How to Make a Glow Stick Costume

Last Updated: September 15, 2021 Approved

Glow stick costumes are a fun way to mix things up for parties, raves, and music festivals. They’re incredibly easy to make, requiring nothing but black fabric, glow sticks, and tape, and are extremely versatile.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Planning The Costume

1
Lay out the costume clothing. The clothing for this costume must be all black. The black clothing will give the allusion that there’s nothing behind the glow sticks (creating the appearance of a genuine stick figure), and the glow sticks will appear to glow brighter with the contrasting black background. Lay the top and bottoms on a flat surface such as a floor or table.^{[1]
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- The type of clothing used for the costume can be anything black, such as leggings, sweat pants, hoodies, turtlenecks, etc.
2
Create a draft of stick figure pattern. On a sheet of paper, draw a couple different styles of stick figures to brainstorm what kind a pattern you want to create for your costume.^{[2]
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- Stick figure patterns are relatively simple in nature, but by sketching out a rough plan for your costume, you’ll have a better idea on how to position the glow sticks and how many glow sticks you’ll need.
- Err on the side of caution and get more glow sticks than you think you may need.
- Aim for approximately 50 glow sticks for both the back and front of the costume. This will be beneficiary if any of the glow sticks break, don’t glow, or if you want to make more patterns.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Assembling The Costume

1
Attach the glow sticks. While the costume clothing is laid flat, assemble the glow sticks on top of the clothing to make the stick figure pattern. Generally, a straight line of glow sticks span from the neck area of the clothing, to the waist of the pants. Then, glow sticks lead off on both the top and bottom ends of the middle section of sticks, to create the arms and legs of the stick figure. When your glow sticks are in the pattern you want for the costume, use clear packaging tape to secure the glow sticks to the clothing.^{[3]
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- When the front of the costume is finished, turn the clothing over and tape glow sticks on to the back of the clothing.^{[4]
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- Try to have all of the glow stick ends touching each other in the pattern. This arrangement will help make the stick figure look like it is made of one continuous line rather than a bunch of dashed lines.
2
Create the head of the costume. If you decide to wear a black hoodie for the top portion of the costume, consider decorating the rim of the hood with glow sticks in order to make a “head” for the stick figure. If you aren’t wearing a hoodie or don’t want to assemble the glow sticks that way, use the plastic connector pieces of the glow sticks to create a circled necklace of sticks. Then, consider taping the circle to your forehead, or using sturdy hair clips to attach the circle onto the hair on your head.^{[5]
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- Remember, you want to make a head for the back of the costume too. If you’re wearing a hoodie, you can tape the top of the circle necklace to the back of the hood. If you aren’t wearing a hoodie, use clips to attach the circle to your hair at the top of the back of your head.
- If you clip the circle onto your hair, the circle will be around your face with a little bit of your actual face poking through the hole of the circle.
3
Crack the glow sticks. When you’re ready to wear the costume, bend all the glow sticks to crack the inside that starts the glow in the dark chemical reaction. Try not to undo any of the taping as you bend the glow sticks.
- The glow sticks tend to only glow for about six hours, so crack them as late as possible so the glow lasts throughout the night.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

Question

How long will the glow sticks stay lit?

Christopher

Top Answerer

Although maximum brightness is several hours after cracking (the first 6-12 hours), most glow sticks will remain dimly lit for about 36-48 hours. After that the stick will loose its brightness altogether.
Question

Does the shirt have to be long?

Christopher

Top Answerer

You want to make sure that the shirt and pants overlap one another for a seamless touch. The length will depend on this measurement between the two. You can tuck the shirt into the pants if you are going to be in the dark, but take caution of the spaces you'll be moving around in.
Question

What kind of clips should I use to attach the glow sticks to my hair?

Community Answer

Consider using large, clear colored claw clips. They will hold onto your hair securely, will be large enough so the glow stick can fit in between the claws, and the clear coloring will allow the glow stick to shine through.