Introducing Annie the Ant :D Details on her construction and more photos under the cut! I've been picking away at Annie for awhile now. She started originally when I bought some Antron Fleece for a dinosaur. When the material arrived it proved to be far more sparkly than I thought (another reminder to always get a swatch before buying anything in mass quantity!) Although the material was too shiny for my dinosaur, I thought it would be rather nice for an insect, so I decided to make an ant! I'm always experimenting with making costumes that are easy to pack and comfortable to wear. Her tail is super light and easy to pack, for it is actually a fabric covered novelty football!
The spigot for the tail is located inside the costume, so I simply need to insert an air pump to the spigot to inflate the tail. Then when I am done costuming, I can deflate the tail flat for easy storage and packing.
Her eyes are a large plastic easter egg cut in half. Right after Easter is a great time of year to buy these for super cheap.
Her head is foam on a balaclava. Antenna are 14 gauge wire covered with a tube of fabric. Vision is through the front of the head.
Antron fleece was added the same as I would have done with fur. A Duct tape pattern was drafted, then the fabric pieces were hand sewn to the head. I used a special stitch known as a henson stitch (created by Jim Henson, and used on his many muppet characters), it's similar to a ladder stitch, but hides the stitches a little better.
The head and body were then airbrushed for finished detail.