I realize that this post would’ve been more helpful in October, but better late than never. I’m a big fan of Halloween, particularly DIY costumes and decor. This time, I decided to purchase a printable bunny mask from Etsy, (seller will remain nameless). The mask looked simple enough, and had a slight vintage appeal that I was fond of. Well, my simple DIY mask very quickly turned into a massive waste of time and paper. The printable file was not even close to being sized correctly for an adult, despite the claims that it was designed to fit an adult when printed at 100% scale. The pieces were fiddly and were a nightmare to assemble. Thankfully, the PDF file only cost me a few dollars. My frustration led me to the conclusion that I could design a much simpler, proper-fitting mask myself, even with my limited experience with designing such things. So I went for it, and I’m happy to report that the result was on point with what I was originally looking for. After seeing how my mask came together, I decided to create PDFs and save them for future use and sharing.
A couple notes and tips:
– After printing and assembling the mask, I attached two pieces of elastic. One across the back top of the mask, near the placement of the ears, and another across the back, towards the bottom of the mask, near the jawline, where the mask wants to naturally bulge outwards to the sides. This helped to shape the mask like I wanted, and it allowed for a secure fit, and it was easy to take off and put on as needed.
– This mask is sized to fit an average adult woman when printed at 100% scale. To adjust for size, I suggest printing test pages on regular printer paper at different scales until you find the fit that you need. It’s not likely that you’ll need to adjust it much, if at all, unless you’re printing the mask for a child or an adult with a larger head.
– Printing the final mask on cardstock is recommended. Regular printer paper will be far too flimsy to hold shape. Scissors work fine for cutting this out, however, a sharp craft knife makes it easier to navigate the curves. Please cut carefully!
– Finally, pair this mask with anything to create an original costume. I wore mine with the dress from my Grady twins costume from the previous year. Consider wearing this mask with things like a long, hooded black cloak, or an all-white dress, nightgown, or other outfit.
Download, save, and print your mask here:
rabbit-mask-instructions rabbit-mask-face rabbit-mask-ears
Happy Accidents Lab 