Making a Halloween Costume for Your Pet

There are now many stores that carry Halloween costumes for pets. For ideas of where to buy costumes, see "Find the Perfect Halloween Costumes for Pets" by Amy Curran. However, not everyone has a pet that fits into the sizes sold in stores. Other people want something a bit more creative. You don't need to know how to sew or anything to create a costume for your pet. You can also save money by reusing something you already have.

Many people are lucky enough to have a pet that fits into children's clothing sizes. I've known people who had dogs that wore children's sweatshirts. If you are lucky enough to have such a dog, you may be able to recycle your child's past Halloween costumes. This will save you money and your dog will look cute. It may take a few alterations, but will not be as difficult as starting from scratch.

If you must start from scratch, don't worry! You don't need to know how to sew to make a costume. You may also be able to use some materials you already have around the house. For example, I wear jeans a lot, and jeans wear out. So I have a lot of worn out jeans that still have some good parts left. So when I need denim for a costume, I'll just cut it from old jeans rather than buy some new. Since the costume will only be worn one day, you don't need to sew anything. Krazy Glue will hold it all just fine.

You might have some craft supplies around the house available for your costume making as well. I bought a sequin kit at one point that had several pre-made sequin designs. I've been using several of those on various Halloween costumes. Paint also can add a splash to your pet's costume. Just remember that this costume is for your pet and that you do not want anything to be dangerous. If your pet eats something like tinsel, it can be deadly. In my case, I design costumes for guinea pigs, and so I am only leaving the costumes on them briefly to take photos. You may end up with a costume that you do not want your pet to wear unsupervised. If you do intend on your pet wearing the costume unsupervised however, you need to be even more careful in making the costume.

There are a lot of costume accessories that you can buy at a craft store for not too much money. One of my favorite costume accessories is the doll hat. Doll hats come as straw hats, cowboy hats, baseball caps, and more! I like the straw hats best. You can also turn a straw hat into a type of cowboy hat by making the straw hat wet, and then pinning the sides up so that it dries with the sides raised up. If you are only dressing up your pet to take a few photos, you may find a great many related props at the craft store as well.

The most important thing is to have fun with the costume. Make something that highlights your pet's personality. You could even dress up as something similar to what you are dressing your pet up as. The second most important thing to remember is, you are not going for quality here because this costume will only be worn once. Make it to last once, don't spend too much time on the project. It doesn't need to be washing machine safe or able to withstand heavy wear and tear. This is why I recommend not wasting the time sewing unless it really comes easily for you. I have found glue to hold costumes easily. Duct tape also works wonders. The third thing to remember is, because this is fun, you don't want to torture your pet. If your pet wants to tear off costumes, don't force them to dress up. This is just a fun holiday, not something mandatory. If you have a pet that you can dress up, great. If not, don't worry about it.

It's easy to make something cute for your pet to wear on Halloween. Remember to have fun and keep it safe! If you don't want to spend money on your pet's costume, recycle what you already have. If you want to go all out, make sure you are having fun. You don't want to regret spending weeks designing a costume your pet only wore for one day. If the whole thing is a failure, your pet won't care either way.