Charlotte tried out for the role of Pharaoh in her class assembly, she got the part and she was really working hard to learn the all of the songs as well as her speaking parts- with typical Charlotte panache. And every acting diva needs an over the top costume...
So we made her a dress and a very large pharaoh headdress.
The dress was simply copied from a nightdress pattern- laid on top of the nighdress and drawn around leaving room for seams. I used white sheeting and added ribbon to decorate the neckline (authentic colours though!) In all it took around an hour to an hour and a half to put together one evening. In hind sight I should have left the seams unsewn below the knee for movement but it did add a certain authentic Egyptian walk (the necklace and cuff were made in class).
The headdress was a different matter and took a little bit longer. I can't take the credit for this- Christopher was inspired and it's all his own work!
So here is my simple Tutorial on Making an Egyptian Pharaoh Headdress.
Step 1: Making the shape.
First things first, it needs to fit the head that will wear it. Measure said head and using the measurement cut a strip of cardboard a few inches wide and make a circle taping the ends together. You then need to use a giant sheet of paper (or stick together smaller ones- this will all be hidden) to attach to the top of this strip, curving partially around the front and folding over at a point where you want the top of the headdress to be (think about the size of the person who will wear it). Don't worry if it doesn't yet look like the correct shape.
Trim the back of the sheet of paper to make the "cobra" shape that the headdress is based on. If it's not quite big enough- simply attach more paper to make it big enough. The final step is to get the rest of the shape at the top- using strips of paper or card attach them to the front and back of the headdress until you have managed the shape you are looking for.
As you can see we found a large glass and an inflated balloon worked well as a way to balance the headdress while working. More practical than a small child.
Step 2: Strength
The key is to add strength next. Paper-mache is the simplest way to do this- long strips in one direction and then layer it again in the other direction. We found it did bubble up if we allowed it to dry between layers so it would be better if you complete the paper-mache layers in one sitting. Allow it to dry thoroughly.
Step 3: Colour
The Egyptians were all about colour! And rich opulent colours are the order of the day for Pharaoh. As Charlotte was Tutankhamun blue and gold were called for. Paint each colour separately and allow to dry completely between colours.
Ideally we would have preferred to add a snake adornment on the front but we simply ran out of time- I do think air dried clay would work well though.
And voila! a headdress is created:
There is just one extra ingredient that is absolutely essential to make the costume work perfectly, and that is to have a Pharaoh who is more than happy to dole out a bit of attitude. As you can tell, we had no problems in that department.
So there you have it! Make your own Egyptian costume!
