[Katster]

I am sure everyone has seen this one on pinterest so my question is has anyone taken it to full scale as I plan to do this and understand the photo is of a doll. I was wondering if anyone has actually done this full scale and wanted to share their story of failed attempts or success of the endeavor.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/528117493773781449/

If no one has please stay tuned as I certainly will share this one. The rain drop beads will have to be acrylic for less weight and fishing line. The hat will be an authentic Mexican sombrero to hold all the weight and heaven forbid I will wear it at work and every little girl will not fling the beads.
But I just have a need to do this!

 

[StanFam3]

I'd love to see someone pull this off. It's amazing!

 

[Bruzilla]

I think the bigger challenge is keeping the lines from becoming a twisted mess as soon as you take two steps in this rig. Fishing line is notorious for seeking out members of its own kind and mating with them. You would need to make the strands of beads rigid, which would make any movement of your head a fight against gravity and inertia, so you would need to come up with a rigid string that's fine enough to look right, strong enough to hold the beads, and that you could attach to the hat using some sort of connector that will allow them to swing but not enough to interfere with neighboring strands. You could use a heavy wire, but then you have more weight and there's no clear wire that I know of.

Hate to say it, but I can see this making a great prop but not a costume.

 

[Katster]

I think the bigger challenge is keeping the lines from becoming a twisted mess as soon as you take two steps in this rig. Fishing line is notorious for seeking out members of its own kind and mating with them. You would need to make the strands of beads rigid, which would make any movement of your head a fight against gravity and inertia, so you would need to come up with a rigid string that's fine enough to look right, strong enough to hold the beads, and that you could attach to the hat using some sort of connector that will allow them to swing but not enough to interfere with neighboring strands. You could use a heavy wire, but then you have more weight and there's no clear wire that I know of.

Hate to say it, but I can see this making a great prop but not a costume.

Good point... I know I have been staring at this for a year now and I know I have thought of this but kept pushing it to the back of my mind but seeing it in black and white as you suggested maybe I better rethink the whole thing. But rethink it I will. I love this idea and cannot get it out of my head but maybe the whole tangle thing will LOL!

 

[Screaming Demons]

Also keep in mind that you will probably have trouble getting it in/out of a vehicle, through doors/hallways, around things that hang or stick out, etc. Might make a great costume for a contest or trick or treating, but you may run into all kinds of problems taking it to work.

 

[Bruzilla]

Years ago I saw a display a store did where they hung hundreds of pieces of fishing line with bits of Styrofoam spaced out along them from their drop ceiling. The effect was to make it look like a snow storm falling from the ceiling. We tried to duplicate it in our office, and it looked great until the ventilation system kicked in and all those strings got wrapped up around each other in about ten seconds and it turned into a disaster.

 

[Super Stitches]

Maybe you can stop/limit the tangling by connecting the bottoms of the strands to the ones next to it with a length of string or wire. Then there wouldn't be free ends to wrap around everything? (being careful to not trip on it!)

 

[stick]

What if you use a small string dipped in a clear glue and pulled straight and dried. That would keep it rigid (maybe) and keep it from tangling all together.

 

[kurtnotkirk]

I think Super Stitches is on the right track. Think of it like a skirt, with a ring at the bottom. All of the strands are attached to it, keeps them from tangling, plus it allows for relative ease in case you have to go to the bathroom.

 

[Wolfbeard]

I would suggest adding battery powered strobe lights for a lightning effect.

 

[Miriya]

Found where someone made a version for their kid
http://www.costume-works.com/fabulous_rain_cloud.html#_

 

[Grey Lady]

Katster, I am wondering if you tackled this costume. I think it is amazing! Would love to see pictures.

 

[screamqueen2012]

this is actually easy to make, use an umbrella for the head piece and you can make a harness to hold the handle on your back or take the handle off and make a head piece to wear like a hat. the costume with all the beading, id go and look for metallic yarns in textures to use verse all that beading due to the huge expense of it and dye gauze in various shades of gray, some black, purples, blues and whites to hang, fabric paint it also in metallics, use glitter anything to mimic the beads if you can to keep the cost down, the dress do it in a muslim, dye it, over the head with all your embellishments attached.....that hat id spray paint the base/umbrella, use tulles and underside use fiberfill, that keeps it super light....see if you can find a beaded door curtain to cut up for your rain drops....i love this costume and also the jellyfish light up version of this

 

[McBernes]

Katster, if you are still interested in doing this i have a couple of suggestions: For the head piece I would recommend making a wire frame and weaving tulle or muslin through it. I am a hatter/milliner in training and think it would be all together lighter than using a sombrero as a base. You can download this free modernmillineryw00lyon.pdf. It will show you how to make a wire frame. I would use 16, 18, or 20 gauge galvanized wire instead of millinery wire. Millinery wire is wrapped in cotton and is expensive. You can get the galvanized wire from a hardware store or maybe walmart. I'm not sure what to do about the hanging beads though. You can used shear elbow or shoulder length gloves in black or grey and paint veiny lines in shades of grey to give the look of water running down. Or paint on liquid latex in veins for a dimensional effect. Making this look into a costume looks like a big and fun challenge. Hope you give it a shot if you haven't already.