A Young King Arthur
As I have said before, the unitard is the basis of so many of our costumes, and Bambino’s King Arthur costume is no exception. When he decided to be a young King Arthur for Halloween, the first thing we purchased was a gold unitard. Then I built the rest of his costume around the unitard.
My husband, a master with foam core, made the crown and the sword. The sword is over-sized making our young King Arthur look even smaller — as if he just pulled the sword from the stone. Remember, to be truly accurate, this isn’t Excalibur. Excalibur was a sword given to Arthur later by the Lady of the Lake.
Materials
Tunic & Belt
white men’s t-shirt
gold ribbon
gold iron-on vinyl
belt or cording to tie at waist
dragon pattern (available here)
Crown & Sword
gold acrylic paint (not spray paint)
Black and yellow masking tape
4 sheets of foam core
silver aluminum foil tape
jewels
Accessories
hoodie
Tools
hot glue gun and glue
tacky glue
packing tape
basic sewing notions or hot glue
craft knife or box cutter
pencil
scissors
printer
card stock or paper
Cricut (optional)
The King Arthur costume has three basic parts: the Tunic & Belt, the Sword & Crown, and the Accessories.
Tunic & Belt
The tunic is made from a large white men’s t-shirt trimmed with gold ribbon and embellished with an iron-on dragon.
Choose a shirt that comes at least to your child’s knees.
Cut off the sleeves.
Measure and mark where your child’s waist is with the shirt on.
Cut a slit from the bottom hem up to about 2” below the waist in both the front and the back.
Trim the bottom hem and slits with gold ribbon. This can either be sewn or hot glued in place.
Optional: remove the neck band on the shirt.
Trim the neck opening with gold ribbon, too. We didn’t do this since he was wearing the silver coif, but that would give the tunic a finished look if you aren’t using a coif.
Print the dragon shape on a piece of card stock or paper. Cut out the shape.
Trace the dragon shape onto the back side of the gold iron-on vinyl.
Cut out the dragon.
Iron the dragon on to the front of the tunic.
Finish with a loose belt or a piece of gold cord cut to hang loosely at the waist.
Since making this project, I got a Cricut, so I have included files to cut out the dragon emblem using a Cricut, too. Either option will yield the same result.
Crown & Sword
Both the crown and the sword were made from foam core then painted or covered in aluminum foil tape and embellished with jewels.
The Sword
The secret to making a good sword from foam core is to use several layers. This sword blade is 3 layers of foam core and the handle is 5 layers. The layers are glued together with tacky glue and then covered in aluminum foil tape and masking tape to provide both color and stability. The masking tape was then sealed with clear packing tape to make it more durable.
Make a pattern on a large sheet of paper.
Cut one foam core piece that is the entire sword shape from handle to tip.
Cut other smaller pieces to build up the handle and blade giving the sword dimension.
Glue everything together. Allow glue to dry.
Cover with tape.
Embellish with jewels.
This sword won’t last forever, but it is lightweight and could be large. We wanted it to be really big to emphasize that this was King Arthur as a child — who just pulled the sword from the stone.
The Crown
Like the sword, the crown is made entirely from foam core. Instructions for the crown can be found here:
Accessories
We happened to have parts of a knight costume which Bambino added to his attire. Both the gauntlets (gloves) and the silver coif (the faux chainmail headpiece) came from that costume, (a similar one is listed in the Shopping section below). The scabbard on Bambino’s belt came from a Peter Pan costume. Shop your house before you buy or make anything! You’d be surprised what can be repurposed with a little ingenuity!
Don’t have a knight costume? Use an old hoodie — any color you choose! Make the coif by cutting out the hood and shoulders with a rounded cut in front and back. The gauntlets could be made from the sleeves of the same hoodie. Just cut them at an angle about at the elbow, then make a hole for each thumb. If you are only going to use this costume once, don’t worry about hemming. But for durability, hem the rough edges.
No Sew Option: turn under 1/2 inch and use hot glue or Fray Check for the hems.
Pin it!
Adult Page Costume
My husband took Bambino out trick-or-treating, and he dressed as a page a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail. For his costume I made a simple while tunic — again out of an over-sized white t-shirt. I used the same method as for the child’s tunic, but I didn’t trim it with gold or apply the dragon (though you certainly could!).
My husband made a simple wooden frame from wood scraps, and we tied bundles to it. This is totally optional! But we did make a standard (the flag) from a scrap of fabric, another sparkly gold dragon, and a long dowel. This is another no-sew option! I used a scrap of white felt which doesn’t need to be hemmed. We just stapled it to the pole, and voila! A royal standard!
Add a few coconuts for sound effects, and you have a fabulous royal retinue for trick-or-treating!
Shopping
Here’s my biggest tip: start with a basic unitard. They are inexpensive, come in a ton of different colors, and you can add lots of different pieces to them to create different looks. Plus: they are fun for dress-up after Halloween! Another option I love: Primary Pajamas. They come in great colors, and your kids can wear them to bed afterwards!
