How to Make a Cousin Itt Costume

Cousin Itt was a surprisingly popular addition to the Addams Family television show, which first aired in 1964. Make your own homemade Cousin Itt costume with yarn or cosplay wigs and accessories so you can stroll around like a star at a Halloween party or when you take the kids trick or treating. While the Addams Family was based on Charles Addam's New Yorker cartoons, Cousin Itt's character was created specifically for the show.

Reams and reams of light tan or caramel yarn make the Cousin Itt costume a creepy success. Purchase six to 10 skeins of yarn depending on your height and girth. Unwind the yard from the skeins and cut it to 4 inches less than your height. For example, if you're 5 feet 4 inches, cut the yarn at 60 inches long.

Use a helmet liner or skull cap or cut the bill off an old baseball cap. Hot glue the DIY Cousin Itt costume yarn over the top of the cap, adhering 2 to 3 inches of yarn to the fabric. When dry, add several more layers of yarn. When the glue is completely dry, carefully unravel the strands of the yarn to make "hair."

On the night of the party, tie your own hair back. Put on light tan or black clothing and the cap, arranging the hair around your body. Add your accessories and you're ready for the party.

For a kid-size Cousin Itt, you can duplicate the adult yarn costume, or depending on the size of your child, you can use two blonde cosplay wigs. Synthetic cosplay wigs range from 24 to 40 inches long. Carefully cut the cap of one wig in half from front to back to make two hairy sections.

Dress your child in light beige or tan clothing and place the two sections on her shoulders so they meet at the center front, securing to her shirt with safety pins. Place the second wig on her head. The wigs have bangs, so trim them if necessary to skim her eyebrows. Finger-comb the synthetic hair to blend the two wigs together.

If the hairy costume is too long, have her stand on a chair and cut the bottom of the wigs approximately 4 to 6 inches above her shoes to avoid tripping while she's trick or treating. If the strands "float" too much, a little hair spray can hold down flyaways, or you can go outside of the Addams Family canon and add a wide black belt to hold the loose hair close to the body.

Put on a black derby hat, black or tan gloves, dark sunglasses and comfortable black sneakers, shoes or boots. In addition to the eyeglasses, consider adding a lightweight cloth or paper mask so you don't get the yarn or synthetic hair in your mouth while walking or shouting "trick or treat." Excess yarn or wig hair can be hot glued to the top of the mask to hang over the lower half of your face.

The homemade Cousin Itt costume tends to move around in the breeze or "float" as you walk. Keep away from heaters, fireplaces and any open flames and use caution when entering or leaving vehicles. In addition, the dark glasses can affect your vision at night. Consider applying a little tan makeup around your eyes and wearing black-rimmed glasses with clear lenses so you can see better in the dark.