Are you curious about how those popular bunny cosplayers make their rabbit ears? Are you wondering how they managed to make the rabbit ears stand straight without flopping? In this article, you’ll find out how to make bunny ear cosplays, no-sew bunny ears, and you can also pick up tips on how to make your rabbit ear stand firmly.
Table of Contents
How To Make Bunny Ears
Here are the materials you need to make rabbit ears or bunny ears for cosplay made from wire :
- headband
- 4 pcs. 18″ thin stem wire/floral wire
- paddle wire
- felt (pink, gray or white)
- fake fur
- pliers
- scissors
- X-Acto knife
- black marker
- glue and hot glue gun
- wire cutters
Procedure
To make the wire bunny ears, follow these steps:
Step 1
Take two stem wires and pinch them together using a pair of pliers to hold them in place. Starting at one end of the pinched wires, twist them together by about an inch.
Step 2
Measure 12″ on the wire; this will be the length of your bunny ears. Tightly wind the excess wire on the headband using the pliers. Use wire cutters to cut away the excess.
Step 3
Take the paddle wire and create a cross-hatch or zigzag pattern on each ear frame to strengthen it. You can design the ear shapes according to your preference, so it’s up to you how you want to shape it.
Step 4
On the piece of felt material, lay one ear and trace it using the black marker, adding half an inch from the edge of the wire.
Step 5
Step 5Repeat the same kind of tracing on the felt for the second ear. Cut out each of the ear shape, observing the allowance for overlapping.
Step 6
Apply glue on the wire frame using the hot glue gun. Attach the felt on the frame so that it will cover the wire. If you want, you can use a pin to secure the felt on the frame while you’re attaching it. Fold the excess felt around the frame and apply the adhesive.
Step 7
Take the fake fur and trace the bunny ears on it, specifically on the fabric side of the fur material. Observe the added half-inch allowance when tracing.
Step 8
Using the X-Acto knife, cut out just the fabric of the fur, not the fur itself, to preserve the smooth appearance of the material.
Step 9
Glue the cut fur to the bunny ear frame and cover or wrap it. Fold the excess fabric, and then apply the adhesive and wait until it dries.
Step 10
Start shaping the rabbit ears to your preference. Bend partway or as necessary until you get the shape that’s perfect for you.
Another way to primp your bunny ear headband is to sew a light fabric sleeve, in which you can insert your headband in. Create two holes for when to insert or wrap the wire. You can choose a light fabric that complements the overall design of your rabbit ear.
In choosing a headband, you’d want to go for one with no pointy spikes underneath the band. These pointy things are a sign of discomfort, especially if it sits on your skull for probably hours. You don’t want your noggin to feel uncomfortable while you’re wearing your bunny costume, do you?
Wasn’t it easy making a rabbit ear headband for your costume? If you wish to use other kinds of materials, such as cardboard, for your bunny ears cosplay, the next section should be helpful.
How Do You Make A Cardboard Bunny Ear?
Making cardboard bunny ears is easy. You just need a sheet of A4 or A3 paper, cardboard box to make a cardboard strip, 2 pipe cleaners, scissors, glue, and pom poms. To make this type of rabbit ears, do the following steps:
Step 1
Measure the circumference of your head with a sheet of A3 or A4 paper. Position the paper in the middle of your forehead. Draw a mark where the two ends meet.
Step 2
With the scissors, cut the paper vertically an inch further from the spot where you made the mark. Try it on your forehead again to ensure a proper fit.
Step 3
When you’re satisfied with the fit of the cardboard strip, cut it horizontally, about 1.5″ wide.
Step 4
Trace the cut paper to the piece of cardboard or you can glue it directly. Cut the cardboard. This will serve as the cardboard headband.
Step 5
On another cardboard, draw two bunny ears with your preferred size and cut out the shapes.
Step 6
Decorate or draw designs on the cardboard bunny ears. You can stick felt paper in the shape of an ear on the cardboard ears if you wish. Glue pink pom poms to the center of the rabbit ears and white pom poms to the outside part.
Step 7
Glue the finished cardboard bunny ears to the cardboard headband. You can stick the edges to the inside part of the cardboard so the bottom end of the ears will be hidden from view. You can also fold the bottom part a bit if it tends to become visible.
Step 8
Secure the ears to the headband using staples or glue.
Aside from using pom poms to customize rabbit ears, you can attach a pipe cleaner to the back of each bunny ear to give it more support and to make sure that the ears will remain standing. You can bend the pipe cleaner until you’re satisified with how your bunny ears stand.
Quick And Easy Rabbit Ears Tutorial
Don’t have much time to spare to create rabbit ears from scratch? Try this procedure for making bunny ears pronto. You’ll need cardstock paper, a pair of scissors, adhesive tape, glue, and a printer.
First, search online for printable bunny ears templates, which are often available in pink, gray, or blue. Printable bunny ears usually feature bunny ears on one sheet and a couple of bands or strips on another sheet. Choose the one you like and print out the picture on cardstock paper.
Cut out the ears and the bands. Tape the bands together so that a long band is made. Put the band around your forehead to make sure the band fits your head.
Connect both ends of the band using adhesive tape, making sure it fits your head properly. Attach the bunny ears on the inside part of the band and secure with adhesive tape. Voila! You can now put on your light bunny ears and wear them to your costume event.
How About Rabbit Ears That Come With Rabbit Costumes?
Do you prefer to choose from ready-made bunny ears complete with the entire rabbit costumes? You’ll find commercial rabbit costumes fit for an adult or a child, and for mascots when you search online. They are available in different designs, styles, materials, and fabric types.
Commercial rabbit costumes can be bought as a jumpsuit, dress performance suit, vest and bow tie set, or as a one-piece cosplay bunny costume. The ears that come with commercial bunny costumes may also come in different shapes, colors, and sizes that may be slightly smaller or bigger, which you can likely bend according to your preference. All these are complete costumes with a rabbit top, body, hands and feet, and often a pocket. You can just grab them, dress up, and go.
Conclusion
There you have it! Making bunny ears cosplay is really cool stuff and not too challenging to do. You can choose to do it however you like, whether it’s using wire cutters to create wire frames in a particular ear shape or something as simple as cutting cardboard in different ear shapes.
You can also check out bunny ears cosplay tutorial videos and stuff on YouTube for visual guides. These will help you develop and design your very own rabbit ears or customize rabbit ears for your costume. What’s more rewarding than wearing the bunny ears that you made yourself?
