Shisa Costume

My 5 year old daughter and I traveled to Okinawa earlier this year and she loved the traditional dress there. I found a kimono for her which she decided that she would wear it for Halloween. Every year my husband andI dress in costumes based on the theme of our daughter's costume. When I asked her how she wanted me to dress that would go with her kimono outfit, she told me that she wanted me to dress up like shisa, which is the dog/lion guardian often seen at the entrance of Japanese homes. My first thought was to find a Chinese lion dance costume which would be similar. After looking at the incredibly high prices, I decided to try my hand at making my own. It had to be light enough for me to comfortably carry it. I decided to construct the frame of pool noodles and camping mat. It was then covered in clearance materials. Other materials used are paper plates and styrofoam spheres for the eyes, elastic and toulle for the body, and lots of hot glue. I had no pattern, only photos to work from. I spent a total of $100 on this costume and about 70 total hours of work. My daughter is thrilled and has decided to name it (me) Shushi. We cannot wait for Halloween!
How to...use the camping mat and pool noodles to create the frame for the head. Use paper plates, styrofoam spheres (halved), and colored paper/fabric for eyes. Cover the entire structure with material. Use pool noodles for brow and upper lip edge. Cover in fur material. Use cardboard for the bottom lip and glue in open position. Use poster board, foam/felt sheets for all details. Yse remaining fabric, fur, and boas for train/tail and attach to head. Decorate with buttons, felt shapes, sequins, etc. Everything is hot glued. Five yards of printed fabric and two yards of fur favric used. One camp mat, two large pool noodles and two small pool noodles used for the frame. Three posters, 4 foam sheets, two paper plates, and one styrofoam sphere for remaining elements. Lots of scraps from other projects used to decorate. Four thin boas and nearly 1000 yards of 6" toulle tied onto elastic bands complete the body. Material scraps used to make the beard. Will be worn with dark leggings, shirt and black tennis shoes. Requires lots of practice to operate and make it look alive. One ofthe large pool noodles was situated within the base of the head to keep its round shape and also provides handles to make operating easier. Don't forget to cut a hole, or a few, to be able to see!