Things You'll Need
Brown, black or white pants
Fabric that matches the pants
Belt that matches the pants and has a small buckle
Chicken wire
Craft wire
Wire cutters
Couch cushion foam
Long wig that matches your hair
Two short wigs that match your hair
Scissors
Dark shoes
Needles and thread
Two bolt-on caster wheels
Centaurs, creatures with a human head and torso but the body of a horse instead of legs, are one of the better-known and immediately recognizable fantasy races. As such, they are a good choice of subject for costuming in fantasy-themed environments like Renaissance Festivals and some costume parties. A centaur costume is half of a horse costume, but there is no reason to force someone to spend their day as the back half of a centaur. A one-person centaur costume, while time consuming, is not difficult to make.
Step 1
Form chicken wire into the basic shape of the back half of a horse; a large cylinder that droops down in the middle for the body, ending in a round rump and two basic legs. Leave the front end open. Try to make the legs about as long as your legs, so that the horse body stands level if the open end is propped up against your bottom.
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Step 2
Roll up couch cushion foam and stuff it into the body of the frame to give it some internal support. Make sure the foam protrudes an inch beyond the end of the chicken wire on the open end to protect you from the wire while you wear the costume.
Step 3
Cut pieces of craft wire. Use them to tie the cut edges of the chicken wire frame together to as to prevent it from easily pulling apart.
Step 4
Thread craft wire through the boltholes on the caster wheels, and twist the wire onto the bottom edges of the chicken wire frame legs, giving the frame wheel "feet."
Step 5
Wrap the wire frame in fabric, stitching the fabric to the frame. This will create the skin of the horse body, so try to wrap it snugly. Depending on your fabric, you may need to use multiple pieces to cover the entire frame; if so, overlap the pieces and stitch them together as well to make sure the frame never shows.
Step 6
Cut the two short wigs in half across the scalp pieces. Stitch half of a wig onto the fabric just above each of the caster wheels to hide them, and stitch the other two wig halves onto the bottom hems of your pants to obscure your real feet.
Step 7
Cut a small section of the long wig (including part of the scalp piece) away from the rest and sew it by the scalp piece section onto the back of the horse frame to create a tail.
Step 8
Put the pants and belt on. Prop the horse frame against your bottom and take note of where the frame edges intersect with your belt.
Step 9
Remove the belt. Stitch the belt to the wire frame through the protruding foam in the places they intersected when you were wearing the belt.
Step 10
Put the belt back on, thereby strapping the frame to you, put on dark shoes, and either go shirtless or wear a flesh-colored shirt.
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