Hamburglar Costume Build

I had never done a mascot type costume, and after discovering McDonald's had shelved the burger man due to his crime ties, it seemed like a fun build.

There are plenty of different variations on Hamburglar. I picked one I liked best and made a list of the separate costume parts and how I planned to create them. Most of the Hamburglar images are cartoons, so there's a lot of interpretation. We have hat, head, shirt, cape, tie, pants, gloves, and shoes. I needed a prop so I bought a silver tray and ten fake plastic hamburgers.

I start with the most critical components, liked the head, and put less critical items like shoes last.

All of the foam pieces are heated with a heat gun to close the pores. This makes gluing and painting easier, though I don't always heat treat before glue up I always heat treat before paint. The only thing I painted was the hat.

Purchase List (paid links):

1. EVA foam floor mats (4 pack)
2. Craft foam
3. 5 yards muslin perm press material
4. .5 yards fleece
5. 1 yard gold satin
6. (1) black dye
7. Cheap black sunglasses
8. 1" hook & loop non-adhesive velcro
9. Plasti-dip spray paint (1) cans
10. Cheap stuffed toys
11. (1) red long sleeve tee 
12. silver tray
13. (10) fake hamburgers
14. 3M 77 spray glue
15. white spray paint

Total: $100 for everything. I spent $40 as I already had a most of this stuff, and it's likely you do too.

Tool List (paid links):

1. band saw
2. sewing machine, black thread and white thread
3. dremel with sanding drum
4. hot glue gun
5. heat gun to seal the foam
6. belt sander
7. seam ripper
8. rotary cutter
9. scrap paper for sketching and for protecting work surfaces
10. pencil (I prefer a lead holder)
11. markers
12. tape measure
13. painters tape
14. duct tape
15. hobby knife with replacement blades
16. metal straight edge
17. cutting mat
18. contact cement
19. shop towels
20. respirator with organic vapor cartridges - contact cement is toxic, so is spray paint

I started with the head as that's the most noticeable part of the costume. I used the foam mat edges to craft a headband that would center and hold the Hamburglar head on my head. 

I used paper to determine the rough overall diameter of the head, then I cut a foam strip to match. The top of the head is a series of triangles at the four corners and squares to create the curved shape. Cutting rounded triangle shapes in the foam, create curves when you glue the edges together. With the bottom portion, I took several pie cuts out of the foam so that it would curve in and create a neck opening.

Everything is attached with contact cement. I brush it on, let it set for a few minutes and attach. If you let it get completely dry, you have one shot to get it right. You can glue it wet if you want to be able to adjust the pieces. Per the name, it glues on contact whey dry and tacky. The foam likes to absorb the glue. If it isn't tacky to the touch, brush on another coat so you get good adhesion.

I centered the eye holes on my eyes to maximize visibility. The nose are scraps of foam built up to resemble the nose. I cut out the front and side profile in foam, then filled in gaps and used a dremel to sand it down for final shaping. The upper lip is a piece of craft foam while the lower lips is another piece of floor mat to provide depth. The cheeks are two pieces of foam to build it up and using the dremel to round off the edge. I tapered the back to blend into the head. I used a band saw for the cut, but you could use a combination of belt sander, hobby knife, dremel. I wish I had made the thickness of the cheeks three mats. The ears are single thickness and heated to curve them into the right shape.

The hair is just strips of red craft foam. I taped strips together to make it easier to apply glue and then attach to the head. I didn't need to go all the way up the head, just inside the edge of the hat, so I made the hat before gluing on the hair.

The hat is roughly a 22" diameter circle while the body is 4.5" tall. I had to build the hat to make sure the hair was the right length and glued far enough up the head. I sprayed the finished hat with plasti dip and hot glued the yellow satin ribbon to it.

I started with the top strip of hair and glued layers underneath to give it depth. The forehead has two overlapping strips, while the rear has three. Heating the foam allows for 'styling' it. I thought about wig, but I didn't want something I would have to constantly adjust.

Once the hair was in place I wrapped the head in fleece. It has a fair amount of stretch. I started at the nose and worked around that. I sprayed the head itself, but also sprayed glue onto paper to use as a palette for more control on where the glue did and didn't go. I used a gloved finger to transfer glue from my palette to the head. With the nose, I did have to create a seam below the nose and down the chin. I wish I had paid more attention so that the seam was centered and straighter. I used a single piece for the face and front part of the ears. I used a second piece for the back and back of ears. I have a seam that runs along the edge of the ears and from the bottom of the ears down. I trimmed a little at a time as I was figuring out where to put seams and then to get the fabric to meet at the seams. I glued the fleece up to the bottom of the hair and cut away excess. I folded the fleece into the neck opening and glued it down. The seams hide best if you try to pinch them together while gluing down. I used a wood skewer at the seams in an effort not to get glue on the fleece. For the mouth, I carefully slit an opening and folded it into the mouth and over the lips. I used a black Sharpie to color inside the mouth and white craft foam as the single tooth.

