DIY French Fry Costume

Dressing up in a French fry costume is a hilarious crowd please, and the perfect ode to one of the very best foods out there. Am I right? Plus, it pairs really well with your best pal’s burger costume or makes a fun fries before guys costume to wear to parties and hold your “>” bucket next to all the guys there.

You can make it out of just cardboard, paint and foam! Don’t forget that trusty glue gun. Here’s how!

Supplies Needed

• Cardboard (We buy large sheets of it at the art store!)
• 3″ Thick Upholstery Foam (We used a full 72″x24″ sheet)
• Red and Yellow Spray Paint
• Scissors
• Box Cutter
• Hot Glue Gun
• Wide Ribbon (For straps)
• Yellow Dress
• Black Halloween Bucket/Cauldron and White Tape (For the “>” symbol!)

French Fry Costume Tutorial

1. You’ll need to cut out four pieces of cardboard, the front, back and two sides, to form your fry container. Reference above for shapes. Ours measured approximately 25 inches wide, 15 inches deep, 33 inches at the tallest point in the back and 19 inches at the shortest point in the front. Spray paint them all red (both sides) and let dry according to the directions on the can.
2. Hot glue one side piece to the back piece. To do this, run a line of hot glue down the very edge of the back piece and place the side piece on top. This will help hold it while you add more glue. Add more glue along the inner seam to really secure it. Repeat with the other side.
3. Now glue the front piece to the sides. To do this, run a line of hot glue on the very edge of one side piece and place the front piece on top. Do the same with the other side. Then go back and add more glue along the inner seam to secure it. It helps to have an extra set of hands for this step! Step into the fry container and mark where you want the straps to attach. We recommend placing them about 9 inches apart in the front, criss-crossing them, and then placing them about 11 inches apart in the back.
4. Now it’s time to make your fries! Tips for cutting through foam: Cut on top of cardboard or another surface you don’t mind cutting into! Use a box cutter and cut one slit, the length of your fry, about half way through the foam. Then go back and cut through the rest, in one smooth cut.
5. You’ll need to make two sizes, one short and one tall. To do so, we cut about 10 fries, 3″ wide each, off the end of our piece of foam so they were each 24″ tall. Then we cut the remaining foam the opposite way, so each fry was about 40″ long.
6. Spray paint all the fries yellow. I purposely painted mine uneven, since fries aren’t one solid color! Let dry according to the directions on the can.
7. Hot glue the fries to the inside of the container. Start at the back and glue the taller fries along the back, at different heights. Then glue one or two to each side, making sure you leave a space for your arms to go in-between them. Then glue the short ones to the front. Slip the ribbon straps you already glued on in-between the fries.
8. To make the “>” bucket, use white tape to to make the sign on a black bucket. Simple as that!

Photos by Jeff Mindell

OH THE POSSIBILITIES for turning this into a group costume! But I’m just really digging this French fry costume, guys or no guys. And if the dozens of people who stopped to take pictures of us as we shot this are any indication, you’re sure to win ALL the best costume awards. GOALSSS!

If you make a Studio DIY costume, share it on Instagram with #studiodiyincostume to be featured here on the blog (and for a chance at some other cool surprises we have in store!)!!