potter series, elves are very small with large eyes, large pointed ears and nose. Because they are classified as slaves, they are not permitted to wear clothes. As a result, they often drape themselves with other material.¹ An example of a Harry Potter elf costume can be found on Sugar Boot and Weasel Blog: Harry Potter Fanaticism.²

Elves in The Lord of the Rings

• In The Lord of the Rings, elves appear very similar to humans and are often mistaken for human children.³ Although there is some doubt as to whether or not Tolkien meant for them to have the traditional pointed ears, the film version did portray them as having them.^{3 4}

• For clothing, elves in The Lord of the Rings typically wear more medieval style dress. A few sites that can help guide you include:
  1. The Fashionable Past: Eowyn's Refugee Dress | Eowyn's Shieldmaiden Dress | Eowyn's White Wool Dress
  2. The Costumer's Guide to Movie Costumes: Lord of the Rings
  3. LOTR Costume: Elves

Elves from Fantasy Games

From Dungeons and Dragons

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by Heather)
  Elves in the popular game Dungeons and Dragons are depicted as stealthy forest dwellers that are good with bows and arrows.⁵ They have long pointed ears.⁶ For some images of Dungeon and Dragon elves, check out the following sites:
  1. Premier Props: Dungeons & Dragons: Dorian's Screenworn Armored Movie Costume  
  2. Cosplay.com: Kirdina the Elf

• For clothing, you can lean towards more medieval clothing like that worn by elves in The Lord of the Rings or go for a more forest spirit or wood nymph style of dress. ^{7 8}

Blood Elves and Night Elves from World of Warcraft

• World of Warcraft elves bring new meaning to the idea of pointed ears. Their ears are quite long, often extending past their head. Elves fall into to categories in World of Warcraft: Night Elves and Blood Elves.⁹¹⁰ For some examples of costumes for these elves, check out the following sites:
  1. Extreme Halloween Network Costume Blog Blizzard World of Warcraft Costume Contest
  2. World of Warcraft Official Site: World of Warcraft 2004 Costume Screenshot 1 | Screenshot 2

Elf Ears

• As stated earlier, not all elf ears are alike. For a comparison of some of how they can differ, check out Hightower Craft's page on Ear Tips.¹¹ You can purchase a wide variety of elf ears online or at almost any store that sells costumes. The price starts at about three dollars and can go as high as twenty dollars. These ears are then attached using gum spirit.¹²

• If you would rather make your own elf ears, it can be done several different ways. A few suggestions on how to do this include:
  1. Use a large flesh colored band-aid. Fold the cotton pad in half diagonally and then fasten to the ear.¹³
  2. Cut two elf ears out of moleskin or craft foam and attach one to each ear.¹³
  3. Sculpt the ears using nose putty over spirit gun and cotton. Then, stipple eyelash adhseive over it to make it appear more like skin.¹⁴
  4. Dip the end of a spoon into liquid latex. Let the spoon hang down (so the end is the lowest part) until it dries. Do this several times. When you are done, you can create details by adding more liquid latex with a pen or brush. Color the ear with makeup and slip it over your ear.¹⁵

• Expert Village: How to Make Ears for an Christmas Elf Costume (Time: 1:23)

Conclusion

• Now that you have made your elf costume, you might want to explore some of the other or pages on Mahalo such as How to Make Printable Halloween Stencils, How to Make Halloween Props or How to Bake Christmas Cookies.

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References for How to Make an Elf Costume

1. ↑ YouTube: Harry Potter House Elves (Time: 2:13)
2. ↑ Sugar Boot and Weasel Blog: Harry Potter Fanaticism (October 28, 2007)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The Tolkien Meta-FAQ: Do the Elves in Tolkien's Stories Have Pointed Ears?
4. ↑ Swan Theatre Amateur Company: Elf/Pirate to "Do Some Theatre" (July 11, 2007)
5. ↑ Wizards of the Coast: Design & Development: Elves
6. ↑ Wizards of the Coast: Dragon 361: Elves
7. ↑ DLTK: Forest Spirit
8. ↑ FamilyEducation.com: Wood Nymph Costume
9. ↑ World of Warcraft Official Site: Blood Elves
10. ↑ World of Warcraft Official Site: Night Elves
11. ↑ Hightower Craft: Ear Tips
12. ↑ Expert Village: How to Make Ears for an Christmas Elf Costume (Time: 1:23)  
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} LOTR Costume: Quick Ears
14. ↑ Better Homes and Gardens: Space Alien
15. ↑ Unga Fakta: Alvoron | Google Translation from Swedish