A creative workspace with materials and a project in progress.
Guide wanted

Costume Design: From Sketch to Finished, Wearable Costume

Teach people to design and build a costume of their own, start to finish, in time for Halloween.

5 weeksOne 3-hour session a week, starting late SeptemberLocation set with the Guide4–8 Members
Apply to teach this Course

The Course

Members each bring an idea and leave with a finished costume they designed and built themselves. Five weeks cover the whole process: designing for silhouette, building on a base outfit, shaping and sealing EVA foam, painting and weathering, and making it all hold together for a full night out. Members work on their own costume every session, with the Guide checking fit, technique and safety along the way.

What Members walk away able to do

  • Turn an idea into a silhouette sketch and a build plan with a budget
  • Mock up big pieces in cardboard before cutting good material
  • Cut, heat-shape, seal and glue EVA foam safely
  • Paint, dry-brush and weather so pieces look real, not plastic
  • Attach everything with straps, snaps and stitches that survive a night out
  • Wear-test for vision, movement and comfort, and fix what fails

Draft outline

A starting point. You shape the final version with us.

  1. Week 1 — Design: silhouette, the 3 to 5 details that sell it, picking a hero piece, budget and build plan
  2. Week 2 — Base and mock-ups: modifying thrifted or base clothes, cardboard mock-ups, patterning foam pieces
  3. Week 3 — Foam: cutting, heat-shaping, gluing and sealing, with ventilation and heat gun safety
  4. Week 4 — Paint and finish: priming, base coats, dry-brushing, weathering, trim and details
  5. Week 5 — Put it together: straps and fastenings, wear test, repairs, and a repair kit for the night

Who we're looking for

  • An experienced costume maker, cosplayer, theater costumer or prop builder
  • Comfortable working with EVA foam, heat guns and contact cement, and teaching them safely
  • Patience with first-timers and a mix of ages (adults, or parents with older kids)

What AlongSide brings

We build the Course with you

You bring the know-how. We help shape the outline, write the checklists and handouts, and set the pacing.

A place to teach

Where it fits, the Course runs at an AlongSide Space — the Philadelphia garage, or the Linwood kitchen or gym.

Enrollment and payment handled

Members enroll and pay through AlongSide. Reminders and attendance are handled for you.

Members already asking

We promote the Course to people on AlongSide who have asked for this skill.

Already teach it? Bring it here

If you already run a Course on this subject, list it on AlongSide after a short review. It carries the AlongSide name and reaches our Members.

Pay agreed up front

Tuition, schedule and your share are agreed together before the Course launches.

How it works

  1. 1
    Apply

    Tell us about your experience. It takes about five minutes.

  2. 2
    Talk with us

    A short call about the Course, your schedule and how you teach.

  3. 3
    Audition

    Teach a 20-minute sample, either as a short video or live at an AlongSide Space.

  4. 4
    Build and launch

    We finish the Course with you, set the dates, and open enrollment.