DIY Courir Costume

This Mardi Gras, take your identity into your own hands.

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In the tradition of the rural Cajun courir, the transformatory nature of Mardi Gras necessitates a sense of anonymity, marked by hand-crafted costumes of the most eccentric varieties. Here we offer a foolproof guide to creating your own personal armor of tomfoolery, worthy of approval by the courir’s Capitaine.

[What is a Capitaine, anyway? To learn more, check out our 2017 piece: Capitaine, Leader of Chaos]

Materials

• A sheet of porch screen mesh, available at most industrial supply stores and on Amazon.

• Base layer set of shirt and pants (medical scrubs work well)

• Hot glue gun

• Sewing machine (optional)

• Pinking shears (optional)

• Scissors

• Googly eyes

• Elastic strip or ribbon

• At least three yards of fabric (scraps are fine)

• One yard of felt

• Poster board

• Miscellaneous bits and baubles of your preference (bottle caps, feathers, Crown Royal bags, Spanish moss, crawfish sacks, yarn, buttons, vegetables, stuffed animals, live animals,  etc.) 

The Mask 

Take your mesh, cut it out so that it covers your face. Outline the shape in felt or fabric. From there—it’s up to you: Add bits of fabric, googly eyes, and paint to approximate a human face. As long as it looks nothing like you, you’re good.  

[Read more about the courir experience here: The Mamou Insider]

The Suit

Here is your chance to flaunt your most outlandish impulses, or at the very least, your favorite colors. The  flashier,  the more nonsensical, the better.

Cut your fabric into long strips 8-12 inches wide. Then, cut 1-inch wide fringes horizontally along its length, leaving an uncut border along one edge for application. Pinking shears can reduce fraying. Place some strips aside for your hat. 

For a costume that will last for years to come, use a sewing machine. But for a quick and easy job, a hot glue gun does the trick. Apply fringed strips in layers across the torso (front and back) and along the sides of your arms and legs so that the body is totally framed in a most chaotic halo. If you have more fabric (and more time), add strips to fill the entire suit—the closer together they are, the more dramatic, and the better for shimmying.

Take it to the next level by adding fringe and fray wherever it makes sense (or doesn’t)—all sparkle, bells, feathers, fur, wigs, wings, patches, paintings, beards, and bottles are encouraged. 

The Capuchon

Take a piece of poster board, and roll it into a cone. Be sure that it fits comfortably around your head, and staple it closed. 

Make two holes near the bottom on each side near your face. Tie elastic or ribbon through the holes for a chinstrap (you’ll need it). 

Using hot glue, cover the cone in fabric, then add strips of fringe in layers around the cone’s circumference, keeping in theme with your costume. 

And behold! Your new, wonderfully worse identity.  Allons!