Need advice making a prop

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brianluce

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Can someone tell me how to make on of those KKK hats?

It's for a short film, not for a klan rally. Sometimes we like to make shorts dealing with racial issues and poking fun at different things that deserve it, like the Klan. This is not a endorsement of the kkk, this is a request for assistance making a prop, for a film...

It's the type that covers the face that we're trying to make.
 
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Well, I guess you could buy the real thing, but that would involve giving money to some really evil bastards.
 
Some young cousins of mine were involved in a WWII play (Diary of Anne Frank or something) not long ago...The costume/props dept. looked online for pieces of Nazi costumes, armbands, swastika flags, etc... Found out too late that they hadn't ordered from a costume shop but an actual neo-nazi reseller. Whoops. So yeah, to echo Horse, try to avoid that if at all possible. :)

But there's no reason you should think about buying a "real" one....Unless you're terrified of picking up a needle and thread, costumes don't get much easier than this... It's a white sheet, sewn into a triangle. Cut out some eye holes and glue cardboard on the inside until it's pointy enough.
 
Seems pretty simple with some white fabric and a sewing machine.

I would (not a sewing expert) make the face part out of two pieces sewn on the sides. I would make the "hat" out of three triangular pieces of fabric for the cone effect. Sew these two pieces together where the hat stops and the face part has to pick up.

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The 'Helmet and Hood' is basically two simple parts: a conical hat (look at some photos and measure your actor's head for the height and diameter of the base, then use high-school geometry to work out the piece to cut and roll into a cone) and a semicircular face flap with eye holes cut out in the right spots (stitch or glue it to the 'Helmet') part.

You can order these on-line, but there is a four- to six-week wait time.
 
Sad Max said:
The 'Helmet and Hood' is basically two simple parts: a conical hat (look at some photos and measure your actor's head for the height and diameter of the base, then use high-school geometry to work out the piece to cut and roll into a cone) and a semicircular face flap with eye holes cut out in the right spots (stitch or glue it to the 'Helmet') part.

You can order these on-line, but there is a four- to six-week wait time.
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Okay so the eyehole piece is actually cardboard backed? and not hanging freely?

I'm worried the costume will look more like a ghost than a KlXnsman.
 
The Hood is usually an un-backed piece of heavy cloth.

Take a look at some of the photo-reference out there; there are enough good pictures to show you what you need to make it look right.

brianluce said:
I'm worried the costume will look more like a ghost than a KlXnsman.
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Check out the informative short film, Why It's Not Cool to Dress Like Hitler.
 
You don't even have to sew...

Just make a cone out of some construction paper or something similar, and glue or staple the fabric to it....like making a little teepee with an internal support.

Then glue or staple a front flap and longer back flap (French Foreign Legion style)...cut eye holes in the front, and you're basically done.

If you are going to do some real close ups, you may want to sew so that it doesn't look so cheaply done, but otherwise it should be really simple.
 
Yeah, you really only have to get the basic gist or shape down. They never look the exact same when you see them in movies but the idea will get across...
 
Just use a pillow case, pulling one of the corners in and sewing it to give that pointy shape. And if you're feeling particularly festive, use a pillow case and sheet with a floral print.
 
You know, I'd be surprised if some white-supremacist outfit doesn't have a web page with patterns to make your own regulation Helmet-and-Hood...
 
Rick Meyer said:
Yeah, you really only have to get the basic gist or shape down. They never look the exact same when you see them in movies but the idea will get across...
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I've noticed this. Some hats seem shaped like the Pope's hat, sort of spade shaped, others are simple cones.
 
I despair of the White Race's ever getting their world-domination sh*t together, when they can't even agree on a uniform standard for white pointy mask-hats to wear at the secret meetings...
 
Sad Max said:
I despair of the White Race's ever getting their world-domination sh*t together, when they can't even agree on a uniform standard for white pointy mask-hats to wear at the secret meetings...
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How can they be taken seriously as having pride in their race when they don't exhibit pride in their appearance....?

I see what you're saying...
 
DeSica said:
How can they be taken seriously as having pride in their race when they don't exhibit pride in their appearance....?

I see what you're saying...
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Agreed, it's all about professionalism. Appearance and grooming say so much about a person. If you want to be treated as a professional, you need to DRESS like a professional.
 
brianluce said:
Agreed, it's all about professionalism. Appearance and grooming say so much about a person. If you want to be treated as a professional, you need to DRESS like a professional.
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Precisely...

Running around in a bedsheet and a hood is not something you want to do half-baked or make silly looking....

A certain dignity must be maintained....
 
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