Make a Rainbow & Sunshine Costume

Directions

1. Decide on the length for your foam tubes. Arrange them side by side so they touch, then bend them into an arch like a rainbow. The tube on the outside curve must be longer than the inner one so all bottoms align. It helps to have a partner hold the tubes while you measure, and to have the person who will wear the costume lie down so you can size the rainbow around them.
2. Once you know each tube’s needed length, you may need to cut pieces from an extra tube to add length. I had to extend five tubes and trim a little from the sixth. Use wide masking tape to attach the extra pieces (hot glue would melt the foam). My starting tubes were 6 feet, and I ended up using 7 tubes total.
3. If your pool noodles are already the right colors, skip ahead. Otherwise, cover them with stretchy knit fabric. Measure the tube’s circumference, cut fabric that width plus 1/4 inch, and a few inches longer than the tube. For a 6-inch circumference and 72-inch tube, cut a 6 1/4-inch by 74-inch strip. If the fabric stretches in only one direction, make sure the stretch runs across the strip’s width so it will fit around the tube later.
4. Fold the fabric strip in half lengthwise with right sides together, then sew along the long edge using a 1/4-inch seam allowance.
5. Turn the fabric tube right side out and slide it over your foam tube.
6. Repeat the covering process for all tubes. Some of my fabrics had different stretch, so the ends ended up varying in length. If you can’t find all colors of knit, you can cut up thrift store clothing and piece together a strip large enough.
7. Arrange the tubes in rainbow color order with one set of ends even. Starting from the purple tube, push a wooden skewer through the center of the tubes about an inch from the end, going through as many tubes as the skewer can reach.
8. Then insert a second skewer from the opposite direction (red toward purple). The skewers will overlap a bit, making the connection stronger. Keep sliding the skewers together until the tubes are snug against each other.
9. Hold the aligned end (left side in the photos) in place and curve the tubes into a rainbow shape, adjusting so the other ends also line up. It’s okay if they don’t match exactly—you can trim excess later. Having a helper hold the tubes and having your subject lie down helps ensure the arch is the right size and shape around their body.
10. Now push more skewers through the tubes from various directions to secure them together. Aim for the center of each tube to keep the skewers hidden. Have someone help hold the tubes steady while you insert skewers from both sides to maintain the arch shape and prevent gaps. The sharp skewer tip will pierce the fabric; twisting as you push helps. Using different angles also keeps the bundle tight.
11. I left the skewer ends sticking out initially so I could see where they were. After all skewers were placed, I pushed them in fully. If any points poke out, you can snip them off.
12. To keep everything secure, I wove string in and out of the tubes at each end and tied it snugly. Then I tied another string between the two ends to prevent the arch from widening.
13. For the back crossbar, measure the distance between the purple tubes where the wooden dowel will go. Add 1 to 1.5 inches to that measurement, then cut the dowel to that length. Use scissors to snip a small hole in the fabric at each dowel location, then twist the scissors into the foam to create a hole. Put a generous amount of hot glue inside each hole and insert the dowel, holding in place until dry. Finally, measure two pieces of elastic that can slide over the shoulders but fit snugly, and attach them to the crossbar using Velcro or by sewing.