The eyes are sunglasses lens painted white. I used a metal washer as a template to cut a perfect circle out of painters tape. The lens are hot glued to the head.

The eye mask is just a piece of black craft foam with a black elastic cord hot glued to the back of the mask. I did add a piece of craft foam to sandwich the elastic end for maximum reinforcing.

The hat is hot glue to the head, just in case I ever want to remove it.

I used my Twisty costume as a pattern for the shirt and pants. That pattern was based on a shirt and pants I already had with a few modifications. I really wanted this to look like an actual prison uniform, so there's a disconnect between the jump suit and the rest of the costume. The material is perm press.

The shirt is composed of the front and back with the difference for the back being a higher collar. Each sleeve is two pieces which are identical, which means four total for both arms.

With sewing it's easiest to sew inside out. I created patterns out of paper (or several sheets of paper taped together). I cut the material with a rotary cutter, making it about .5" wider than the pattern so I have material to sew together. I sewed the stripes on the outside without hemming the edges to give it a ragged look. The shirt does have a collar, so I used a black tee to create the collar. A stiffer material would make it look better, but I did starch it to give it a bit of body.

To determine the size and spacing of the stripes I drew and redrew it on the paper templates to figure out what size and spacing matched the reference material. The shirt stripes are 4", the pants are 5". The stripes are the perm press dyed black. I used a stainless steel pot on the stove.

The pants have an elastic waist and draw string. The elastic is stretched out sewn to the top edge of the pants and lower down to create space for the draw string which has to be in place before you sew it all together. I did sew pockets into the pants by leaving a gap when sewing up each leg and sewing the pocket into that.

I patterned the cape and tie in paper to ensure I had the right size. The cape is perm press dyed black with a gold satin inner lining. I sewed it inside out except for the top edge, turned it right side out, and then sewed the top shut. The top edge is folded over with the perm press over the satin.

For the tie, I really wanted the hamburger pattern material. You can't buy a big enough tie as this one is comically oversized. I couldn't justify buying the material as I'd have to buy at least a half yard. Even then, no one local had it, so I went with just red. I don't think anyone will notice the variance.

I bought a cheap red long sleeve tee and used that material for the tie and gloves.

I wish I had cut the tie pattern differently to mimic and actual tie. I cut it just a half inch wider than the tie pattern. Since I couldn't hem the edge without sewing into the front face, I had to resort to taping the back. I should have made the pattern wide enough so that the material meets in the back. The body of the tie and knot are two separate pieces. I used a full windsor knot and hot glued it so I wouldn't have to worry about the tie working itself loose. I used a piece of craft foam in the knot to make it look fuller.

The tie is sewn to the cape for ease of use. I did safety pin the tie to the shirt so it wouldn't sway or flop around since that would expose the tape on the back. It would be help to also sew or pin the cape/tie to the seam along the shoulder as the weight of the cape wants to pull the tie too high.

I wasn't sure how to make gloves, especially oversized gloves. I ended up tracing my hand on a sheet of paper. I cut out two pieces of cloth from the same black tee to create gloves and sewed it up. That worked well. For the outer glove, I created a larger pattern and cut that out of the red tee. Hamburglar only has three fingers.

I used the scrap stuffed toy for the stuffing, placing it between the inner and outer glove but only on the back of the hand so I'd still be able to grip objects.

I cut the red gloves long so that when I sewed the wrists from the inner and out together the seam would be hidden inside the glove.

The shoes are a bit of a rush job. I knew they would be the last thing people would see. I created a foam mat base with a heed and toe around a pair of shoes, then used craft foam to fill in the gaps. I sized it around my shoe so that they are removable. I can't connect the front and back so that I can slip them on and off, so I used velcro to attach the front and back. This allows the heel to fold down and make them easily removable.

I needed a good prop. I found a cheap silver try and ten fake hamburgers at the Dollar Store. I glued the fake hamburgers together, they include a patty, tomato, cheese, and lettuce. I glued the burgers to the tray and to each other. A strap is glued to the bottom of the tray so I can attach it to my hand.

I did leave two hamburgers loose with the intention to hand them out and then steal them later since I am the Hamburglar. Got to live up to the name!