Getting everyone ready for Halloween can be an overwhelming task, especially if you have multiple kids to get prepared. That can mean that getting your dog ready for Halloween falls on the back burner. Your dog’s costume being the last thing you get to doesn’t mean you can’t throw a fun costume together quickly, though!
There are multiple costume ideas that allow you to show your creativity and mastery of DIY projects, and some of those will only take you a few hours to put together. Here are some of our very favorite DIY dog costumes that you can create at the last minute.
The 9 Ideas for DIY Costumes for Dogs
1. Corn Dog
| Materials: | Yellow shirt, yellow fabric, polyfil, large faux leaves |
| Tools: | Scissors, sewing kit, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you like puns as much as we do, you’ll love this clever corn dog costume. By turning your dog into a walking ear of corn, you’re creating your very own corn dog! This project does take some time because you will have to create multiple small balls to attach to the shirt, giving your costume corn kernels.
However, if you stumble across medium-sized fabric balls, then you might be able to get away with not making each kernel from scratch. With a little time, ingenuity, and sewing skills, you’ll have this costume whipped up in just a few hours.
2. Gumball Machine
| Materials: | Pompoms, white shirt, red fabric, cardboard |
| Tools: | Hot glue gun, scissors, black marker |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you’re into sweet treats, then this gumball machine costume might be just what you’re looking for. With plenty of patients and lots of pompoms, you’ll have your dog looking like an old-fashioned gumball machine in no time! A mixture of a variety of sizes and colors of pompoms is best. If you want to really bring the costume together, you can create a sweet 25-cent sign to attach to your dog.
The bottom portion of the costume can be made how you think your dog will be happiest. You can dye the bottom half of the shirt with fabric dye or create a red bottom portion with tulle or other fun fabric.
3. Dragon Wings
| Materials: | Black felt, wire coat hanger, Velcro, fusible web, fusible interfacing, black marker |
| Tools: | Scissors, hot glue gun, wire cutters, rotary cutter, ruler, iron |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you’re interested in fantasy, turning your loyal companion into a dragon is probably near the top of your priority list. This project does require some knowledge of specific tools, as well as access to specialty products, like fusible web, so it is not a beginner-friendly project.
With the right tools and knowledge, this should only take a few hours to create from scratch. If you prefer, you can cut the wings to a different shape and make bat wings instead of dragon wings. You can also use this template to create just about any kind of wings, from a Pegasus to an eagle.
4. Pinata
| Materials: | Colorful felt, sombrero |
| Tools: | Scissors, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Looking for something quick, colorful, and beginner-friendly? Then look no further than this fun pinata costume! This project requires little more than cutting and gluing until you’ve created a clothing item for your dog. You can also attach the fabric strips to a shirt to make things even easier.
This project shouldn’t take more than an hour or two, depending on who’s helping you make all these repetitive cuts. This project offers you a lot of customization based on the colors and number of layers you choose to add to it.
5. Jetpack
| Materials: | 2-liter soda bottles, silver paint, harness, construction paper, NASA logo, harness |
| Tools: | Duct tape, scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This simple jetpack costume will take you less than an hour to put together, although your paint may require some drying time between painting and putting the costume together. This is a fun project option if you have little ones who might want to help since it doesn’t require the use of any hot glue.
For the flames coming out of the jetpack, you can use colorful construction paper or tissue paper, so kid-safe scissors will likely suffice if you’ve got little ones helping. Since you’ll be using duct tape to put the costume together, you won’t have to worry about ruining your dog’s harness.
6. Lightning Bug
| Materials: | Black sweater, pipe cleaners, wings, battery-operated light |
| Tools: | Hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’ve got a battery-operated light lying around the house, this lightning bug costume might be the perfect use for it. It’s a great option for a cold-natured dog as well since you’ll be using a fleece-type sweater for this. Make sure to select a light that won’t be blinding to look toward since it will be on your dog’s hiney the whole time they’re wearing the costume. This costume will take practically no time to put together if you already have the materials.
7. Martini
| Materials: | Wooden dowel, foam balls, green paint, red paint or felt, cone |
| Tools: | Paint brush, superglue |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Looking for a more grown-up version of the cereal bowl cone costume? Then turn your dog into a martini! This is another fun way to use a cone your dog already has to wear for some reason. This is an easy project that requires essentially no skills until it comes to attaching the wooden dowel to the cone. You can use your creativity with this project, though, so don’t sweat it! Just make sure that the wooden dowel you use is lightweight and doesn’t have a pointed end toward your dog.
8. M&Ms
| Materials: | Felt, polyfil, yarn, white shirt |
| Tools: | Sewing kit, fabric glue, utility knife, scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
You might not have to have the best sewing skills for this project, but you will greatly benefit from at least some basic sewing skills. You’ll essentially be threading yarn or thick thread through pre-cut holes in felt circles, allowing you to stuff them with polyfil and then pull the thread, closing up the ball. Glue an “M” to the front of the ball, and you’ve got an M&M! You’ll attach all the M&Ms you make to a white shirt with fabric glue, and suddenly your dog will be a tube of M&M candies.
9. Hostess Cupcake
| Materials: | Brown fabric, Velcro, white fabric paint or felt |
| Tools: | Sewing kit |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you’ve got the sewing skills to throw together this horse blanket-style dog coat, then you can get this Hostess cupcake costume put together in just a couple of hours. You just need a piece of solid brown fabric, and either white fabric paint or white felt to serve as the frosting swirls on top of the cupcake. This is a good option for cooler weather, especially if you make the jacket from a heavy material or provide an insulating layer to keep your dog extra cozy.
Summary
We hope this list of DIY projects has inspired you to begin putting together a creative Halloween costume for your dog. When your dog struts down the street in one of these costumes, they will instantly become the talk of the town!
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Featured Image Credit: Paige Cody, Unsplash
The 9 Ideas for DIY Costumes for Dogs
