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Eli Newberger made one like that to use in the New Haven Symphony while he was an undergraduate at Yale, and got away with it. (Nobody there knew what a muted tuba was supposed to sound like anyway.)

Nobody knows what a tuba mute is supposed to sound like.

A friend of mine was playing in the American Symphony under Stokowski back in the 60's and needed a mute. Nobody had one so he bent some cardboard into a cone shape, put foam rubber "corks" on it and took it to rehearsal.

As soon as he played, Stokowski stopped the orchestra and asked him to play the part alone. He was pertified that he was about to be reamed out. After he finished Stokowski said, "That's the most beautiful sounding tuba mute I've ever heard."

Construction paper doesn't sound so bad in comparison.

I take a terry cloth hand towel with me and throw it over the bell so it drapes over the rim into the bell throat. Not only does the job, but it's infinitely adjustable and immediately removable at the end of the muted section. Yes, it could fall in, but it doesn't.

Although, with our current community band director, with six tubas when we all show up and he still waves for more, I don't think I'm going to be playing muted any time soon!